Vulval pain and discomfort — vulval pain syndromes

When doctors and the medical profession talk about vulval pain, they may not be talking about the symptoms of vaginal infections or vulval skin problems. What they may be talking about are two other conditions: vulval vestibulitis and dysaesthetic vulvodynia, collectively known as vulval pain syndromes. Women with vulval vestibulitis or dysaesthetic vulvodynia have vulval pain for which there is no easy explanation. No infection or skin problem can be found to explain their symptoms and a diagnosis is made as a result of excluding all other possible causes of vulval pain or discomfort. The degree of pain, rawness and stinging experienced is very individual but for many affected women it causes considerable problems in their daily lives and can make sex difficult or impossible.