Natural Management for Discomfort Associated with Vulvodynia

 

What is vulvodynia?

Vulvodynia is chronic pain of the vulva that lasts longer than three months. This pain has an unknown cause and is not related to any other diseases. Symptoms include burning, stinging, or irritation.

What causes vulvodynia?

The cause is unknown. There are many speculations. These include inflammation, nerve injury, hormone imbalance, muscle problems, and genetic factors. Anxiety, depression, and history of abuse may also contribute to the cause (1). Yet, none of them has good evidence.

After using NeuEve, many women with vulvodynia have reported relief. NeuEve delivers nutrients to the vaginal skin. The symptom reduction suggests that nutrient deficiency might play a role in vulvodynia.

How is vulvodynia diagnosed?

To diagnose vulvodynia, you need to rule out all other causes that contribute to pain (2). Your doctor may ask about your health history, where, and when, and how badly it hurts.

A cotton swab test is often used. The doctor places a moist, cotton-tipped swab on various parts of the vulva. Apply a light touch to identify the position and intensity of the pain. A pelvic exam may be performed to test pelvic floor muscles and identify other areas of pain.

Vulvodynia may be first diagnosed after experiencing pain associated with tampon use.

Aerobic vaginitis (AV) - may cause vulvodynia

Recently, due to the availability of NGS (next-generation sequencing) technology for microbiome testing, a large number of vulvodynia cases with previously unknown cases have been diagnosed as aerobic vaginitis (AV), especially those with severe discomfort symptoms. 

To determine if your vulvodynia is caused by AV, you can do a vaginal microbiome test. The cost for a test is about $120, but Juno Lab has offered our customers a discount code.

Once you get the lab test, we will be happy to help you analyze it and determine if your vulvodynia is caused by AV. 

What are the treatment options?

If your vulvodynia is caused by AV, you can clear AV simply with AV NIL to find relief. 

If the cause is unknown, treatments will focus on relieving symptoms. Current treatment options include:

Medications. Steroids, antidepressants, or anticonvulsants help lessen chronic pain. Antihistamines might reduce itching.

Biofeedback therapy. It helps reduce pain by relax pelvic muscles and control how the body responds to the symptoms.

Local anesthetics. Lidocaine ointment can provide temporary symptom relief. It can cause your partner to have temporary numbness after sexual contact.

Nerve blocks. Some women with pain do respond to other treatments. They may use local nerve block injections.

Pelvic floor therapy. Many women with vulvodynia have tension in the muscles of the pelvic floor. These muscles support the uterus, bladder, and bowel. Exercises to relax those muscles can help relieve vulvodynia pain.

Surgery. For localized vulvodynia, surgery can remove the affected skin and tissue. This relieves pain in some women.

None of these treatment options work well when used alone. A combination of many treatments is often used. Yet, the effect is still far from optimal.

NeuEve: A natural remedy for vulvodynia

Since its start 10 years ago, NeuEve has helped >100,000 women with painful sex to find relief. These include many women with severe vulvodynia. They have tried many other products without effect.

A. Vulvodynia in women who are not sexually active

If you are not sexually active, using NeuEve cream alone may work well.

Apply the NeuEve Cream a tiny bit (a dime size) daily on the external vulva. In the beginning, only apply a tiny bit, say 1/10 of a dime size or a light touch of a fingertip can avoid sensitivity. Only apply once a day at bedtime. After a few days, your tolerance will increase. You can increase the amount of the cream, but a dime size will be enough. Overapplication can cause burning due to the sensitive nature of the vulva tissue. If you are over 70 or your tissue is sensitive, please contact us to inquire about the “Sensitive Cream.” This product is suitable for older and sensitive women.

To make weak skin more resilient takes time. It may take 1-4 months depending on how severe your condition is.

B. Vulvodynia in women who are sexually active

If you are sexually active and painful sex is a major symptom, you may use a combination of two methods.

