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Hi there Aunt Vadge,
About 3 weeks ago I found a fissure in the crease of my labia minora. It doesn’t hurt unless I touch it or try to masturbate. Sometimes it itches. I’ve put some lotion on when it does and that seems to help. It’s small, maybe the length of a pinky nail, and slim. Just a sliver, like a paper cut.
But it’s been there for almost three weeks. I also have eczema. The dryness popped up again on my knuckles about a week ago. I haven’t had sex since May. It’s a little bit of a deeper pink than the rest of the skin.
Yours,
Creased
Age 20, Texas, USA
Hi there Creased,
Given your eczema and that fresh flare on your knuckles, this is very likely your skin and immune system acting up rather than a random injury. You haven’t had sex since May, so it isn’t a sex tear, and the fissure is really your vulva joining the party your skin is already throwing.
A single stubborn fissure in someone who already has eczema is, in the cases that reach me, far more often a skin condition settling in than an injury you can’t remember causing. That’s why I’d want it properly named rather than just soothed and left.
The likely suspects are the lichenoid and eczema-type conditions. Have a read of our pages on lichenoid conditions and contact dermatitis (eczema of the vulva). The one I especially want on your radar is lichen sclerosus – recurrent little splits and fissures in exactly this spot are one of its classic calling cards, and it’s far easier to manage caught early. Genital psoriasis is worth knowing about too, given your skin history.
The line in the sand is this: a fissure shouldn’t sit there unchanged for three weeks, turn up for no reason, or refuse to heal. If yours doesn’t clearly improve soon, get it looked at by a doctor, dermatologist or gynaecologist, ideally one who’ll actually examine it and can put a name to it. Catching these early keeps your vulva healthy and intact, so don’t file it under ‘wait and see’ forever.
While you’re waiting, there’s plenty you can do yourself, because eczema and the lichenoid conditions are inflammatory at heart and often settle with what you eat. Where I’d start:
- Cut wheat and dairy for two weeks and watch whether your fissure and your eczema change at all.
- If there’s no change, or only a small one, build on it: go for a full anti-inflammatory diet for three weeks, keeping the wheat out if those first two weeks helped even a little.
The internet is stuffed with anti-inflammatory recipes, so this is easy to run with. In short: ditch the sugary, fried, cheesy things and lean into vegetables, lean meat and seafood, wholegrains, legumes, and raw nuts and seeds. Do it for at least three weeks, and if things improve, make it your normal.
To soothe the fissure itself, a smear of coconut oil keeps it comfortable and lubricated (and has a mild antibacterial, antifungal action), and an oat bath calms itchy, irritated skin all over. Minor cuts and tears also heal well with a moisturising, vulva and vagina-friendly cuts cream.
Don’t leave it too long if it starts to bleed, weep, or simply won’t budge. And if you’d like a hand with the anti-inflammatory eating, going pesco-vegan, or other soothing herbs and applications, we’d be glad to help.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information and not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
