A little stinging or burning can be normal at the start of vaginal (topical) treatments, and is safe, as long is it’s not severe or prolonged. You are the best judge of what’s tolerable and what’s not, so listen to your body. It usually makes things pretty clear!
Remember, burning itself is not dangerous, but it does indicate that the treatment is being applied to inflamed mucous membranes. There’s no need to rush in, sometimes these treatments are best used slowly and consistently.
When burning is severe or prolonged
If a Killing BV vaginal treatment burns a LOT, your vaginal mucosa may not be able to tolerate that particular treatment at that dose, at that moment, or you may be sensitive or allergic to one of the ingredients.
There are a couple of ways to tell if it’s safe to keep going with some modifications or if you should stop.
Do not try to push through severe burning, but if the sensation dissipates within five minutes, keep going. It should improve.
Signs of an allergic reaction
If you experience signs of an allergic reaction – swelling, heat, hives, rashes or redness or other effects, rinse the treatment out as fast as you can, and contact a doctor or nurse helpline for support. If these effects start to impact other areas of your body like breathing, please seek immediate medical support.
Remember you can always get in touch with us for help, if you have concerns about your treatment. These blends are ours, we use them in clinical practice at our specialist clinic, and we can help you!
Determine the level of burning
If you feel a little warmth, tingle and slight burning or stinging sensation when you first insert the capsule, this is normal and not dangerous.
If the burning is intolerable, first, see the instructions for rinsing out the blend below, and then see the tips below on how to work out what’s going on, so you can continue to use the blend in a modified way as needed.
Burning at the beginning tends to dissipate quickly and reduces every day as the blend starts to take effect on your vaginal microbiome and mucosa.
Make sure to shake the bottle vigorously before every use
The ingredients naturally separate, so it’s important to shake the blend well to combine the ingredients before every use. The sweet almond oil blends the herbal extracts and other ingredients together, however they naturally start to separate over time, some quicker than others.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON BOTTLE COLOUR!
Clear bottles are easy to see the contents of, but if your bottle is dark amber, you won’t be able to see. We use many bottle types for all blends, so you could end up with any coloured bottle.
No matter what, shake the bottle hard 10 times before every use!
If the blend is not combined, you may be only inserting the liquid herbal extracts, which aren’t designed to be in contact with the vagina without the oil.
Reduce the dose of blend to quarter of a capsule
You can reduce the amount of blend in each capsule to a quarter and see if it has the same impact.
You may just need a small adjustment period where your vaginal bacteria and mucosa settle down. You can increase the dose as your vaginal cells tolerate.
Dropping down the dose can help continue treatment while not stopping altogether. You may like to take a break for a day or two and ensure your vagina has settled down before trying again. Feel free to go slow – some vaginas need gentle coaxing, so listen to your body.
Use the treatment every other day
You can also use the quarter dose every second day instead of every day and spread the treatment out over a longer time. You can use vaginal probiotics on the off days if this is part of your treatment.
How to rinse out a treatment
If you find the blend is burning a lot and is causing significant discomfort that is not going away, rinse out any extra oil and the capsule with some warm water (syringe, turkey baster, douche).
Wait for your vagina to calm down before trying again.
If you are still experiencing burning
First, don’t panic. It will pass. Try to remove as much of the blend as you can to minimise the effect. If you need to, insert a benign oil like coconut oil or even olive oil to dilute the treatment and protect your mucosa.
If you feel burning no matter what you do, then this treatment is unfortunately not for you, so please fill in the support assessment, and we can work out a better path for you going forward.
Unfortuantely not all treatments are a good fit for all bodies, but we’ll help you find something better, don’t worry!
For expert, personalised support, please schedule a consultation with a My Vagina vulvovaginal specialist naturopath today.
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