Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Hi there Aunt Vadge,
Almost a week ago I noticed little white bumps on the inside of the top of my vaginal lips. Over the next couple of days they developed into more of circles, but were still white. Now, where the white bumps were, there are red flat spots that I want to call sores, but I can’t really tell.
There’s no itching and it seems to be slightly getting better, but I can’t tell. I couldn’t find anything online that matched. I should note I got a Brazilian wax two days before the bumps appeared, and had sex. I had an appointment to get it checked but my period started, so I had to reschedule.
Last time I went to the gyno, I was treated for chlamydia in June. My partner did stop using condoms, but these bumps didn’t appear until after my wax, my UTI got much worse, and my period started. I do tend to get yeast infections, and I think I’m getting one right now because of the antibiotics I’m on.
I also did a vaginal insert a little before the bumps appeared, to treat bacterial vaginosis. I haven’t made another appointment yet because the bumps started going away after I put ingrown hair serum on them. I’ll try to send a picture.
Thanks,
Spotty
Dear Spotty,
You’ve got a lot going on – UTIs, BV, yeast, antibiotics, vaginal inserts – but I want to pull one thing to the front of the queue: those white bumps that turned into red, sore-looking spots.
New bumps that blister or turn into sores, appearing after a wax and after unprotected sex, when you’ve had chlamydia before, are exactly the sort of thing that needs a proper look and swabs before you treat them with anything. They could be simple folliculitis or ingrown hairs from the wax, or something like molluscum, but sores also need genital herpes ruled out – and a standard STI screen doesn’t test for herpes unless you specifically ask, so mention it. Please rebook that appointment (a free sexual health clinic will do it, and quickly), and ask for swabs of the spots. That is the one part of this you shouldn’t keep putting off or self-treating.
And stop the ingrown hair serum. It isn’t made for the inner labia, which are delicate mucous membrane, and it should never go on them – it may be settling the bumps by accident, but it can just as easily irritate or mask something you need to see clearly. Keep it off.
Now the bigger picture, which is the real reason all these infections keep queuing up. Round after round of antibiotics knocks down your protective bacteria along with the disruptive ones, everywhere – gut, vagina and urethra all share the same microbial neighbourhood – which leaves very little to defend you, so the next infection takes hold easily. More antibiotics won’t break that cycle. Rebuilding your protective bacteria will.
What that looks like, practically:
- Find a refrigerated probiotic with a good dose of the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii – it works well against Candida and problem yeasts. Four a day, spread out, is a good amount.
- Ease off sugary and starchy foods while you’re on antibiotics and just after – some people find cutting back helps yeast settle, though the evidence for it is modest.
- Eat clean over the next few months: plenty of vegetables, lean protein, wholegrains, and three servings of different fermented foods every day.
- Mind your stress where you can. Cortisol (your stress hormone) reduces the glycogen your vaginal cells release, and that glycogen is the food your protective bacteria live on – so ongoing stress can leave them under-fed.
Think of it as feeding the microbes that keep you well: they want fibre, nutrients and water, and they do badly on packet, tin and freezer food. Cook where you can, keep it simple, and your infections should thin out over time – it’s a rebuild, not an overnight fix.
For the BV specifically, if it keeps coming back despite antibiotics it has tipped into the recurrent category, which is harder to shift because of the sticky bacterial biofilm. Our free how to treat BV guide and the BV page walk through the targeted approach and the science behind it, at no cost.
If you’d like a hand pulling it all together, a good naturopath, holistic nutritionist or herbalist can speed things up and reduce the in-between infections while you heal – helpful, but not essential, so no need to spend money you don’t have. A gentle vaginal probiotic insert is also fine to use meanwhile; if anything stings or reacts, stop.
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
Get those swabs done, then write anytime.
Warmest regards,
Aunt Vadge
