Down-stairs mix-up: potential ulcers

[obscurexgrey.livejournal.com]

My girlfriend has some pretty startling things going on in her nether-regions.

Two nights ago, she was complaining of faint blood that appeared on her toilet tissue. The next afternoon, she was soaking in the bathtub and informed me that she thought she felt a bunch of lumps in her vaginal opening. I went to look, honestly not really thinking there would be much, and the first thing I saw from a distance, when I parted her labia was what looked like a cut. I wasn't very surprised, because she has rather long nails, but she told me to feel further inside, and then I was surprised.

Not necessarily in her vagina, but very close to her opening, on her left side of her labia minora, and closer to her clitoris, on the right, were a number of what looked like sores. We went upstairs and I took a closer look, and they looked like scabs, when they are dampened for a period of time. The outer area was a red color, with a very white covering in the center.

Now, today, they are much darker, closer to a maroonish-black color, with the same whiteness- but they seem to be merging, on the lower part, closer to her opening. So, there is a big cluster of about five of those sores, just fusing together, apparently, with the whiteness starting to vanish, totally. She is complaining of soreness, stinging, and oozing, which doesn't surprise me.

We are attempting to arrange a referral to an urgent care facility, immediately, but the doctor doesn't seem to be responding. Worst-case, we're going to the ER.

Rambling aside, I found one picture of a vulvar-type ulcer, which seemed to fit closest with placement and shape, coloring aside. We aren't quite sure what to think of this as, even though we shouldn't really be self-diagnosing.

First thing that comes to mind is herpes or some sort of STD, which makes me feel guilty, for being her only sexual partner. However, I've been screened for a few things and came out clear, but a few isn't all, so, I'm worrying that I've given her something, unknowingly, which would mean that I've been toting it around for around five years.

In short:
Has anyone had any experiences with ulcers in this region?

Comments

[jersharocks.livejournal.com]

Google Hidradenitis Suppurativa. That may be what she's dealing with. That is a disease that I have and lesions/bumps in my vaginal area is how it appeared for me. They also can appear in other areas such as the armpits, back of the neck, thighs, under the breasts, and anywhere with clusters of sweat glands as it is a glandular disorder. If you have a weak stomach, DON'T look at the images. They can be quite disturbing.

[obscurexgrey.livejournal.com]

Would you mind telling me a little about it, personally?
I'm kind of girding myself for anything that might be.

[knittinggoddess.livejournal.com]

The wikipedia page doesn't have pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidradenitis_suppurativa

[jersharocks.livejournal.com]

Sorry I didn't get back with you until now. My life has been super-hectic lately. Anyways, I'm not really sure what you want to know but I'll just give a pretty brief overview. Basically it's a disorder/disease of the apocrine (sweat) glands. The disease usually presents itself sometime around puberty or slightly after but it can also be WAY after in the case of some ladies I've met. Basically what it does it cause a lump that fills with pus, oil, sweat and other icky stuff. The lump swells up and eventually bursts. That lump goes dormant until the disease decides to rear its ugly head again.

At stage 1 of the disease, you just get these bumps in random places. Sometimes they reappear in the same area and sometimes they move to a new area. At stage 2, the lumps start to cluster and typically also spread to a new area. They also start forming tracts that connect the bumps under the skin. At stage 3, these clusters are fully connected by sinus tracts. The lumps can either continue to spread or stay in the same area and worsen. This is a stage of the disease where the bumps can grow to very large sizes.

The bumps can appear just about anywhere. I've had them in my groin (outside, inside, and in my thigh area), waist, under my breasts, back of my neck and under my arms. Some areas are more frustrating/painful than others. If you have any questions about it, let me know.