Vaginal and anal tearing/fissures

[arrowsmom]

For the last 6 months I have been getting tearing (look like paper cuts) in my vaginal area (1/4 to 1/2 inch long). I get the tears at least once or twice a week and they last from 2-4 days, go away for a few days and then come back. They continue to occur in the same locations;
1. Inside the vaginal lips on the sides almost always in the crease (between the labia minora and majora?)
2. Between the anus and vaginal opening (perineum)
3. Above the clitoris in the "hood" area.

This tearing is not related to intercourse since my husband and I are unable to do that due to the pain it causes me.  There is no real pain otherwise. I am getting some minor bleeding when I poop due to the tears in the anal area. The entire vaginal area is very itchy and if I scratch or rub the skin at all I often give myself one of these tears.  It seems as if the skin is very thin. There are no other symptoms that I am aware of.

I have had blood work and a biopsy done. Some of the things that I was tested for were; genital herpes, lichen sclerosus, lichen simplex chronicus, lichen planus, vulvar vestibulitis.  All results came back negative. The biopsy tested positive for "healing ulcers". My doctor does not seem to know what the problem is and is contacting a specialist in Lebanon, NH.

My Dr. prescribed an estrogen cream which did not seem to work. I have not been on any other medication for this. I am looking for some guidance as to what this condition may be and how to treat it. My husband & I want to get pregnant soon but I would like to resolve this issue first. Please help.

[ggeorgiagirl]

I am 38 and in full blown menpause.  The tears didn't start until I began the HRT...it is horrible and painful.

My doctor said that it was occuring because of my excess weight :(  geesh!  Have any of your doctors said anything like that?

[Tinkabell77]

My dog just accidentally erased the book I just wrote so will post my story later but a couple of my favorite things.

After many trials and tribulations:
    
   1. Emu Oil love love love! I get it at Wholefoods. Feels good heals quick and my new favorite lube. Not sticky feels like silk and you can even eat it if you know what I saying.  
    Pure Emu Oil is a deep penetrating, anti-inflammatory, non-irritating, highly moisturizing, all natural nutritional supplement for your skin as well as an ingestible dietary supplement full of Omega 3, 6, 9 and many other bio-nutrients.
    Topical application of emu oil delivers these nutrients deep into the skin to support healthy new cell growth. Emu Oil does not leave the skin
feeling oily or greasy and does not clog pores - it allows the skin to breathe and heal. Burning and itching are instantly soothed. It is hypo-allergenic, giving it a low potential for irritating the skin.
   2.Beta-glucan oral capsules and cream:
Beta-glucan is primarily used to enhance the immune system and to lower cholesterol levels. Research indicates that beta-glucan is very effective at activating white blood cells known as macrophages and neutrophils, both of which provide the immune system's first lines of defense against foreign material in the body. A beta-glucan-activated macrophage or neutrophil can recognize and kill tumor cells, remove cellular debris resulting from oxidative damage, speed up recovery of damaged tissue, and further activate other components of the immune system.
   3.Pure Tea Tree Cream.
From Wholefoods or find online. Antibacterial and Anti-fungal
   4.Neem oil.
Stinks like hell but feels good on new lesions and fissures. Very Anti-fungal and Antibacterial.
   5.Amazing Diet
Great webpage and it only makes since even if its for eczema thats basically what we have in are vaginal areas.
               http://eczema-natural-healing.com/eczema-diet.html
   6.Siberian Ginseng
Helps physical and mental performance, withstand stress and boost immune functioning. Fights fatigue and protects against and helps u recover from illness.
In a laboratory study, a 6-month study of 93 people with herpes simplex virus type 2 (which generally causes genital herpes lesions) found that Siberian ginseng reduced frequency, severity, and duration of outbreaks.
Maintains health and strengthen the system rather than to treat particular disorders.
  
    7. If your immune system is low your symptoms will get worst. Stress will cause your immune system to weaken. So stay Calm. Breathe and be patient as should your partner. Forgot how much fun foreplay is.
   8.I havent tried it but my friend had Botox shots in her vaginal muscles and swears by it. I found someone that will do it cheap so I am on it! Since my mental anguish from so much past pain makes me so tense Im like a brick wall and have muscle spasms.

Risk factors vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) are human papilloma virus (HPV) and (HSV) infections and lichen sclerosus (LS). So if you have any of the symptoms go get Biopsy because it is known to cause cancer in that area if not taken care of.

[godsend]

Dear fellow sufferers,

I read these posts many months ago, in desperation after over 16 months of unrelenting discomfort of the vaginal opening.  And I finally now have been irritation free for over 7 months after finding the answer.  Well, this is the answer for me and perhaps many of you as well.  So please just try it, and forget about all those diagnoses by well meaning but clueless doctors who feel compelled to tell woman something, anything, as an answer to this problem.  Bottom line, after going through 2 different (male) gynecologist who gave me two different answers (vulvar vestibulitis, hormone imbalance, etc) I finally went to a female ob/gyn who then referred me to a dermatologist.  The dermatologist specializes in the vulvar skin (yes, there is such a doctor).  Quite simply he said, you have an allergic reaction, most probably to the lubricant you are using.  The reaction causes all kinds of inflammation that looks like cracks and bumps and white patches, etc.  He told me to use Alboline as a lubricant prior to intercourse.  UNBELIEVABLE.  It worked.  It was such a simple answer, after so much suffering and searching and wild diagnoses.  Please, try it.  You can buy it over the counter at any drugstore.  It was originally used for stage actors to remove makeup.....go figure...this dermatologist says it is by far the best personal lubricant to use because it has
virtually no chemicals like KY and all the others.  I had even ordered "all natural", chemical free, hypo-allergenic lubes that did no good.  Alboline!!  It saved my life and pocketbook.  (it was a very expensive 16 months with all the doctor visits and lab work.  PLEASE TRY IT.  My life, and sex life is now joyful again.  Good luck.

