Splits above clitorus

Posted , 9 users are following.

hi guys, 

I have had pretty constant slits around my bum for the past month, they've healed. I have had one open split above my clitorus in the crease of skin for about a week and have been using dumovate and epederm but I started getting a bit itchy again yesterday and have just seen that there is another tiny slit next to it .. I just feel exasperated and want it to go away.

I had sex with my boyfriend on Saturday night and am wondering if this new slit/sore is because I did that. I have also started running and I'm wondering if the sweat and motion can be making me worse?

I just want to know that other people get these sores and slits during their flare ups? I was completely paranoid about my LS being herpes for around a year and even though doctors have told me I have LS, not herpes, it still gives me great anxiety and stress which from these forums I undestand can make it worse anyway. 

I keep seeing people refer to their flare ups - does this mean slits and sores or White patches? 

I am only 21 and in need of some wisdom and reassurance.

I would be so grateful for any replies.

xxx

2 likes, 38 replies

38 Replies

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  • Posted

    Hi my LS started to get really bad when I was running I chose to stop however you could use a really good barrier cream to keep the sweat off and see if that helps. I do get little abrasions like carpet burns on my flare ups they usually clear after 2 weeks and I can get these after sex even if I'm doing quite well at the time I also feel very bruised after sex which is something I never used to get before LS. Up to now I have no white patches I had my LS diagnosed by biopsy due to  being very sore and itchy it took about a year if different treatments before they did biopsy. I'm still learning about my LS I have never looked at my downstairs so much and in still confused sometimes you are not alone x
    • Posted

      This is great Justine thank you. I will try the barrier cream whilst running. Obviously I am sorry you get the sores but it's nice to hear I'm not the only one. I'm the same, I dread going to the toilet because I always leave feeling so upset after looking down below. Thanks for your advice and good luck with yours xxx
  • Posted

    Oh Jade i have just written to you a long helpful reply and deleted it! So i will start again

    First i am so sorry to hear you are so young with this rotten conditon.

    Herpes like cold sores have blisters- the white patches in LS are not blisters.LS is NOT catching.It is treated with strong steroids a pea sized amount as prescribed on the mucous membrane of the vulva - NOT into the vagina.

    It is worthwhile understanding the anatomy and terminology of the area. I find tho talking about the" undercarriage" removes any embarrassment when talking to friends.

    Visit the lecture by Dr Goldstein:-

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/dr-goldstein-lecture-271556 who explains a lot you will want to know

    Flare ups are caused by many things- different for each of us Stress, some food stuffs, irritation, rubbing of clothes, tight clothes, infections, sex - esp if the partner is too enthusiastic, getting into bleached clothing, blood, urine,body fluids on the skin. using soaps and smellies in the bath All sorts of reasons

    The flare up can be a burning sensation, itching soreness, white plaques,(patches) splits, tears - fissures- over growth of skin, the absorbtion of the labia - inner lips of the vulva -

    Not everyone has all or even some of these symptons- everyone is diferent. It is worthwhile to look at yourself regularly and understand what you are looking at and note any changes - some people take photographs - i would say do so on a camera NOT a phone - too dangerous re hacking- to watch for changes in your condition

    So drink a lot of water - it dilutes the urine, keep urine off the skin - all body fluids in fact- so use a barrier ointment. Use a non soap emollient to wash with apply your steroid wait for a while - an hour is a Good length of time then apply your moisturiser - important to keep the skin supple -then the barrier I use the moisturiser as a barrier but not all moisturisers will work well. Keep  a small spray bottle of water with you  to rinse off aftr a pee and a small bottle of your other stuff  so you can apply it when away from home. Try and keep blood off the skin too Go commando

    It may take a few weeks to get  back to non itching - it may take longer  - or less time. THE most important thing is MANAGE YOUR STRESS, keep it under control- meditate- paint draw knit sing ANYTHING- running is good as it would appear that all of us on this site have a level of stress that may contribute to our conditon Laugh as much as you can have as much fun as you can - dont drink a lot of alcohol - there is far too much sugar in it and sugar is a common cause of flare ups

    Keep smiling and enjoy being young - talk to a close friend or relative  you will go thro periods when a hug is needed. Best wishes 

    Sue

      

    • Posted

      Sue, 

      Thank you ever so much for such a lengthy and helpful reply. I am thinking sugar is contributing to it being worse. Im thinking of starting a diary of flare ups.

