vaginal area sore and red (Page 1)

My six year old has had the same problem for years. I have treated her for yeast,bacterial infection. She only takes a bath once a week now. I did find it eased up when I washed her underware separately in mild soap and rinsed them twice.

I have been dealing with this problem on and off for years now with my 6 year old, although it has been worse this year than it ever has before. there is no discharge, no smell and no redness on the outside (vulva), but on close inspection it is red inside the vagina. When she has an attack of it, she wakes up practically having a fit during the night because she is in so much pain. her whole body shakes and she cries her eyes out. It is so painful to watch your child in so much pain and not know what is causing it.
she also complains of soreness and itchiness during the day sometimes. i took her to the children's emergency one night when she was 4 years old, and they just told me it was vulvovaginitis. i don't think this was a good diagnosis, as the vulva was not inflamed, it was inside the vagina that was red. so i decided it was vaginitis, which is inflammation of the vagina.
vaginitis can be caused by many things. it can be an infection or an irritation/sensitivity.
This is what i do, and what has helped us so far:
when she has an episode in the night, i.e. when she wakes up in agony, i put her straight into a lukewarm bath with a cup or so of white vinegar added to it. This seems to give her some relief. I also give her paracetamol (panadol). after patting her gently dry and letting the area air out a bit, i put some barrier cream there (sudocream). I put lots and all around the hole and everywhere. it seems to help. Then i put her back to bed and give her an icepack to put between her legs, as she says it helps a bit too. and of course i comfort her and stay with her until the pain starts to ease. she is a very heavy sleeper, so it must be very painful that it wakes her up in the night.
the other things i have done to try to eliminate other possible causes: i have bought her 100% cotton underwear, i don't use any soap products in the bath, i put a couple of handfuls of epsom bath salts in the bath, i give her a probiotic supplement on most days, i regularly give all my children worm tablets (about once a month), i have changed to soap-free laundry detergent, i get her to sleep with no underwear or pants on.....we are also careful with the wiping (i tell her to just pat it dry gently and she knows how to wipe her bottom properly) and i wipe it for her when she is at home just to make sure that this is not the cause.
we don't have juice or soda drinks in the house. recently i have been trying to cut down on the sugar intake, as i believe this could be a culprit, especially after reading all the posts here. i even spoke to all the grandparents about it, as they all like to spoil her with treats.
i have spoken to her carefully about whether anyone has ever touched her down there (as this condition can also be a result of abuse), however i am 100% certain that this has not happened after talking to her about it in a delicate manner.
i am about to see a paediatrician, as we have just had a couple of tests (a urine test and a vaginal swab) that came back negative, so there is no infection or UTI.
one of the comments i found helpful here was the one about the urologist. after talking to her about her toilet habits, i found out that there are rules in her classroom about when she is allowed to go to the toilet. i found out she was holding on all day long, because she would "forget" to go when she was supposed to and then hold it in. i think her body became so used to holding it in, she was probably causing damage to her bladder and maybe this was causing the attacks. the last time she had an attack, i found out she had not done a wee from between 10am and 6pm.....i don't know how she held on for so long, but after talking to her, i found out she was afraid to break the school rules and ask the teacher if she could go to the toilet when it wasn't the right time!
after finding this out, i wrote a long letter to the teacher (who used to be a nurse and is aware of my daughter's problem and has been trying to help us). in the letter i explained that she had been holding on all day as she was scared to get into trouble. her teacher told me that it was fine for her to go to the toilet any time and spoke to her about it at school, so she has been a much happier child since this happened.
i am still going to see the paediatrician soon. i think i will ask the paediatrician about whether we should see a urologist and i will also mention the issue of intolerance to dairy or gluten after reading the comments above.
i am amazed by how many mothers share this same problem! you would think that doctors would have more answers by now, seeing as it seems to be affecting so many young girls.
i will keep you posted if anything new comes to light after seeing the specialist.

Never put soap in her vagina. Never try to wash her vagina. You can always omit soap for bathing altogether for a time. Water is a very good cleaning agent without soap. The only plus of soap is that it breaks down oils; water will remove all dirt and even some oils all by itself. Bubble Bath is notorious for causing vaginal infections. Try using a baby bath wash or something for sensitive skin, and only use it just when she needs to scrub up before getting out.

