What Causes Irritation And White Spots In The Vaginal Area?

Posted on Sat, 4 Jul 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 4 Jul 2015 Answered on

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I am a 46 year old female and two years ago I started getting irritation in my genital area. The doctors haven't been able to figure it out because it all looked normal and blood work was normal. All the sudden this weekend I noticed this weekend the area is turning a very pale color almost white. What could this mean? Should I be really concerned?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
lichen sclerosus

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
There is a condition called lichen sclerosus that can cause irritation and white spots in the vaginal area. It can occur anywhere but is most common in the genital areas. You may have just started having symptoms before the white patches showed up making it hard to diagnose. It is usually treated with topical steroids but there are other treatments as well. This is best treated by a gynecologist.
Here is a site where you can rad more about lichen sclerosus.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lichen-sclerosus/basics/definition/con-0000

Please let me know if you have further questions.
Dr. Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar