Intestinal Yeast Overgrowth Treatment - Vulvodynia

Intestinal Yeast Overgrowth Treatment

You may never have heard the term vulvodynia, but many of you recognize the symptoms: burning pain, stabbing pain, itching, stinging and irritation around the vulva, often accompanied by a white cheesy discharge. One patient described her external genitalia as "bright red," and another said it "feels like it's on fire."

The pain can come suddenly, seemingly from nowhere. It may be constant or intermittent. It may take place only during sexual intercourse. For some women, it is more pronounced near their time of their menstrual periods.
 
Frequently, the area around the vagina shows no redness or swelling or infection, in spite of these intense symptoms. The pain can involve the entire area, including the rectal or anal skin and may include hypersensitivity around the small labia, making it difficult to walk. Other women may experience discomfort when their pubic hair is touched, making it difficult for them to wear underwear. Occasionally women also experience a painful or hypersensitive clitoris.

Intestinal Yeast Overgrowth Treatment

The medical community has little awareness of this potentially disabling condition. It is common for patients to go from doctor to doctor for years before they get help. It's equally common for doctors to suggest there is a psychological cause for the condition.

I had never heard of vulvodynia until early 1993, when a Nashville psychiatrist asked me to see one of his patients, a professional woman who had been troubled by persistent intense burning of her external genitalia for several years.

It was this patient, whom I'll call "Laura" (not her real name), who, through her own research on her condition, opened the door for me to a whole new element of dysbiosis. 

In fact, the term "vulvodynia," meaning literally "burning vulva," was coined in the mid- 1980s in response to what physicians began to see as a syndrome affecting many patients.
 
A pioneer in recognizing and treating vulvodynia is Dr. Marilynne McKay, M.D., who was, before her retirement, a professor of dermatology at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. McKay recognized the level of frustration many women who suffered from vulvodynia were feeling. In a comprehensive review article published in 1989, she wrote: 

Because physical signs may be subtle, many have been told that their problem is primarily psychological, especially when dyspareunia (difficult or painful sexual intercourse) is a major component. Unrealistic expectations and unrewarding medical experiences contribute to the resentment, frustration and anger so often expressed by these patients.
 
The National Vulvodynia Association released some staggering information from a population-based study in late 2001. It showed:

1. Nearly 20% of all American women have suffered from chronic vulvovaginal pain at some point in their lives.
2. But 40% of these women never sought treatment for the condition, many of them saying it was too "embarrassing."
3. And 40% of those who did seek treatment never received a definitive diagnosis. 

From the many patients I know with this problem, I am sure these feelings will be uncomfortably familiar. Soon after learning about the term vulvodynia, I received many calls and letters from women with this syndrome. Then as I thought about it, I realized that many of the women with yeast-related problems who said, "I'm troubled by a constant yeast infection," were, in fact, suffering from vulvodynia.

Intestinal Yeast Overgrowth Treatment

 
In a later article, Dr. McKay explains that bacterial, fungal and viral infections should all be considered as causes for vulvodynia. Candida is by far the most important infectious agent to consider in the evaluation of patients with vulvodynia. To find out more, you can check out Intestinal Yeast Overgrowth Treatment.