As many as 28% of women around the world suffer from vulvodynia. If you’re thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot,” you are correct. That’s almost a third of women suffering from vulvodynia, or 14% out of the total population globally. Now, if you’re thinking, “What on Earth is vulvodynia, and why haven’t I heard about it before if so many people are affected by it?”, those are also some valid questions. Before I get into the details of what exactly it is, I’d like to share a story to introduce vulvodynia to you. In the summer of 2012, a woman named Céline began to suffer from a prolonged vaginal yeast infection that would return over and over and over again. During this time, a burning pain developed in her vulva that grew increasingly worse. She tried numerous creams and pills for her yeast infection, but they didn’t help; if anything, they made it worse, and made the pain worse as well. It developed to the point where Céline …show more content…
Despite its high prevalence, not many people are aware of vulvodynia’s existence, and I hadn’t even heard its name practically until I started working in a research facility to study it. In short, vulvodynia is a poorly understood, common, chronic and debilitating pain condition that affects the vulvar area. There are two main types of vulvodynia: generalized, which exhibits a more diffuse pain throughout the pelvic area, and localized, which has the pain confined to the vulvar vestibule, a part of the vulva between the labia minora. The exact cause of the condition is unknown, but it likely involves multiple risk factors, including genetics, allergies or other sensitivities, a history of infection or injury, or an increased density of nerves in the vaginal area. Because it is not well understood, diagnosis of vulvodynia occurs by ruling out all other possible causes and with the pain happening for at least three months – a long time for someone who is actually suffering from