When should you see a doctor about vulval pain?

Arrange a routine appointment even without these warning signs if the pain is affecting sleep, walking, sitting, sex, exercise, or everyday activities. A clinician can examine the vulval skin and nearby areas, ask about triggers, and test for infection when appropriate.

Vulval soreness may follow friction, shaving, a new product, dermatitis, or another source of irritation. Burning or itching with discharge can occur with vaginal thrush, while blisters or open sores may occur with genital herpes. A tender lump near the vaginal opening can be a Bartholin cyst. Pale, fragile or itchy skin needs assessment for lichen sclerosus. Pain that continues after the skin looks normal can be vulvodynia, which is diagnosed after other causes have been considered.

These possibilities cannot be distinguished reliably from symptoms alone, and vulval pain does not by itself identify one specific condition.

Wash gently with lukewarm water, pat dry, and choose loose cotton underwear. Stop using scented soaps, washes, wipes, deodorants, bubble bath and unprescribed creams on the area. Avoid scratching, shaving, and sex if they worsen the pain. Do not squeeze a lump or use leftover antibiotics or antifungal treatment; these can irritate the skin or make the cause harder to identify.

Note when the pain began, where it is located, what makes it better or worse, and any skin changes, discharge, urinary symptoms, period-related pattern, or recent product or sexual-health changes.

Seek urgent medical help for rapidly increasing swelling or pain, fever with a painful vulval lump, spreading redness, heavy bleeding, inability to pass urine, or feeling faint or seriously unwell. Painful blisters or sores, especially with difficulty urinating, also need prompt assessment.

If a Bartholin cyst becomes infected or repeatedly troublesome, a clinician may discuss drainage or Bartholin cyst marsupialisation. Do not delay care while waiting for home measures to work when symptoms are escalating.

You could ask: What could be causing this pain? Do I need an examination or swab? Which products or activities should I avoid? What symptoms should prompt urgent help? If the pain continues, when should I return and what treatments might be considered?