QuestionIm 19, no children, and my last period started November 6th. Im not taking any birth control at the moment, and I've had sex twice in the past week but not 3 weeks before that. About two weeks ago, my vagina got swollen and it felt like someone was pinching me to the point that i was icing myself everynight for 3 nights before the swelling went away. Then I got a white discharge that my mother said was probably a yeast infection, so i used yeast infection medicine, the homeopathic pills that you insert once a day for a week. Then on the 6th I got my period, which was short but other than that pretty normal. Now my period has been gone for two days and today I noticed that I have patches of dry skin peeling off around my vagina and i am not sure what to do, I am at school and out of state where my regular doctor is. Should I be concerned?
AnswerA white cheesy discharge with a swollen vulva can, indeed, be a yeast infection. If the over-the-counter cream helped, and the discharge went away, don't worry about it. If you had a normal period, don't worry. If the skin of your vagina is peeling, it may be prudent to show it to the gynecologist at school or to a dermatologist. First try sitz baths (plain warm water) and see if it desquamates on its own). It may be nothing or it may be some exzema-like skin infection. I doubt that it is a sexually transmitted illness, but if you had unprotected sex twice in the past week and are not using birth control, you should, at least, check it out with the doctor.
