3 Yr old complaining of Burning in Vagina

It sounds like you should see a doctor. Possibly a UTI.

I agree, this is probably a simple urine infection.
A visit to the doctors is needed.
They can do a dip test of the urine in seconds to test it and will prescribe antibiotics accordingly.

Watch out for tight pants/shorts anything with a seam (in years past pants were cut differently for girls) on girls, this was an issue with both of my daughters when young. Causing redness. Definitely if in this amount of pain she needs urgent attention and seeing a doctor.

Dear Moms,
I hope this reply gets to everyone! I'll start backwards with what MAY BE the solution bc if you're on this site you are desperate for information like I was and want your baby to not be in any more pain. POSSIBLE SOLUTION: GO SEE A UROLOGIST> After 6 months of painful my vagina is burning "episodes" and seeing at least 6 different pediatricians who said it's probably bad wiping, soap in the bath water, or the detergent, a urologist believes it has nothing to do with any of those things and all to do with constipation and bladder. They said "dysfunctional elimination" can mimic the signs of an infection. They asked her about her poop, which she mostly strains and it comes out hard or as pellets instead of like soft ice cream. They asked her how many time she goes to the bathroom during the day, which turns out to be twice. Apparently, she is overworking her bladder during the day from not going frequently (which is causing her bladder to finally "relax" when she sleeps and so she wets the bed) and she's also straining to poop and as a result the muscles down there spasm which explains why she says her vagina is hurting. She was 5 (now 6) so she can't pinpoint or be exact about the pain. The inflammation is coming from how girls this age may sit on the toilet. Their feet can't touch the floor so their bottoms are down in the toilet, knees in chest and they're trying to balance. Often times small amounts of urine pool back there which cause the redness/irritation. So you can see the irritation but the spasms are actually causing the pain. When they pee, the urine may stream backwards down onto the vagina so it burns. SO we are on a 6 week regimen. We have to spend a 48 hrs giving her a laxative (the goal is diarrhea) then on the third day Miralax. At the same time, she MUST go to the bathroom every 2 -3hrs. We have to purchase a vibrating watch which she can wear in school and a Drs note for the teacher to excuse her whenever she needs to go. AND she's sitting backwards on the toilet for a better urine stream (this one has no medical explanation BUT its working for us. The inflammation is gone) . So far, from going every 2 - 3hours she hasn't wet the bed and no more vaginal pain. It's looking good! They also want an ultrasound of her bladder to make sure nothing else is going on.
Here is what we were dealing with before seeing the urologist...
PROBLEM: At 5yrs old (she just turned 6) after her nightly bath, my daughter started complaining that her vagina was burning. It was HORRIBLE. She was screaming an crying and gyrating in pain. I looked down there and saw a little redness. I thought she had a UTI or something. It started happening regularly. It would happen mainly at night so at one point we thought maybe she was trying to stay up late. For 6 months she would have these episodes and the routine was always the same, -go to the doctor and they give a urine test -the test comes back negative for UTI -they prescribe an antibiotic for 10 days and we schedule a follow up, - one time they prescribed Nyastatin which was soo horrible putting on her. She screamed every time. I couldn't bare it so I would sneak and put it on her while she was sleeping.

This last time (Nov 2011) I scheduled an appt with the urologist and in the meantime saw her pediatrician. I told the doctor I was really concerned that they keep giving her antibiotics and the problem is reoccurring. This time he said maybe it’s coming from long baths every night. Similar to your hands getting wrinkled from being in the water so long. He said to stop the baths, take showers and put hydrocortisone on the inflammation. So we started this and our appt with the urologist came up about 5 days later. They told us to stop the cream and anything else we were told to do. I REALLY HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE. It's a miserable feeling watching your child screaming and you can't help.

I just wanted to say how useful I found your post. Firstly so sorry you had to go through what you did for so long! I have only had 3 episodes now of this but it is heartbreaking she is waking a screaming hysterically for 3/4 hours complaining of pain and burning. Her tummy seems very tight/tense and she keeps grabbing her vagina. Last time it happened I took her with a urine sample to the doctor and he said that there was no infection but that she was a little red and that it could be thrush and gave us some cream and said to come back. It settled after two days but I wasn't convinced.

Last night it was worse and we ended up calling the emergency doctors he advised paracetamol and ibuprofen. Eventually it calmed.

What you have said has makes total sense we are due to go back to the doctor again this morning so I will ask. My daughter is not quite 3 is it better to get her to go on a potty instead of the toilet? She is refusing to go to the toilet at the moment because she says it hurts.

My husband and I both teach so we can spend lots of time with her over the hols to try and rectify this. All I know is I cant go through years of watching her in that sort of pain.

My heart goes out to you and your daughter and I hope the routine helps resolve her pain. Thank you so much for taking the time to post your story.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. You have just done so much for me. My daughter started complaining of pain when she was 2 years old. I thought she had been burned by a pull up because her clitoris is also discolored. She wets the bed at night on most nights, that's what really stood out in your story. The other thing that stands out is that we have been prescribed Nystatin. We've been using that for two years off an on. Lately she has been crying out that her body hurts just about every day. I'm noticing that it seems to be after she urinates. She also sometimes drips urine into her underwear but promises that she did wipe herself. Our story sounds a lot like yours. I am having her see my gynecologist again on Monday but will schedule an appointment with a urologist as soon as possible. Thank you so much for sharing.

I was do some research and came across this forum. I want to add that my 6 year old granddaughter was just diagnosed with e-coli bacteria in her vagina. It was said that she is not wiping correctly and is leaving fecal soil in her underwear and it is getting into her vagina. Hope this may help.

THE ANSWER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IS TO GIVE YOUR CHILD A GLASS OF WATER, THEN ADMINISTER CALPOL/PARACETAMOL, IT TAKES UP TO AN HOUR TO KICK IN. AFTER ADMINISTRATION, RUN THEM A BATH. DON'T USE ANY SOAP, JUST USE A TOWEL AND DAB THEM ALL OVER THE BODY AND USE THE TOWEL TO GENTLY CLEAN IN AND AROUND THE VAGINAL AREA. THEY SHOULD REMAIN IN THE BATH FOR UP TO HALF AN HOUR. YOUR CHILD SHOULD TELL YOU IF IT HAS STOPPED. THIS EFFECTIVELY LASTS UP TO 4-4 & A HALF HOURS. MY MUM IS A PRACTICE NURSE, I WAS FORTUNE TO HAVE HER ON THE PHONE AND GIVE ME INSTRUCTIONS WHEN IT HAPPENED TO ME, IT ALLOWED ME AND MY 5 YR OLD TO SLEEP. TOOK HER TO THE GP FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AFTER A THIRD BATH. HOPE THIS HELPS! X