      I guess my paranoir about herpes is because I don't get the white patches I just get the tears and sores and sometimes they begin as a little bump. My doctor has told me this is just irritation but I just worry myself sick.

      I find my clitorus can sometimes get a little tear in, becomes purple and can be extremely sensitive and painful - is this something normal with LS?

      Thank you again

      Jade xx

    • Posted

      For me the use of soaps and creams , with the exception of the steroid cream which I have to use occasionally, is problematical.  In fact, I have had to stop using soaps even in the bath because my whole body is now alive with irritation and soaps exacerbate this.  Clean water, occasional simple soap in the bath, dry off and keep dry, using clear water after urination (before I knew all this I lost my labia and the urine goes all over, as a result) and again dry.  This works for me.
    • Posted

      The clitoris is the females' penis - it is the rudimentary form that has a huge number of nerve endings in it - like the male penis, when swollen and inflamed it can get VERY sensitive and painful and sometimes makes one feel "ready for sex NOW!" -all the time!  

      So it is reasonable to assume that a flare up affecting the clitoris willl be painful.

      Do NOT WORRY- worry is stressful - AVOID stress as much as you can

      - when having sex do make sure you are protected- or he is - then the issue of STD's is lessened - if necessary explain to him that it is important not to have ANY body fluids on your undercarriage, and even if you have been on the pill then you have a good reason to keep from any likilhood of acquiring as STD

      The  Herpes simplex virus ( like the cold sore) will remain in the nerve path it affected initially and can reoccur when the conditions are right, and thus when having a cold sore it is important  to wash hands and not infect yourself with the virus, obviously  oral sex  with someone with a cold sore is Not A Good Thing! - for EITHER of you!

      I think your idea of keeping a diary is a really good one. I would keep it daily charting food and drink - and possibly moods as well - then you may be able to see a pattern emerging

      Put your steroid on to those parts that are most vulnerable to taring

      Good luch  take care

      Sue

    • Posted

      I can't use any form of soap, hence if necessary I use an emollient- like aqueous ointment - or what i am now prescribed - Diprobase-  that I use as a "soap" everywhere - it is one of The best moisturisers I have ever had - my face is so much happier these days too.

      How long have you had LS? Before i came across this site i hadnt realised how many women have lost their labia too. I was so unhappy when i watched what was happening to my body

      You say you have whole body irritation - that must be so dreadful - i feel for you

    • Posted

      Yep, tears and purpleness are definitely normal symptoms of LS. I will also sometinmes get little bumps (some are just bumps others are like pimply things or boils). The tears I get are usually in the cracks of the folds but sometimes are right on the clitoral hood or other places. I have even had tears just inside the vagina. Some times the white patches are there, other times (usually after using Clobetasol) the white patches aren't there (or are hardly noticable unless you really look) but the tears and purpleness (kind of like a broken blood vessel, or a blood blister , or a tiny bruise) can still be there even if the white/grey patches aren't. 

       

    • Posted

      Pixie thank you so much for this. I get these bumps and pimples - just been desperate to meet someone else who suffers with these and these tears. I have been in councelling this week for this obsession with my lichen sclerosis being herpes so reading this post really relaxes me. Thank you for sharing xx
    • Posted

      I have just been disgnosed with LS. I suffered for months and was told it was a yeast infection. I too worried and still worry its herpes even though i have been told by 4 health professionals its not. i have had a sawb test that came back as negative but i still suffer from anxiety. When you read the symptoms of LS they dont mention the bumps, To make mysefl feel better i keep reading this post over and over because its reassuring that im not the only one who has had these bumps. 
    • Posted

      I've been getting bumps and pimples for over forty years. I actually had a diagnosis of Herpes Simplex II in 1972 – I the doctor was wrong, I think it was LS. I've never had herpes again.

