Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Dear Aunt Vadge,
I had sex with a male friend – we’ve messed around before, years ago. I thought I had a yeast infection because of the yoghurt-looking white stuff and an odour, so I started taking probiotic pills, eating yoghurt, taking a daily vitamin and using yeast infection cream.
The itching stopped, but the burning when I pee didn’t. When I checked with a mirror I found two very small cuts on the inside of my lips. Any way to speed up the healing? I already know it’s not an STD.
Yours,
All Cut Up
Hi All Cut Up,
Your vulva’s had a rough week – let’s work through what’s likely going on.
The odour is the detail that makes me want you checked rather than guessing. A yeast infection is usually not smelly, so if there’s a genuine bad smell, it points more towards bacterial vaginosis or another infection than yeast. Your probiotics, yoghurt and antifungal cream were a sensible response to a suspected yeast infection, and the itch settling suggests some of it was yeast – but the smell plus the ongoing burning says there may be more than one thing going on.
About ‘I know it’s not an STD’ – I’d gently not assume that. This came on after sex, and discharge, odour and burning are exactly how infections like chlamydia, gonorrhoea and trichomoniasis often show up, sometimes with nothing else to tip you off. A quick sexual health check settles it either way, it’s confidential and often free, and it’s far better than treating blind. Worth knowing, too: a standard STI screen doesn’t test for herpes unless you specifically ask.
The burning when you pee has two likely explanations: urine stinging those little raw cuts as it passes over them (that eases as the cuts heal), or a urinary tract infection. If it’s a UTI, it won’t usually clear on its own – drink plenty of water and, if the burning is deep, frequent or comes with urgency, see a doctor for a urine test.
For the cuts themselves: they heal fast once the area is calm. Wash with warm water only (no soap), leave them alone, and a plain emollient keeps the skin supple so it doesn’t catch. If the infection is properly cleared, they should close over within a few days.
To support your protective bacteria while things settle, keep up the fermented foods, and easing off sugar for a few days may help if yeast is part of the picture (the evidence for that is modest, but it doesn’t hurt). If the smell, discharge or burning is still there after you’ve been checked and treated, go back – a vulva that isn’t responding to the usual measures needs a proper look, and a comprehensive vaginal microbiome test can tell yeast, BV and other bugs apart.
It doesn’t sound serious, but it does need proper attention rather than guesswork.
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
Write anytime.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