Also, do not shampoo her hair and let that soap get into the water. If she needs to play in the water, let her play, and then drain while the normal washing/scrubbing is going on.

A 6 year old should be able to handle a shower while assisted. You can try that too.

My daughter gets very sore very easily. I have found that using Dreft for her underwear with no bleach works well. Also, she has to have cotton and little to no color on her panties. I also cut back on the sugar I put in Koolaid, and water down the juice. She could be super sensitive to the sugar. I know myself if I drink too much soda I easily get yeasty, I don't see why too much sugar won'd do the same for a child.

Yes, you are right. Yeast thrives on sugar, so lessening that in her diet will certainly help a great deal. Cotton panties are great because they pull the moisture away from the body and keep things dry...a cotton crotch is always recommended for women of all ages.

Mominashoe yea ok dont use soap???? r u kidding me with that answer???? cause not washing my kids private area is really going to help the issue

You can wash a child's or adults private area with just warm water. Unless they are putting things there that shouldn't be an getting actual DIRT in or on it water does a fine job of washing. I am so sensitive I can't use any soap of any kind in that area. I keep VERY clean with warm water and a wash cloth. A doctor will tell you the same thing.

No, I'm not kidding. I'm not talking about a long period of time, and I also mentioned that a shower with soap is ok. Soap in a bathtub releases the oils in hair into the water causing infections.

That is why I said no soap. Little kid's skin doesn't produce the oil that adults skin does, so of course they don't need the same amount of washing that adults do. That's why they don't take showers daily like we do.

It's a simple chemistry lesson: water is a cleaning agent of itself. If you take regular dirt, it's going to come off just as easily as soap with water. What soap does is break down the OIL in dirt, and dirt itself. Yes, soap is great for killing germs, but only if it goes down the drain. If you are sitting in soap and oil, the oil is going to be broken down and more easily carried and spread into places like the vagina, carrying infection there.

That's why it's better to leave the vagina, the INSIDE part alone. It's self-cleansing, just like you don't clean out your urinary tract.

I hope that's easy enough to understand.

I am having the same issue with my 5 yr old. My pediatrician said to not use soap on her vagina. She said that it is common in young girls for their ph level to get out of whack and cause a red irritated vagina which would be made worse by soap and bubble bath. You are totally correct.

I have never used Soap on my Vagina I am 38 and I have never had a problem with my Vagina and it never smells either. Why do women think they need soap....
I have a 8 year old girl and a 7 year old boy I have only ever used soap free wash in their bath. They now have showers and I tell them to wash their privates first with no soap just water and then use the soap for their hands and feet and knees. They are clean when they come out and they never smell. No soap is a rule in my house. If you have to - use a substitute in the bath that is soap & Perfume free. It's great.
Yeast infections Love Sugar & bread, donuts etc...
Remember No Soap on Privates. Try it. Please.

My daughter had the same problem and after a lot of trial and error, we found that any bath products with sodium laurel sulfate (or other derivatives of SLS) cause yeast rashes/infections. We now use California Baby Super Sensitive shampoo/wash and it works well. You can find it at Target, Vitamin Cottage, and probably Whole Foods. There are many other SLS-free bath products out now - they should say "no SLS" on the label.

Using things like Monistat may take care of the symptoms temporarily but won't take care of the underlying problem - it will just come back with a vengance after the Monistat is done working. And it's such a harsh product for a little person!

I agree with the other good suggestions above: wearing cotton underwear, not using soap inside the vagina (the pH balance is delicate and easily upset), and switching to a gentle laundry detergent for those with sensitive skin (we use Boulder Laundry Liquid and it doesn't bother our sensitive-skinned girls at all - you can get it at CostCo).

My 3 and 4 year old daughters have the same problem for years now. I know that it comes from sugar. I do not give my girls juice very much for this reason. Anytime they get a flare up we can point it back to them having juice (and the juice is always half water!). I have them on chewable probiotics now as they help with yeast infections better than eating yogurt.

Where can you find chewable probiotics? Is that what they are called? Thank you for the very helpful information!!

I use a chewable gummy bear probiotic called Sustenex. I found it at Wal-Mart. It says for children 4 and up so I'm going to give it to my daughter today. I just noticed that she is red and irritated last night.

Hi my daughter is two years old i am finding out the she also has a verginal infection red sore very itchy went to the doctor yesterday they gave me ointment (cream) and stronger paracetamol,her disscharge is not right either smelly and soft,worried for her they have swabbed her so hope for resalts soon.What is this infection please?

My 7 yr old daughter has had a infection for a little over 2 weeks now. She's been to the doctor twice and they still just recommend her to use cream on it. It started out with terrible itching and it has gotten better, but now she complains of her bottom always feelng wet, when it isn't. She cannot stand any cream on her, becuase she can't stand how it feels on her - the wetness of it. I've found that I believe she's having this irritation because after she goes to the bathroom, she's constantly wiping, for about 5 minutes! I've pleaded with her not to do this and this is why she's having this problem, but she consistently says she cannot help it because it feels like it's still dripping. The doctor's office said she did not have a urinary tract infection 2 weeks ago either and she says it does not hurt when she goes to the bathroom. I'm at a loss on how to help her. She will cry for hours just because she doesn't like how it feels all of the time. Any help?

Check her for abuse for sure. That sounds like a typical psychological response to trauma. My daughter was abused at five by a close family friend and had similar symptoms. Talk to her about sex and see if she reacts to what you say. Look for ways to support her emotionally as you have physically. Good luck.

Hi to the above story, i have been searching for a solution for the exact same problem with my 3 almost 4 year old daughter. It is extremely frustrating to see your child go through this & not be able to help. We have tried everything from endless Doctors appointments, also waiting for paediatric appointment, after several referals later & still waiting.... Most of them have closed their books,as they say...

We have been goin through this feeling wet or "leaking" & endless wiping issue for over 4 months now & I have become so depressed as i have asked for help everywhere & endless hours of searching online. Meanwhile its a daily battle of screaming, tears & constant changing of clothes as she hates the feeling of having anything like underpants on. It's a huge battle & has become so difficult to get out of the door when we need to.

Ive tried Ignoring it, giving her a countdown on the toilet, making a game out of it, like who can get ready the quickest, Giving her a treat or prize for having her pants on for as long as 5 mins.... even having the mother daughter talk, well at least for a three year old anyhow. I have even taken the potty out of the bathroom & put in another area.... Also have eliminated certain things like baths, soaps & the 100% cotton undies don't work cause thats all she ever wore anyhows & she is certainly not been in any abusive situation. As i am a fulltime single mother. She is never red or rashie & it never stings on urination & has been checked for UTI more times than i can remember. The only positive thing is when we finally leave the house, she can be distracted from it for a long period of time up until toilet time anyhow.

So now you can see my frustration also & that is just putting it lightly. There are many more things that i may have forgotten to mention. Also thought it could be a anxiety problem? But we have had no obvious changes within our usual daily lifestyle. So im not sure about that one either. However My daughter is usually a gorgeous natured, very happy on the go healthy little 3 year old girl...Would love to see that smile back on her face again:)

I am posting hoping that someone may shed some light on our ongoing problem?

Thnx for taking the time to read this.

Hi I had the same prob am working with a urologist now for my 4 yr old we still dont know the cause but the only helpful thing I have found is my daughter pees backwards it helps all the pee to drain out of her count to ten then wipe. Also baking soda bath every night is a must.Noone can understand the pain and struggle of a mother who cant help her child.Also using a good diaper cream like burts bee's helps sooth if need be.I hope this will help till you can find a solution.

Hi to the above story, i have been searching for a solution for the exact same problem with my 3 almost 4 year old daughter. It is extremely frustrating to see your child go through this & not be able to help. We have tried everything from endless Doctors appointments, also waiting for paediatric appointment, after several referals later & still waiting.... Most of them have closed their books,as they say...

We have been goin through this feeling wet or "leaking" & endless wiping issue for over 4 months now & I have become so depressed as i have asked for help everywhere & endless hours of searching online. Meanwhile its a daily battle of screaming, tears & constant changing of clothes as she hates the feeling of having anything like underpants on. It's a huge battle & has become so difficult to get out of the door when we need to.

Ive tried Ignoring it, giving her a countdown on the toilet, making a game out of it, like who can get ready the quickest, Giving her a treat or prize for having her pants on for as long as 5 mins.... even having the mother daughter talk, well at least for a three year old anyhow. I have even taken the potty out of the bathroom & put in another area.... Also have eliminated certain things like baths, soaps & the 100% cotton undies don't work cause thats all she ever wore anyhows & she is certainly not been in any abusive situation. As i am a fulltime single mother. She is never red or rashie & it never stings on urination & has been checked for UTI more times than i can remember. The only positive thing is when we finally leave the house, she can be distracted from it for a long period of time up until toilet time anyhow.

So now you can see my frustration also & that is just putting it lightly. There are many more things that i may have forgotten to mention. Also thought it could be a anxiety problem? But we have had no obvious changes within our usual daily lifestyle. So im not sure about that one either. However My daughter is usually a gorgeous natured, very happy on the go healthy little 3 year old girl...Would love to see that smile back on her face again:)

I am posting hoping that someone may shed some light on our ongoing problem?

Thnx for taking the time to read this.

My daughter suffers from the same issues. She complains so often that her vagina is "wet" when, having checked it out numerous times, it just isn't. I have really come to believe that 1) she is much more sensitive in that area than most; 2) she CAN'T stand to wear panties, so I don't make her; 3) I will now try sensitive skin detergents as suggested in many of these posts; 4) I do think it is correlated to when she doesn't urinate often enough (she will wait until the last possible moment); 5) I gave her a bubble bath yesterday and she is in pain today -- bad mom; and, last but not least, 6) for us at least, I have no doubt it is related to anxiety. She is just a more anxious kid/person (at 6) than are others. I would love clues for how to make her less sensitive to this issue -- what is a baking soda bath? I am happy to do it and other things if they will help! Part of the problem seems to me that, frankly, she should be somewhat moist there. Like the other mother, my daughter will wipe herself til the cows come home trying to make it dry down there....

My daughter suffers from the same issues. She complains so often that her vagina is "wet" when, having checked it out numerous times, it just isn't. I have really come to believe that 1) she is much more sensitive in that area than most; 2) she CAN'T stand to wear panties, so I don't make her; 3) I will now try sensitive skin detergents as suggested in many of these posts; 4) I do think it is correlated to when she doesn't urinate often enough (she will wait until the last possible moment); 5) I gave her a bubble bath yesterday and she is in pain today -- bad mom; and, last but not least, 6) for us at least, I have no doubt it is related to anxiety. She is just a more anxious kid/person (at 6) than are others. I would love clues for how to make her less sensitive to this issue -- what is a baking soda bath? I am happy to do it and other things if they will help! Part of the problem seems to me that, frankly, she should be somewhat moist there. Like the other mother, my daughter will wipe herself til the cows come home trying to make it dry down there....

My daughter is eight, almost nine and has had this 'dripping' (as she calls it) sensation for years. It isn't constant, but when she does complain, it's a week or so before it seems to disappear. This 'episode' seems to be the worst yet. Now, along with the dripping is the burning....and I can only imagine that her 'area' is dry/chapped from over wiping. I was told to have her use Huggies gentle wipes when wiping. And I give her a panty liner to wear and that seems to help the 'wet' feeling. I feel so bad for her....I have no answers for her. She is scared to death to go to the dr and 'show' him...she is a very modest and private little girl. We don't take baths....but we do use soap when bathing....I have taught her how to rinse well and told her that if there is any soap reside, it will bun. I may try to eliminate the soap inebrirely. I have asked other moms with girls and I haven't gotten any advice from anyone....this is kinda..a last resort.....I hope I can figure out what is going on too....because like everyone else has said, it is so hard to see our children in pain and so uncomfortable and not be able to help them....

Hi michele3332 and welcome to ehealth....Try having her wear cotton panties...This may help her "feeling wet" problem...When she starts to cry then distract her with something that interests her...Take her mind off of this problem...Hope this helps...Take care...

Caroline

Thanks Caroline, but she only wears 100% cotton underwear now. We haven't changed our laundry detergent or fabric softener either, but I'm going to change it to something for sensitive skin to see if that helps.

Hi there,
My daughters (8 and 9) both had this same problem. One daughter we eventually found (after eliminating and changing everything one by one) was allergic to most laundry detergents, fabric softeners, soaps and bodywashes and flared up when given too much sugar or products with yeast in them (Bread, crackers etc). She's now fine. My younger daughter though, after doing all the same things, still had the problem and it started to get so bad she was crying and in a lot of pain. She also complained of feeling wet all the time and of "leaking" - without a bladder infection. Doctors found nothing wrong. In the end - again a long process of eliminating things one by one - we've found it is red, orange and purple food colouring, any scented or bleached toilet paper (which is what they have at school so now she has to take her own paper in her pocket and is worried the other kids will see), most juices and flares up if she wears her dancing leotard for too long or other tight fitting clothes - her favourite jeans and tights. Its an awful and distressing problem for them and it takes a lot of patience and recording to find out the cause/s but it can be fixed! Good luck!

Thanks for your comments MOMOF2BEAUTIFULGIRLS as I have a daughter complaining of the same symptoms. I only use soap free products and tell my daughters not to use it on their vagina as they don't need to. ALL WOMEN SHOULD NOT USE SOAP products on their vagina's as our natural oils are the bodies way of self cleaning and the bodies way of protecting itself. I'm sure my daughter has just been eating too many sugar products and with an adjustment to her sweet tooth, we will eliminate the problem too. There are great chemical and synthetic free products out now and no need for any parent to use products that contain SLS or other nasties on their kids bodies.

thanks for all the suggestions, information, and wisdom you moms have put together. I have never even thought of NOT using soap, but my 4 yr old daughter periodically complains of a burning vaginal area, and from the looks of it, the outer part is red...almost like a rash. Diaper creams don't seem to help, and it doesn't seem to be linked to sugar in her diet. But she DOES take long baths, loves to play and sit in the water, and with bubbles...so now I know to try this! I'm trying colloidal silver also...an antibacterial liquid. SO appreciate all your feedback!

My daughter too, age 5, is having all these problems as well. Process of elimination. As far as the pain/burning, my doctor advised to give her an Epsom Salt bath, and that seems to really help. If she has a flare up, she sits in it for 10 minutes and then she feels much better. The diaper rash cream doesn't help, but the salt bath seems to. It's nice to know mommies are becoming doctors nowadays, as most doctors don't have a clue as to why this is happening to a female at such a young age.....

MY 10 year old daughter has this same problem as well with the vaginal itching/irritation. She only wants milk to drink all the time (she actually prefers 1% white milk), she gets it at school with her lunch tray each day (she is one of 3 and my husband and I both teach high school, so we send lunch money each day for the girls). She drinks milk for breakfast in which she eats at school during the school year, then she drinks milk with snack and supper, I cannot get her to drink anything else. Her pediatrician says the milk is the culprit but that is all she wants to drink with an occasional bottle of water now and then when we are out and about, she even orders milk when we are at a restaurant. My other girls drink water and ginger-ale and milk but do not have this issue. I just don't know what to do, I'm glad she loves milk but it's causing her to be miserable, has anyone else ever heard of this?? Bizarre I know, leave it to my little sweetheart!!

MY 10 year old daughter has this same problem as well with the vaginal itching/irritation. She only wants milk to drink all the time (she actually prefers 1% white milk), she gets it at school with her lunch tray each day (she is one of 3 and my husband and I both teach high school, so we send lunch money each day for the girls). She drinks milk for breakfast in which she eats at school during the school year, then she drinks milk with snack and supper, I cannot get her to drink anything else. Her pediatrician says the milk is the culprit but that is all she wants to drink with an occasional bottle of water now and then when we are out and about, she even orders milk when we are at a restaurant. My other girls drink water and ginger-ale and milk but do not have this issue. I just don't know what to do, I'm glad she loves milk but it's causing her to be miserable, has anyone else ever heard of this?? Bizarre I know, leave it to my little Catherine!!