Something else? Ask Aunt Vadge – bottom left of your screen!
Dear Aunt Vadge,
I have a white, cottage-cheese-looking substance around my clitoral hood, including at the connection point of the clitoris. At first I thought it was just smegma, since I don’t have serious itching or abnormal discharge (my discharge is clear/white when fresh, yellowish as it dries).
Nothing hurts or burns when I pee. My main worry is a very small tear at the connection point – it hurts to touch and bleeds a little if I poke it. I had a similar tear about two weeks ago; it healed in 3–4 days.
That one appeared after I washed with unscented Dove soap and hot water, trying to clean off the ‘smegma’ (I usually don’t use soap). What is this, how do I treat it, and is it normal?
Sincerely,
Cheesy, USA
Dear Cheesy,
Two separate things are going on here, so let’s take them one at a time. First the tear. The little folds where the clitoral hood meets the labia are some of the most delicate tissue you have. And they split easily when irritated – and you’ve actually spotted the cause yourself: the soap.
Both tears followed an irritant (the Dove soap), and that delicate skin reacts badly to soap, dries out, and splits.
So the fix is mostly to stop irritating it: plain warm water only, no soap on the vulva at all, keep the area clean but don’t over-clean, leave the tear alone (no poking) so it can heal, and a tiny bit of plain emollient like coconut or olive oil keeps the folds supple so they don’t pinch or re-split as they heal.
The white stuff is most likely smegma – a normal, oily, white, protective substance that collects under the clitoral hood. It’s notoriously sticky and doesn’t rinse off easily, which fits your trouble washing it away. And the body sometimes makes more of it when there’s a bit of irritation or damage about, which would explain the timing.
But it’s worth not fully ruling out yeast: yeast loves the warm, tucked-away spot under the clitoral hood, you can have a ‘yeasty’ vulva without the classic vaginal symptoms, a cottage-cheese look is one of its signatures, and yeast also weakens the skin so it tears more easily – which could tie both your problems together.
The only way to know for sure is a test.
Because it’s happened twice in two weeks, it’s worth a proper look if it keeps up: a doctor or nurse (a free sexual health clinic is perfect) can tell smegma from yeast and rule out the less common causes of recurrent splitting, like clitoral adhesions or a skin condition such as lichen sclerosus – this kind of thing really needs eyes-on to diagnose, which is why a quick in-person check beats guessing.
For now, though, ditch the soap, be gentle, keep it supple, and let it heal; that alone may well sort it.
For soothing and healing minor cuts and tears, here’s how to deal with cuts and tears from fingering and rough sex.
Best,
Aunt Vadge
This is general information, not a substitute for personalised medical advice.