1. Topical nourishment

Without abundant collagen and elastin fibers, the vaginal skin tissue is weak. The weak skin lacks elasticity and is sensitive to pressure and stretches. An overstretch or press to the vulva can trigger persistent pain. These include unfit clothing, yoga exercise, bike riding, or sitting for a longer time.

Topical nourishment can enrich these fibers and strengthen the skin. It improves its durability and elasticity. It makes it more resistant to pressure and stretch. The process is like putting nutrient cream on the face to smooth wrinkles. It makes thin and fragile skin more elastic and resilient.

NeuEve products are for self-treatment of vaginal atrophy. They deliver skin-rejuvenating nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids (3). They promote the growth of collagen and elastin fibers in the thinned vaginal skin.

NeuEve has three levels of suppositories and one cream. You can start with the combination of a suppository and cream for a speedy recovery:

For the suppositories, you can start with level 1, Silk. Then, after 1-4 months, move up to level 2, Silver, and after another 1-4 months, move up to level 3, Gold. The time needed to move up depends on your age.

Insert a suppository into the vagina following instructions on the box.

2. Dilation exercise

While you are using NeuEve, you can do the dilation exercise to speed up the recovery. Dilation is another self-treatment method for vulvodynia.

You might have seen handicapped people sitting in a wheelchair with thin legs. Their leg muscles shrink after disusing. If one day they can stand up, they must do walking exercises to grow back their leg muscles. This means that exercise is important and useful.

Stretching the skin promotes its elasticity and durability. It promotes the synthesis of elastin and collagen. Dilation with a set of dilators can help strengthen weak skin. Dilators are not our products. You can find a set of dilators from this link www.neueve.com/dilators.


Magnetic dilators of VuvaTech

Once you are on the product webpage, you can click the yellow “Learn More” button. It will lead you to the VuvaTech website. We recommend magnetic dilators. Magnets in the dilator may help draw more blood flow to the target skin and help it to grow thicker.

You can start from a small-sized dilator. Do dilations twice a day (morning and evening) and 20 minutes each. After 1-2 weeks, you may move up a size. Once you move up to the largest size without pain, your skin will be strong enough. It will endure the stretch caused by sexual intercourse. You may no longer experience the pain of vulvodynia due to skin stretching.

Tips about using dilators:

1) Prevent overstretching injuries. It is understandable that one may wish to move up the sizes quickly or to try the largest sized dilator first to get a more rapid recovery. However, it may be counterproductive. Moving up the dilator sizes too quickly or skipping sizes can cause overstretching injuries. The recovery of vaginal atrophy is a slow process. Please do not skip the sizes and try the largest dilator first. Please be patient and do the exercise with a stepwise increment to avoid possible overstretching injuries.

2) Preventing UTI. Physically, dilation exercise is like sexual intercourse. The penetration movement can mobilize bacteria normally on the skin into the bladder to cause UTI. You will need to pee immediately after each exercise to prevent UTI. Urination can flush out any bacteria that entered the bladder during the dilation exercise. Therefore, drinking a lot of water before exercise helps build up the urinating flushing pressure and prevent UTI. If you are having issues with UTI, you may be interested in Corsaria.

 

Disclaimer: This article is for information only. It is about natural products, nutrients, and/or methods for managing discomforts (not diseases). It is not medical advice for the treatment of any diseases.

 


Customer reviews on NeuEve for vulvodynia relief

Barbara Stewart

VULVODYNIA HOPE FOR SUFFERERS

November 18, 2018

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU HAVE SUFFERED WITH VULVODYNIA!!!!!!

I have suffered for 5 years with this issue and to be to several doctors to find out what was wrong with me!!! I was finally diagnosed and put on all kinds of meds, but nothing helped, and some made it worse. I started to do some research and tried many homeopathic regimens and again nothing helped. I had spent hours and hours researching!!!!!

