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Good Afternoon, My Sister Is Nervous About A Personal Issue
Question: Good Afternoon, My sister is nervous about a personal issue she is having with her vagina, every few months she gets these tiny blisters on only her left side of her clitoral hood and she was tested for STD but she was cleared but it doesn’t spread... it almost looks like a boil... Is that possible and why always in the same spot??
Brief Answer:
If they are painful then herpes should be a consideration
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the question and I am happy to help.
I understand that this can be a concerning issue. If a patient described small painful blisters that occurred as you described, my first inclination would be to state that this is most likely related to herpes.
The herpes virus is very common. It causes cold sores on the mouth that tend to occur at the junction of skin and mucous membranes (that is why they occur right on the edge of the lip in most cases). They tend towards the same locations in the vaginal area - where normal skin meets non-hair bearing skin. It also tends to occur on one side or the other and in the same location. This is why I will say that this is the most likely explanation.
The best way to make this diagnosis is with a herpes culture taken from the fluid inside of a tiny blister. While she may have had STD testing, it would not necessarily have included this culture. If the culture is not possible, then a blood test can be performed to evaluate for 'antibodies' to the herpes virus. The benefit of this test is that if it is negative, then it is not herpes.
Finally, it would not be unreasonable to try a course of suppressive antiviral therapy. For example, placing a patient on Valtrex 500mg daily for a few months should prevent occurrences and would help to sort out whether this was the cause of the blisters.
I hope that this helps and good luck!
Dr. Tim
If they are painful then herpes should be a consideration
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the question and I am happy to help.
I understand that this can be a concerning issue. If a patient described small painful blisters that occurred as you described, my first inclination would be to state that this is most likely related to herpes.
The herpes virus is very common. It causes cold sores on the mouth that tend to occur at the junction of skin and mucous membranes (that is why they occur right on the edge of the lip in most cases). They tend towards the same locations in the vaginal area - where normal skin meets non-hair bearing skin. It also tends to occur on one side or the other and in the same location. This is why I will say that this is the most likely explanation.
The best way to make this diagnosis is with a herpes culture taken from the fluid inside of a tiny blister. While she may have had STD testing, it would not necessarily have included this culture. If the culture is not possible, then a blood test can be performed to evaluate for 'antibodies' to the herpes virus. The benefit of this test is that if it is negative, then it is not herpes.
Finally, it would not be unreasonable to try a course of suppressive antiviral therapy. For example, placing a patient on Valtrex 500mg daily for a few months should prevent occurrences and would help to sort out whether this was the cause of the blisters.
I hope that this helps and good luck!
Dr. Tim
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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