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Hi Aunt Vadge,
About 2–3 weeks ago I noticed tiny white spots on my clitoris (never before, not even with my one past yeast infection). I tried distilled water and chamomile topically; it cleared a bit after some scary peeling, then came back with white spots, peeling and a buildup I could wipe off.
Then white discharge that turned yellowish with small clumps, plus minor itching. My OBGYN did a pap – all negative – and a second opinion put me on metronidazole vaginal gel for 5 nights. But the discharge has only become SUPER clumpy and excessive.
No foul smell, no burning when I wee, and the clitoris spots/peeling have stopped – but the tissue at my vaginal opening has weakened and I now have a tear that burns terribly. I’m very sensitive to medicines. I also just found out from blood work that I’m severely malnourished after 3.5 years vegetarian/pescatarian, and I’ve started slowly reintroducing meat.
I know the gut and vagina go hand in hand. I just want my vagina back to normal.
Sincerely,
Mystified
Age 24, Florida, USA
Dear Mystified,
You’ve actually gathered all the clues – let’s connect them, because there’s a big one hiding in plain sight. Start with the metronidazole, which is the real tell. White, clumpy discharge, no smell, mild itch, that got dramatically worse on metronidazole? That points hard at yeast, not BV.
Metronidazole is an antibiotic – it treats BV, but it also wipes out the protective bacteria that keep yeast in check, so it makes yeast bloom, which is almost certainly why your clumps exploded after you started it. And a normal pap doesn’t rule yeast out; a pap isn’t a yeast test.
So stop assuming BV. A quick home pH strip helps – yeast sits at a normal pH, BV runs alkaline, and an overly acidic reading would point instead to cytolytic vaginosis (another ‘looks like yeast, treated oppositely’ possibility) – and ask specifically for a yeast or microbiome swab so you’re treating the actual organism.
But the malnutrition is the root, and you’ve already found it yourself. Severe nutrient depletion cripples both your immune defence (so pathogens invade easily and ‘mysterious’ infections take hold) and your tissue repair (so skin peels, tears at the opening, and heals painfully slowly).
Fixing your nutrition isn’t a side note – it’s the actual cure for the underlying vulnerability. So rebuild your flora with fresh, home-fermented milk kefir (the live kind, not shop-bought) daily, and you can use a little vaginally on a soaked tampon overnight, alongside other fermented foods, since treating the gut so often fixes the vagina.
Replenish the key nutrients too – a gentle, well-absorbed liquid iron with vitamin C alongside, plus zinc, magnesium and B vitamins; given how depleted and how medicine-sensitive you are, a naturopath or nutritionist will get the forms and timing right.
And get protein into every meal, a palm-sized serve – your body builds skin, immune cells and repair tissue from protein, so that directly mends the easily-tearing, slow-healing tissue (eggs, fish, poultry, plus beans, lentils, nuts and wholegrains).
For the burning tear right now: plain water only, a dab of plain oil to keep it supple, loose cotton, and rest from sex until it closes – it’ll heal much faster once your protein and zinc come back up. You’re not really mystified at all; you’ve diagnosed your own root cause.
Treat the right organism, feed your body back to strength, and your vagina will follow. If you’d like it mapped out properly, you can book with one of our practitioners.
Best,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information based on current research and our clinical experience, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