      We just have crappy skin  – it's vulnerable to yeast (you likely did have a yeast infection as well as LS) and bacterial infections.

    • Posted

      Hillary, it is also so nice and reassuring for me to see this post from you, we sound exactly the same. i get extremely anxious and upset about it all. I would be happy to exchange emails with you if you ever need someone to talk to because my obsession with herpes has been affecting me for over a year and it may help the both of us to talk to another person with the same issues! Xx
    • Posted

      thank you so much for this, so reassuring to know that they're common symptoms xxx
    • Posted

      Hi jade. Exchanging emails would be great. 

      Mine is: hillary_84@hotmail.come

    • Posted

      I just thought I would ask...I have what looks to be a bite on my  right side vaginal lip, At first I thought it was perhaps an ant bite, its itchy, red and feels like a little bump...I have not experienced anything like this before, it is not a spot or a boil,  I am pretty certain its an ant bite but thought I should ask here, what do you think?
    • Posted

      If it's an ant bite it should be gone in a day or so. If it's a boil it will get bigger and sore. Sounds like LS to me.
    • Posted

      Hi Suedm.. I love your tips... I am too new to this condition and I am trying to get as much as info I can to start right.... You have mentioned that you use a moisturiser after an hour of your steroid placement.. which type of moisturiser are you using?  I was wondering if the Perrins (not sure if it is spelled that way) can be used as moisturiser... thanks in advance!
    • Posted

      Okay thanks, I will see what happens, it does seem an odd place to get an ant bite but I live in Costa Rica and we have hundreds of the blighters lol!
    • Posted

      Oh, I've heard about the bugs in Costa Rica. Thanks for reminding me. We're into snow and ice here in Canada, so that will help me not envy you.
    • Posted

      Hi Morrell, i was just wondering what are the bumps like when you get them and how long do they typically last? and does your cream treatment gradually make these bumps disappear? 
    • Posted

      My theory is that our crappy, vulnerable LS skin is prone to all sorts of things. I've had horrible, long sausagey boils along my panty line since I was a teenager (not any more since I started clobetasol a year ago). I have some pretty major pockmarks there. I recently noticed some disgusting huge blackheads around the same area, possibly because I use so much oily stuff and only wash with plain water. The red bumps around the dense hairs of my mons are kind of goosebump-like, but a bit bigger. They've calmed down as well. Then there was the enormous  abscess I got right over my clitoris when the two inner labia were nearly done fusing together – bacteria were betting in through the incomplete seam. That experience took me into emergency and to the gynae who finally, after forty years diagnosed LS. Thenthere are the new yellowish hard bumps growing just inside my vagina, over the rim from my perineum. They look like bits of chicken fat, but they're hard. My gynae's coment on them was "that's irreversible". I think it's the gradual (or in some of us, fast) hardening of the rim of the vagina that makes sex impossible and possibly eventually makes urination slow.

      That's quite a few kinds of bumps!

      Clobetasol takes quite a few months to really make a difference. This is why it makes no sense to only use it occasionally when flared up – it isn't a quick fix. We stay on maintenance for that reason. This said, there is a small percentage of patients who don't respond to steroid cream. There's only one other treatment – tacrolimus – and it has some unpleasant side effects, so it's only prescribed as a last resort.

    • Posted

      Hello sorry not to have replied earlier - i have been away from the computer doing other stuff- and getting a chest infection! I use Diprobase - in the UK on prescription. It is an emollient cream that i put on then "wash" off and leaves the skin feelng soft and pliable- that is for the face and body - for the undercarriage i just slap it on after an application of Clobetasol- after a wait of about 20 mins otherwise after each time i urinate. Sometimes i need to put a panty liner into my "knickers" esp if i am wearing a light skirt- oily seepage is Not a Good Look on the back of the clothing

      You can buy aqeous ointment from the chemist and this will do a similar job to the Diprobase

      Good luck

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