My 8 Year Old Daughter Has Feminine Itching

My daughter will get a red rash front and back from dairy. So I agree with the option of seeing a nutritionist or at the least perform an elimination diet. When she was going through the worst of it, we did plain water baths, used simple castile soap, and ALL Clear detergent.

As with Margie G sitting in a warm to cool not hot bath of plain water for about 10 minutes usually cures that ailment around here. We were also told to use Dove unscented soap for all washing everywhere. Also to rinse really really well.

If it was really bad Dr. Smith's diaper paste put on before bed would fix it.

And you are right it could be habit or constantly irritated skin from the habit of itching.

Good luck.

If my Dr. suggested going to a dermatologist, then that would be my next step along with an appointment with an allergist.

Of course she does not want to keep going to the Dr. but remind her of cause and effect. The Dr. will eventually figure something out to help her.

I can't imagine how frustrating this is.

I agree that masturbation is a possible factor (not necessarily total cause).

Please DO NOT follow the suggestion to use baby powder. Powder contributes to yeast growth. Our pediatrician said not to use it on our son. There are ongoing studies about whether there's an increase connection with cancer in women - there's a lot of debate and it's hard to test because people don't always remember how much they used talc products, but you should perhaps withhold powder use until they know more.

I wonder if baths might help every so often, to get her really clean? I understand about no bubble bath etc. but plain water? Can she "air dry" after a bath/shower? No underwear, no towels? Can you wash her clothes in just water, no detergent? Wouldn't that get them very clean without adding anything else to the water? Or put vinegar in the rinse?

A dermatologist is probably a good idea. I am really shocked that this has not come up in 2 years. I also think the progress has been very slow - no child should be this miserable for 2 years.

Make sure you're not using "unscented" products, but "fragrance free". An unscented product can have a fragrance added to it for the purpose of masking the fragrance.

We've had good results with Salcura products (available online at their website - this isn't a promotion, I don't sell it or anything, it's just we've tried 7 million things for all kinds of itching for my dd and Salcura has been helpful where others haven't).

Also, consult an allergist. A dermatologist is a good start, but my daughter was immediately referred by a dermatologist to an allergist. You can try eliminating certain foods like dairy, or wheat, or corn, but only do one at a time, with a nutritionist's guidance. Allergies don't always manifest themselves in hives or swelling. They can produce itching, and some areas are just more sensitive than others. Turns out my daughter is allergic to something that causes eczema and itching, which we never would have guessed (a rare allergy).

You mention that she seems to have a habit of itching or scratching. Is she using a lot of hand sanitizers? They can be very harsh, and if she uses hand sanitizers with alcohol, which are very drying, and then scratches her bottom, she can be experiencing very dry skin there. Lose the hand sanitizers. Just have her wash her hands with a non-anti-bacterial soap and water.

Make sure she isn't consuming artificial sweeteners or lots of sugary foods. Clean whole non-processed foods only.

Good luck. We've been fighting the itching battle (only it's all over) for a long time. It's frustrating, I know.

This may sound totally wacky, but have you taken her to a nutritionist? My husband is sensitive to gluten...he doesn't have an outright allergy, but a sensitivity. When he consumes gluten over a certain level, he just gets an all over body itch. There are certain foods which have been found to produce more of an allergy like reaction: gluten, corn, dairy. You could see a certified nutritionist to have your daughter placed on an "elimination" diet. Secondly, what kind of underwear does she wear? I can only wear all cotton underwear. And, when I sweat (which in this weather seems to be quite a lot), I have to chance my underwear when it gets moist from sweating. Thirdly, how does she wipe? If she wipes from back to front, she may be moving fecal matter forward. Finally, does she eat any yogurt with live cultures? When I find that that area of my body is "off" adding a daily yogurt helps me. I'm not a physician, but just a few ideas.

I was told the opposite. To have baths. So that's what we do around here. Works.

My kids have sensitive skin and allergies, so we do (plain) Dove soap. That was ok'd by allergist, dermatologist, and our doctor. And we use to clean - everywhere.

If we have an issue here, which is rare, I just have them sit in a tub for 10 minutes.

We use something called Penaten Cream. It's a thick white paste. Our family used it for irritations any where growing up and it works well. Comes in a little blue tin.

We use the Tide Free (unscented, undyed) detergent - as instructed by dermatologist.

One thing is to rinse really well. I started letting them wash themselves around your daughter's age, and the rinsing was not happening. Any kind of soap (even sensitive) will itch if not rinsed properly.

If it's chronic though - have you tried cutting out juice? We have a friend whose little girls get itching front/back if she drinks juice. Once I heard that, I heard of another little girl with same problem. My kids don't drink a lot of juice (mostly water). Maybe up the water too.

Hope you find a solution soon for your little one

She needs to see a dermatologist who will test her skin with patches to see if she is allergic or sensitive to all sorts of chemicals. They will put adhesive patches on her for 3 days and see what happens / if there are any reactions. He will also give her something to soothe the itch.

How hot do you wash her undies?

A few drops of olive oil or coconut oil sometimes helps to calm down the itch and it is antiseptic.

I agree, go see a dermatologist. I wonder if an allergist is also something to consider, she could be allergic to something, like a material in her clothing, or something she drinks, that causes irritation and itching whenever she pees. I was going to say pinworm, but you said they already treated her for that. I see you mention that she doesn't wash her bottom with soap. Perhaps that is the issue? I've never heard of someone not washing their bottom, maybe some fecal matter is getting in her crotch and causing the itching and if she's not washing down there, then how is she getting rid of that? Have you tried baby powder? On the rare occasion that my daughter feels itchy, she says the baby powder gives her relief. I wonder if it could also be an anxiety issue. Some people scratch their scalp until it bleeds, or they scratch a spot on their arm raw. Maybe she's scratching down there in situations of stress?

I don't know what others will suggest, and I don't know if the doctor commented on the following possibility. It could be that she rubs herself and causes the skin irritation. Children do masturbate. Then irritated skin causes scratching.

I don't know if this helps or not. You could talk to the doctor about it.

I have heard of something and I'll try to reiterate what "I" got out of the articles I was reading.

It had to do with the skin in this area. The nerves had been damaged or something and that area felt like it was burning all the time. The woman who was dealing with this said it felt like ants were stinging her all the time.

I don't know what the outcome was but nerve damage is real and can feel horrible. If the docs aren't finding anything wrong then it might be something below the skin, in the nerves. I don't know if a caine product to numb the area would be beneficial to see if the itching stops. If it doesn't then I would assume her scratching is a habit that needs to be broken. You're sure she's not masturbating in a roundabout way? Little ones fell that urge and they don't really know what to do about it. So they rub, hump toys, slike on someone knees or in their lap, and other things that stimulate that area.

If it's actual itching, and only itching, then numbing that area would make it go away and she wouldn't scratch anymore. Then you would know it's in the skin. That's my point.

If it's habit then numbing the area would have no change. If it's an actual skin issue then it would be numb and not bother her. A couple of days would be needed to assess if she forgets about the itch though. I'm sure if I itched down there I would do it out of habit for at least a day or two before I forgot about it.