Health Conditions / Sexual and Reproductive Health / Herpes

If you’re currently dealing with a swollen vagina or vulva, it’s understandable to have questions—like, a lot of them. One biggie: How long does it usually take for that swelling to calm down?Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. “It really depends on what’s causing it,” Christine Greves, MD, an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, tells SELF. “It could be a day or a couple of weeks.” (For your sake, we’ll hope it’s the former.)Unfortunately, the answer might not always be obvious, as there are several issues that can cause a swollen vagina or vulva (including your labia and clitoris). Here’s a breakdown of what might be triggering the puffiness, plus when you need to see a doctor already.Let’s talk about vaginitis, the most likely reason you could have a swollen vagina or vulva.If you have swollen labia and it’s not going away, you probably want to check in with your doctor. While you wait to be seen, here’s what you should know: It’s not uncommon to deal with vaginal and vulvar inflammation in general for a whole bevy of reasons. This is known broadly as vaginitis, an umbrella term for various causes of inflammation or infection of the vagina and/or vulva, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).First, there’s noninfectious vaginitis, which is caused by dermatitis, the medical term for skin inflammation, per the Mayo Clinic.Dermatitis—specifically contact dermatitis—typically happens around your vulva or vaginal area when something irritates your skin or causes an allergic reaction.1 The specific irritant in question can vary based on your skin’s sensitivities. When it comes to the vulva and vagina, however, some of the main culprits include soaps, douches, and bubble bath products, Mary Rosser, MD, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, tells SELF. In addition to the swelling, you might notice itching, stinging or burning, or blisters.Here’s some general advice: It’s best to keep anything with fragrance away from your vulva and vagina, period. Yes, even soap, because it might bother the truly delicate skin of your genitals. You actually don’t need to clean your vulva with anything but water, but if you truly feel compelled, use the gentlest soap you can find and try to make sure none gets inside of you, where it can cause more irritation.That said, we’ll walk through some of the most common reasons your vagina and/or vulva might be swollen and irritated, including products you might not even be aware are a problem.Back to top1. Scented tampons or padsScented tampons and pads have mostly fallen out of favor over concerns that they introduce unnecessary fragrances to your vaginal area. But there are still plenty floating around out there disguised under the promise of being “odor blocking.”But Dr. Greves says you shouldn’t fall for this misleading (and stigmatizing) marketing. “You can swell up easily from a scented tampon or pad,” she notes.According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), you might experience irritant or contact dermatitis due to the fragrance in these products, which can lead to a rash, excessively dry skin that peels or cracks, tender skin, burning or stinging, hives, or even blisters in addition to swelling.What to know about treatment: This really depends on how bad your swelling is. For starters, Dr. Greves recommends that you stop using scented tampons and pads ASAP and see where that gets you. “Sometimes the swelling will go away quickly,” Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, tells SELF.When to see a doctor: If you’ve stopped using scented tampons or pads and your swelling is sticking around for more than a day, Dr. Greves says it’s time to see a doctor, who may prescribe a steroid cream to help resolve the situation. Ditto if you feel like your symptoms are getting worse.Back to top2. Scented laundry detergentLaundry detergent seems innocent enough, but it can definitely wreak havoc on the delicate skin of your vulva, including your labia and clitoris. It’s a similar situation to using a scented pad or harsh soap, some laundry detergents contain fragrances that can irritate your vulva, causing contact dermatitis, Dr. Streicher says.

“Cold sores are just a skin manifestation of the herpes virus,” Dr. Rodney adds. “There’s a stigma when people hear ‘herpes,’ and they think it’s terrible, but it’s usually caused by the HSV-1 virus. It’s so terribly common. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”Sometimes, people even ask for a swab test that tells them which type of herpes they have because they wonder how they got it, says Dr. Abdur-Rahman. But as he explains, “testing positive for type 2 just means the herpes is caused by the virus that usually causes genital herpes, it doesn’t mean that you didn’t get it from kissing someone.” People usually get cold sores through close contact, like kissing and oral sex, but herpes is not always sexually transmitted: Sharing eating utensils, razors, and towels can spread the virus as well, the Mayo Clinic notes.The distinction doesn’t matter much in the practical sense—wherever your herpes shows up is where it shows up, independent of which strain brought it about or how you got it. But it’s key to know that if you have herpes, you can give it to someone else through kissing or oral sex, no matter which strain you have. Cold sores are contagious, particularly if you’re currently going through a flare and have an oozing blister, according to the Mayo Clinic.What are common cold sore symptoms to be aware of?People can confuse a cold sore for a canker sore, an angry noncontagious lesion that isn’t linked with herpes, or an exceptionally painful pimple, at least in the beginning before the blister opens up. In general, per the Mayo Clinic, you can expect the following cold sore symptoms:Tingling, itching, burning around the lipsA small, hard painful spotSmall, fluid-filled blisters along the border of your lipsOozing and crusting“One key sign is that sometimes you may feel pain and tingling in the area before the cold sore actually appears,” Dr. Rodney says. Cold sores also tend to show up in the same spot or region every time. “If you usually get cold sores on your right upper lip, it will usually appear in that same spot again in the future,” Dr. Rodney says.Cold sore symptoms can be slightly different during the first outbreak, though. The AAD says this initial infection typically happens during childhood and can lead to the following symptoms in addition to the ones above:FeverHeadacheMuscle achesSwollen lymph nodesNauseaSore throatPain when swallowingWhy do some cold sores come out of nowhere?Here’s the weird thing about cold sores: You can be infected with HSV-1 or HSV-2 and not have visible symptoms for years. In fact, some people can have several cold sores a year or only one or two in their lifetime—it really just depends on your body.“I’ve had a lot of patients who wonder if their partner cheated on them because they suddenly developed a cold sore,” Dr. Rodney says. “But that’s not the case—they just had their first visible outbreak later in life.”That’s because the virus lies dormant in your skin’s nerve cells, only to rear its head when it’s triggered to do so. These recurrences can be set off by a slew of different things, like a viral infection or fever, hormonal changes, stress, fatigue, exposure to sunlight and wind, changes in your immune system, or a skin injury, the Mayo Clinic notes. So, if you have a cold sore, it likely won’t be visible forever.Can you have herpes with no symptoms at all?Most people with herpes have it without knowing it. About two thirds of the global population under age 50 has HSV-1, according to the World Health Organization, and around one in every six people in the U.S. between ages 14 and 49 has genital herpes, according to the CDC. In fact, because it’s so common, doctors often don’t even test for herpes in the usual STI workup.