What is chronic vulvar dystrophy

Many middle-aged women often experience severe itching in the vulva. Whether they are working during the day or sleeping at night, they will be affected by the itching in their lower body, causing varying degrees of trouble in their work and rest. Friends with this symptom will be diagnosed with chronic vulvar dystrophy after examination. Many patients are very confused about this. Below we will introduce in detail what chronic vulvar dystrophy is.

Chronic vulvar dystrophy often occurs in middle-aged or postmenopausal women. It first occurs on the inner and outer sides of the labia minora and the clitoris, and then extends to the inner side of the labia majora, showing grayish-white patches with keratinized, rough, and even cracked surfaces, accompanied by infiltration and hypertrophy, and severe itching.

For a long time, there has been severe itching of the vulva, accompanied by hypopigmentation and whitening of the skin and mucous membranes, and thickening and coarsening of the local skin, collectively known as "vulvar leukoplakia". However, there is no unified diagnostic standard. In 1975, the International Society for the Study of Vulva decided to cancel the name "vulvar leukoplakia" and renamed the disease "chronic vulvar dystrophy."

In fact, the exact cause of this disease is still unclear. Some people have conducted experiments in which they exchanged the diseased vulva skin with normal skin on the patient's thigh. After a period of time, they found that the transplanted skin turned normal, while the normal skin transplanted to the vulva turned into diseased skin again. Therefore, it is speculated that the neurovascular dysfunction deep in the vulva may lead to nutritional imbalance in the skin covering the surface. Studies have shown that tissues in various parts of the body rely on nerve regulation to ensure adequate blood supply so that they can absorb nutrients. If the nutrition supply is insufficient for a long time, it will inevitably lead to pathology. Vulvar malnutrition refers to local lesions and has no direct relationship with the overall nutritional status.

In fact, to put it bluntly, what is now called chronic vulvar dystrophy is the previous vulvar leukoplakia, but the name of the disease has been changed. Suffering from chronic vulvar malnutrition has a huge impact on life, so when women feel itching and discomfort in their lower body, they should seek timely treatment, which can reduce the discomfort caused by the disease and get a cure as soon as possible.