TMI...but help anyway? :)

[Cutie Patootie]

So, for about the past 2 or 3 weeks I have been itchy.  It is not at all inside or near inside of my vagina, but my outer and inner labia.  My inner labia are swollen.  I don't really have more discharge than usual when I am pregnant and it doesn't really have a strong order. 

DTD, makes it way worse...the itchiness and major inner labia swelling.  Should I still be concerned about Bacterial Vaginosis?  Yeast?  What should I do since it is external and not internal?  It's starting to drive me nuts and I'm concerned with the effects, if any, on the baby. 

[Beverly]

I had something similar this most recent pregnancy and it was HORRIBLE!  I asked my midwife about it and she said I could use the OTC yeast medicine (the cream) and apply it to the itchy areas.  That did help some.

[Jayray]

I had this too early in pregnancy and it was diagnosed as yeast.  I got a prescription that had the yeast ointment and hydrocortosone mixed together--but the mw said I could have just bought them separately over the counter. 

[AnnieA]

Sounds like yeast. You can do a garlic suppository at night or mix a solution of apple cider vinegar with water in a peri bottle and rinse your outer labia with it throughout the day. You should also start taking probiotics if you aren't already. That can help get the yeast under control.

[kawa kamuri]

ditto on the yeast diagnosis. get better soon! 

Edited by kawa kamuri - 3/21/11 at 3:43pm

[SoonToBe]

Yup, sounds like yeast to me.

[Cutie Patootie]

Originally Posted by AnnieA 

Sounds like yeast. You can do a garlic suppository at night or mix a solution of apple cider vinegar with water in a peri bottle and rinse your outer labia with it throughout the day. You should also start taking probiotics if you aren't already. That can help get the yeast under control.

Thanks so much everybody.  I just started taking probiotics last week and it has helped some, but I haven't been consistent.  Does anyone know if I can take more than the dosage on the bottle...2 caps a day?

AnnieA, how much ACV to water?  Last night I did Tea Tree Oil and that really helped stop the itch for a long time.  The ACV sounds like it would do the trick throughout the day.

[Jayray]

You could also try coconut oil if you have that around.  It has antifungal properties and I use it when I feel like something is coming on or on it's way out.  

[AnnieA]

Originally Posted by Cutie Patootie 

Thanks so much everybody.  I just started taking probiotics last week and it has helped some, but I haven't been consistent.  Does anyone know if I can take more than the dosage on the bottle...2 caps a day?

AnnieA, how much ACV to water?  Last night I did Tea Tree Oil and that really helped stop the itch for a long time.  The ACV sounds like it would do the trick throughout the day.

I haven't personally done it because I was able to control my yeast with garlic and probiotics but from what I've seen online, you can do 2 TBSP mixed in 1 qt of water or put a cup of ACV in a bathtub full of water and sit in it.

As far as the probiotics, I take as much as I need until it starts to make my stomach upset. Right now, the bottle that I have says the maximum dosage is 3 caps a day but I'm taking 4. YMMV.

[DevaMajka]

Yep- same thing here with ds2, and it was yeast. You can also try grapefruit seed extract- that got rid of ds2's thrush, and has warded off YI's for me faster than otc creams.

[MayasMama88]

I just wanted to add that I had a similar issue a few months ago (but it had been going on for months). Horribly itchy labia and clitoris, but no strange discharge or anything. Went to my midwife (I wasn't pregnant, just nursing) and she did tests which found nothing abnormal. She suggested it was simply a hormonal imbalance due to breastfeeding, and she said I should use the Estrace that my old OBGYN prescribed to me. It definitely did clear things up!