[Alchaea]

hi,
first of all : PROPOLIS, try it, natural and antifungal, antiviral properties::

I was reading through this forum for some answers for cuts in the vulval areas....because I recetly got that and my boyfriend has herpes simplex 2 so we've been cutting out sex for the last few days. We had some propolis at home and decided to try outting this on the affected areas....for me, being the cuts that were very sensitive. It hurt like hell, i mean my whole body shut down for 2 seconds. After reading a lot of posts here, and findinf that no one actually had found too many answers as to the cause for these tears, fissures, etc., I thought I should share the information I have found. both my bf and I did not know that propolis has been used to cure herpes before, we just kind of read the properties on the package and just followed our intuition and tried it. And it just happens to be very effective!!! Completely natural, here is a link with some more info on the properties of this simple liquid bees are providing:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-propolis.html

http://www.**********.***/files/Propolis%20Ointment%20for%20Genital%20Herpes.pdf

Hope this helps!

[chloex3]

I am 12, never had my period yet, but I have had discharge since i was about 9. Recently, the skin around my vagina has been somewhat, VERY sensitive.. I was going to the bathroom and was wiping, and before i know it, my skin around is tearing and bleeding! I wiped again and there are splotches of blood. It wasn't insanely bad bleeding, but it was ENOUGH for me to look it up. I don't know what's going on.. does this mean I'm starting soon? Should I see a doctor? Oh & i HAVE had a yeast infection before, but of course, i am NOT having sex, so i have no idea what's wrong.... I was told the problem was most likely too much sugar intake (when i went to doctor about yeast) ... But recently ive been eating very healthy and not much sugar.. But all the infection was, was my vagina was very very dry, it burned, itched, & etc. HELP :(

[Jazzhands]

Hello everyone,

I have been suffering from vaginal tearing for the last year. It made me feel horrible about myself, as if it was my fault or my lacking as a women. However, i've recently come through the other side and seem to be completely better, so i wanted to share my success with everyone who is suffering.

First though, although we are all suffering from the same symptoms, i don't think we necessarily share the same cause, (like how a cough or headache can be caused by many different things) which means my solution may not work for you.

So hears my story. A year ago i got a new boyfriend (before that i had the same partner for many years, with no pain during sex) and soon after we first had sex i got my first ever yeast infection. I took diflucan and it cleared up but within the next few weeks i started getting the tears after sex. Sex was moderately painful, but urination was horrible. I tried not having sex for weeks and they would clear up but as soon as i had sex again they would be back. It was impacting my relationship so badly. we both felt terrible. I thought it would never go away.

So i went and saw my dr. She prescribled a higher level birth conrtol (i was on alless and now am on marvalon). This helped improve the problem to the point where sex was a bit painful but there was no more blood or stinging when i peed. I waited 3 months to see a gynocologist and it was so dissapointing. She gave me a steroid cream which didn't help at all. While i was on the cream i got a really persistant yeast infection that wouldn't clear up. I went and saw her again and she said that she "thought" i "might" have hpv. I thought this very unlikely as i have had only two partners. I went and got a second opinion and it was infact a reaction to the cream. This new dr thought the yeast infections were the problem and that my partner and i may be infecting each other. I got tested for yeast twice, but it came back negative both times. However i think there must be some problem with that test as it seems a lot of us SHOULD be testing positive. (it is an unfortunate fact that womens health is a realtively new science, with no answers to many problems).

So i went to finlandia pharmacy (which is a natropathic pharmacy) and they helped me get on a candida clense (which is a yeast cleanse) This means no yeasts, alcohol, sugar or high calorie foods (like potatoes) for several weeks. I also ate lots of yougort and acidophillus tablets. It took awhile but this made a huge differenece in how i felt in my whole body. Also i started taking boric acid tablets (which my dr recommended for persistant yeast infections) even though i didn't have any obvious signs of yeast infection, just the tearing. I took them for three days (the pharmasist said i could take them for a week or even two) and i felt really acidic and like i had had enough of the boric acid. These tablets increase the acidity of the vagina which clears out the yeast. I also rubbed vitamen e oil on the area at night to help soothe it. And since then i've been cured!

So here's what i think happened: My new boyfriend was actually carrying the yeast in his system (which is actually fairly common although my first two drs acted like i was stupid for even suggesting it). The yeast was in my system causing irritation and yeast infections (even though it wasn't detectable through the testing). Changing my diet and increasing the acid level got rid of the yeast and the vitamen e oil helped heal the skin.

So there is hope. Never give up. My drs didn't help out much but by combining all of the information together i seem to have overcome this situation. I know its hard, but being honest with your partner, family and friends can really help.