Vulvar Disorders

The vulva is the group of external structures that comprises the female genitalia. Vulvar disorders and diseases are often a complex mix of several problems – in fact, there are more than two dozen different diseases that can cause the typical symptoms of genital itching, burning, irritation, rawness, throbbing, urinary frequency, urinary urgency and pain during sex. A small sampling of these disorders includes vulvodynia (generalized vulvar pain), chronic candidiasis (yeast infections), bacterial vaginosis, vulvar vestibulitis, vulvar cancer, pudendal neuralgia and vulvar granuloma fisuratum (recurrent tearing of the vulva). Potential treatments include antibiotic and antifungal medications, topical anti-itch creams and pelvic floor exercises. Surgical treatment is also a possibility for disorders caused by structural abnormalities and those that have not responded to other, less invasive therapies.