24F, chronic itching and irritation
Hello! I’m not diagnosed and am trying hard to get in with a gynecologist, dermatologist, ANYONE. Unfortunately, it’s slim pickings where I live and the wait is long. I started hormonal birth control back in 2020 and sometime that year, I started experiencing on/off intense itching that came and went. There was never really any weird/foul-smelling discharge. I made an appointment with my PCP at the time but symptoms went away on their own so I cancelled. Throughout college, there were times where the itching came back and my vulvar area felt irritated but it was always pretty manageable.
In June 2024, I started experiencing bleeding during sex. I made an appointment at planned parenthood to get a Pap smear and I discussed these symptoms with the provider but of course at the time, there were no visible symptoms. The swap came back clean and I tested negative for yeast infection and a UTI. She told me that I had cervical ectropion which is sometime caused by long term use of hormonal birth control. Funnily enough, after that appointment, I never really experienced bleeding during sex again.
In April 2025, I went off hormonal birth control. I can remember different points throughout the years where I had intense itching but again it always went away for awhile. Flash forward to today, I’ve had about 2-3 months of intense itching and ongoing irritation. My partner and I took a look at my hooha and noticed that the skin on either side of my labia looks discolored (reddish brown?) and a bit textured, almost how the skin of a knuckle looks. There are no visible warts, ulcers, bumps, or white patches. There’s a feeling of skin tearing and tightness and when I was showering I could feel the sting of water on teensy cuts in the area where my skin is irritated, especially around the perineum. The itch starts subtly but the minute I rub or scratch, it unlocks a world of hell.
It’s extremely difficult to find care in my area. I made an appointment in August for a PCP and it’s still not until June. My last blood work was in July 2025 and was normal. Another thing maybe worth mentioning is I have a diagnosed anal fissure (had a clean colonoscopy in February just to be safe). I’m frustated, scared, and very uncomfortable. Sex is pretty much off the table lately. A few things that I’m thinking of are: lichen simplex vs lichen sclerosus? genital psoriasis? (probably unlikely since I don’t have symptoms anywhere else) contact dermatitis? (would this cause discolored skin?)
I’m also scared that there’s something horribly wrong with me because it’s been going on so long. Just looking for some words of advice while I wait to be seen by a doctor :(