Had rigorous sex w/ husband last wk & my vulva was pretty sore & swollen afterward. A few days later, it was still very sore (had to blot instead of wiping), still swollen just around clitoral hood, very red/irritated, and I'd begun a yeasty discharge. So I used Monistat 1 three nights ago---haven't had a yeast infection in over 20yrs, BTW. Pkg says it takes 7 days to be totally cured, but while most of the redness/tenderness is now gone, my clitoral hood is actually MORE swollen & sore, and now itchy too.

I tried Vagisil xtra strength, but it burned so much I had to immediately wash it off. I've read that Monistat 1 is super-strong and sometimes makes things a little worse before they get better, but the only part that's still bad is the clitoral hood. It's swollen to about 3x its normal size (sticks out so far it rubs against my underwear, which causes more irritation), and it's totally red and raw. Yesterday I tried gently pulling it back and using a squirt bottle with Vagisil cleanser + water to rinse the inside, just to make sure there wasn't anything stuck in there causing the irritation, and while I felt a little better for maybe an hour after the wash the swelling and redness haven't gone down at all. I'm thinking the temporary relief may have just been from the cold water in the bottle.

I've searched all over online and can't find any info on this problem. I know it's not vulvodynia, because it's limited to the clitoral hood and the swelling/redness are obvious; I've read women with vulvodynia don't typically have any outer signs on the vulva. Also, I don't have any piercings, don't douche, don't wax that area & have already elimated soaps w/ sodium laurel sulfate & perfumes. Husband & I do use Kama Sutra products sometimes, but I've never had a problem with them before. I'd GREATLY appreciate any advice/help.

Okay, it seems that this is what happened. Abrasions from the rigorous intercourse led to the swelling and yeast infection. Medicine I used for the yeast infection was very strong and led to further irritation and swelling, though it's working great for the yeast problem. Only trick is, how to keep that medicine off my outer vulva area, and the answer is Burt's Bee's Baby Bee diaper ointment. It creates a barrier that prevents the yeast medication from touching those swollen, tender areas. In two days of use, I'm already seeing significant reduction in swelling, redness, and tenderness. Also, the ointment is the first thing I've been able to apply to the area without extreme, stinging pain. Probably any diaper ointment will do, they all work basically the same way.

Hope to be fully cured in another couple of days.