I need help!

[girlygirl695.livejournal.com]

I've been experiencing itching inside and outside (around my labia and butt) for the last couple days. I have clear discharge and lots of little red bumps on my labia and one side is swollen. Could this be a yeast infection or an STD? About a month ago I was hooking up with a guy friend but the farthest was oral on each other. If I got an STD, would symptoms just now be showing up? I'm really scared and still a minor. I don't feel comfortable talking to my parents about this. My school has a free nurse practitioner that I plan to visit if the symptoms don't go away. If its a yeast infection any advice on clearing it up would be appreciated. Any advice is appreciated, I've been panicking since I found the bumps this morning.

Comments

[sweetchild92.livejournal.com]

I'm of the opinion that if you haven't treated a YI before, if possible you should get it checked out to make sure that's what it is.

Symptoms from STIs, if they do show up, really depend on the STI I think, and even then could vary between infected individuals.

For relief, if you have apple cider vinegar in the house, putting some into a bath can help relieve itching :)

[erickajane.livejournal.com]

It could be a yeast infection or it could simply be some irritation. Vaginal tissue is really sensitive, so any change in hygiene products or even new underwear could cause itchiness or swelling. Try not to scratch cause it'll just irritate it more, and you could accidentally cut yourself and make it worse. I'm obviously not a doctor but it doesn't sound like an STD, especially if you haven't noticed any irregular odor or funky discharge. My advice would be to avoid baths cause they can spread bacteria easier than showers, switch to some hypoallergenic, fragrance free shower gel (I like Aveeno Skin Relief shower gel, Gold Bond Sensitive shower gel, or Summer's Even Simply Sensitive.) I'd also pick up some Vagisil or something similar to help with relief. I know it's not any fun talking to parents about this stuff but if it doesn't get better or if it gets worse, I'd bring it up. Better to be safe than sorry. Good luck!

[archangelbeth]

It could be a yeast infection, yes -- mostly external, and causing issues. It could also be an allergic reaction.

It could also, unfortunately, be a case of oral herpes -- aka cold sores, which can be contagious even without a visible outbreak (uncommon, but possible) -- that jumped to your genitals. (HSV-1 is happiest at the mouth area, but is nearly as happy to jump to the genitals. HSV-2 prefers the genitals and only sometimes hops to the mouth.) The best way to tell would be to go get them swabbed immediately; the longer one waits, the more likely one would get a false negative (if that's what's happening).

Good luck!

[spazzy444.livejournal.com]

The way you are describing the bumps sounds a lot like a yeast diaper rash. My kids get swollen and a bunch of tiny bumps with a patchy redness rash. ETA: Have you been on antibiotics recently? New pads? Using pads/liners for an extended period? all of these can trigger YI in my experience. Try looking up pictures of diaper rashes and see if it looks similar.

You could just go to the store and buy some monistat and make sure you use it externally as well and see if it helps....but if its your first one I HIGHLY recommend seeing a doctor first. Also do not get the 1 day monistat if you are having external issues, it is just a pearl and not the cream you can spread all over.

Maybe I'm just old, but can you make yourself a doctor appointment (even your regular physician can diagnose) and perhaps let your mom know you have a rash you'd rather not show them (or tell your mom you had a bad reaction to your pads), or think you have a yeast infection if they need explaining? All of those are pretty innocuous, and if a kid told me that I wouldn't suspect anything more than face value.

I don't know much about STI's so I will leave that to others.