It was to the point that I could not even wear jeans as the pain was so bad. I stumbled upon NeuEve (I did not hold out much hope but was desperate to try almost anything). I followed the directions exactly how they recommend, and I also did the vitamins and the Mucinex and FINALLY after a month, I started to get relief!!!!!!!! I kept going throughout the whole program and I am now on the gold formula!!!!! IT IS A GOD SENT SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!

I feel almost totally normal with just a couple of burning spots, but it’s doesn’t bother me all the time. I can go weeks with forgetting that I even have it!!!!!!!!

I’m sure after another month I won’t feel anything anymore!!!!! I hope that anyone suffering from this horrible situation will try this and find the same relief I have.!!!!! If you decide to try it, be patient, and follow the directions exactly as they recommend!!!!!!

Hope this helps someone. I could not keep this to myself because I know the pain and frustration and hopelessness this condition can bring someone :)

 

Name withheld

The only product helped my vulvodynia.

January 28, 2017

I have reviewed it several times. I was so impaired by vulvodynia before I found it. Much more comfortable now. I must use it every 4 days rather than every 5, so it is expensive. I wish the inventor would reveal the ingredients. But no other product helped my problem at all.

Name withheld

January 9, 2016

This is the only product which helps my vulvodynia.

 

TAF

December 14, 2015

I have had vulvodynia for about seven years. I have tried so many things, from special diets to medicines to meditation, and spent thousands of dollars seeing various kinds of doctors, but nothing has really worked until I tried this. I'm just finishing my second month and, to be honest, I'm a total skeptic...I keep waiting to find out it's just a coincidence or something...but after just one treatment I was almost pain-free, and have remained so. The only time the pain returns in any significant way is when I forget to do a couple of treatments (I am pretty forgetful). I just ordered my third box of the Silk formula. If you suffer from vulvodynia or anything like it, I highly recommend you give this a try.

 

Neurotech

July 14, 2015

I have been using the Silk formula for about five months. I had post-menopausal vaginal dryness which was contributing to repeated UTI's. The dry atmosphere promoted bacterial growth. In addition, I had extreme vulvar pain (vulvodynia) and every remedy I tried felt as though I was applying acid. I was desperate after three rounds of antibiotics in four months and still had horrible burning pain.

My doctor prescribed hormone cream but I was reluctant to use it since there is a history of breast cancer in my family. While desperately searching online (sitting on a cold compress at the time) I came across NeuEve and ordered immediately, both the silk formula and the cream to start with. I experienced immediate relief, using the cream daily for about the first month and the suppositories twice weekly as directed. No more UTI's! Immediate relief and freedom from the burning!

I saw my GYN for the yearly checkup two weeks ago and he is very happy that the dryness has resolved. He thanked me for the information about NeuEve and said that he is pleased to have a safe alternative to the hormone cream to recommend to patients. I am just about to try the Silver formula.

I will never be without NeuEve! Dr. Chang is obviously very knowledgeable about this problem to have created such an effective treatment. I will be forever grateful that she did!


9 comments


  • Ieva

    Hello Brenda,
    Please see the link below for the sensitive cream for the vulva:
    https://www.neueve.com/collections/menopause/products/sensitive-cream

    If you need help ordering this product you can email us at help@neueve.com


  • Danielle Mercado

    I typed in vulvar pain. So many helpful testimonials here. I will go to my gynecologist right away. Thank you!


  • caroline lamunu

    kindly i need to try that NeuEve.Please send me the link


  • Brenda Scianna

    Morning. I am would like to order the sensitive cream for the vulva. Could you let me know how to do this please. I am very interested in purchasing. Thanks Brenda Scianna


Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


Related Posts

Dr. Renjie Chang

About the Author

Dr. Renjie Chang's medical and pharmaceutical experience:
- OB-GYN in the Peking Union Hospital in China
- a faculty member of OB-GYN at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- drug developer at the Abbott Laboratories in Chicago
- Founder of Lavax Inc, where she developed an innovative vaginal microbicide for preventing sexually transmitted disease with grants from NIH and Gates Foundation
- Founder of NeuEve, an all-natural women's health company