Vulvar Vestibulitis Causes and Treatments

What Is Vestibulitis?

Vestibulitis is a condition that causes discomfort and pain in the vaginal area. It is often times characterized as severe pain at the surrounding of the vaginal entrance (Vestibular).

The vestibular area is sensitive and contains:

  1. Bartholins glands that produce moisture in the vagina as its lubricant.
  2. The urethra, a pipe towards the bladder where the urine passes.
  3. Vestibular glands that also produce moisture for the vagina.

Vulvar Vestibulitis

Vulvar vestibulitis is distinguished by the redness or inflammation of the vestibule or a pain felt there but with no redness or swelling. Vestibule is the entrance to the vagina and urethra (tube leading towards the bladder).

Vulvar vestibulitis  happens to women in all ages. It occurs in sexually active women or those who never experienced sexual intercourse.

This also can be characterized as pain at the vaginal opening, tenderness at the vestibule or vestibular erythema. This is defined as irregular feeling at the vulvar entrance. This sensation maybe characterized by the following:

  1. A burning, “hot”, rawness, stinging, swelling, dryness and itching
  2. Tenderness
  3. Feeling of “being cut at the affected area”
  4. Frequency of urination
  5. Pain from contact with tight fitting clothes
  6. Severe pain to touch / attempted vaginal penetration
  7. Vaginismus, which is often disguised as vulvar vestibulitis
  8. Dyspareunia

Vulvar Vestibulitis Causes 

Primary causes of vulvar vestibulitis are the following:

  1. Inadequate hydration in the vulva
  2. Deficient lubrication
  3. Emotional stress
  4. Substance sensitivity or an allergic reaction to some substance
  5. Sexual practice
  6. Hormonal, environmental, mechanical, chemical and structural causes.

Addressing the causes cannot ensure the prevention of this condition. It is suggested that there may be some physiological causes like an increase of neural density in vulva or immunologic changes causing the pain.

It is suggested that vulvar vestibulitis is:

  1. The abnormal sensation (dysesthesia) is not a cause of this condition but a result.
  2. A provocation localized and associated with the body’s response to stress.
  3. This has many hypothetical causes that need to be investigated very carefully. This means that vulvar vestibulitis needs to be studied intensively to find the bottom of this condition.
  4. Only when the cause of this condition has been identified and the proper intervention has been implemented can there be an improvement in time.
  5. The appearance of this condition upsets one’s life leading to traumatic emotional predicament.
  6. Duration of diagnosis and treatment are subjective. A woman suffering from vulvar vestibulitis will go through a long journey.

Vulvar Vestibulitis Treatment

The numerous theories as to what causes vulvar vestibulitis are mostly inconclusive. The medical field offered several treatments that would prevent the condition from worsening. These Vulvar Vestibulitis Treatments include the following:

  1. Application of tropical medicines such as estrogen, cromolyn, capsaicin and lidocaine.
  2. Take anti-depressant medicines like imipramine, amoxapine, amitriptylin and clomiparemine.
  3. Go into therapy for cognitive behavior.
  4. Have a biofeedback.
  5. Undergo a vestibulectomy or laser surgery.
  6. Have a botox injection.

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