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The Reproductive System and Its Disorders
Published in Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss, Understanding Medical Terms, 2020
Walter F. Stanaszek, Mary J. Stanaszek, Robert J. Holt, Steven Strauss
Inflammation of the vulva (vulvitis) has numerous causes, including mechanical and chemical irritation, urinary or fecal contamination, allergic reactions, infections, or simple hygienic neglect. Acute vulvitis presents with marked edema and erythema of the vulva and may cause pain so severe that the patient cannot sit or walk; chronic vulvitis, on the other hand, is less severe.
Miscellaneous conditions affecting the genitalia
Published in Shiv Shanker Pareek, The Pictorial Atlas of Common Genito-Urinary Medicine, 2018
Vulvitis is inflammation of the vulva in females, due to infection, irritation, allergic reaction or physical trauma. The area affected may include the labia (majora and minora), clitoris and urethral and vaginal openings. If the vaginal opening is involved, the condition may also be referred to as vulvovaginitis.
Genital hygiene
Published in Miranda A. Farage, Howard I. Maibach, The Vulva, 2017
Miranda A. Farage, Mario Bramante
Common sense dictates that establishing good hygiene habits is desirable and healthful, but research on the contribution of hygiene to premenarchal vulvovaginitis has produced mixed results. A case study of 54 patients, drawn from a North American population of low socioeconomic background, concluded that most noninfectious cases of vulvitis in young girls were caused by improper perineal hygiene (20). Only cases with visible inflammation and discharge were confirmed to be of infectious origin. Complaints of vulvitis with no infectious cause were judged to be hygiene related based either on clinical observation of stool or smegma or on the resolution of symptoms with improved hygiene and toilet practices.
Plasma cell vulvitis: a circuitous route to treatment efficacy
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2022
Plasma cell vulvitis [PCV] is an uncommonly reported benign condition of the vulva characterised by erythematous plaques composed of predominantly plasma cells. The plaques can cover any external vulvar surface but are typically seen over the introitus and labia minora (Virgili et al. 2015a). Commonly associated symptoms include pruritis, pain, burning, and dyspareunia. Conservative management has been effective in some patients and surgery has been used successfully in recalcitrant cases (Goldstein et al. 2005; Gurumurthy et al. 2010). The majority of guidance regarding treatment consists of case reports (Goldstein et al. 2005; Botros et al. 2006; Gurumurthy et al. 2010; Virgili et al. 2015a; 2015b) with minimal evidence comparing treatments for PCV. Currently no therapeutic pathways exist and there is no guidance for cessation of therapy.
Skin diseases of the vulva: inflammatory, erosive-ulcerating and apocrine gland diseases, zinc and vitamin deficiency, vulvodynia and vestibulodynia
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2018
Freja Lærke Sand, Simon Francis Thomsen
Plasma cell vulvitis or Zoon vulvitis is a chronic benign inflammatory condition of unknown aetiology (Davis et al. 1983; Yoganathan et al. 1994). The prevalence is unknown, but is likely to be underreported as it may mimic other diseases such as atrophic erythematous candidiasis, atrophic erosive lichen planus and mucous membrane pemhigoid. The majority of patients with plasma cell vulvitis are postmenopausal women, but a case study of a child has been published (Albers et al. 2000). Patients with plasma cell vulvitis experience pain and vulvar irritation, including dyspareunia. The clinical signs are characterised by a well-defined brick-red, glistering erythema and atrophy of the inner aspects of the labia minora and majora (Figure 7). The diagnosis depends on histopathological examination showing an atropic thin epithelium and a dense infiltrate of plasma cells in the upper dermis. As plasma cell vulvitis may imitate lichen planus, chronic candidiasis and mucous membrane pemphigoid histopathological examination is important to differentiate the four diseases.
Skin diseases of the vulva: eczematous diseases and contact urticaria
Published in Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2018
Freja Lærke Sand, Simon Francis Thomsen
The number of allergens implicated in allergic contact dermatitis of the anogenital area is extensive and identification of the one or several relevant allergens for the individual patient requires a dermatological evaluation with patch testing after a careful history is obtained (Table 3). Histopathology is not able to separate irritant from allergic eczema. Women sensitised to perfume may react with flare-up of the vulvar eczema due to contact with scented genital hygienic products or aftershave from their sexual partner leading to so-called connubial or consort vulvitis (Jensen et al. 2012). Although rare, the possibility of vulvitis elicited by systemic exposure to allergens (systemic allergic contact dermatitis) should also be borne in mind.