Girls, does your skin mark easily?

Try lightly scratching your skin e.g. inner arm and see what happens.

This is what my vulval dermatologist did, and when my arm came up very raised and red, she said this was very interesting. She said often this is the case in women with certain types of vulvodynia.

(Info from Wiki:)

Dermatographic urticaria (also known as dermographism, dermatographism or "skin writing") is a skin disorder seen in 4–5% of the world's population and is one of the most common types of urticaria,[1] in which the skin becomes raised and inflamed when stroked, scratched, rubbed, and sometimes even slapped.[2] It is most common in teenagers and young adults, ages 15-30.

The symptoms are thought to be caused by mast cells in the surface of the skin releasing histamines without the presence of antigens, due to the presence of a weak membrane surrounding the mast cells. The histamines released cause the skin to swell in the affected areas.

Dermatographia

Self-referential illustration of dermatographic urticaria
This weak membrane easily and rapidly breaks down under physical pressure causing an allergic-like reaction, in general a red weal (welt) to appear on the skin. It can often be confused with an allergic reaction to the object causing a scratch, when in fact it is the act of being scratched that causes a weal to appear. These weals are a subset of urticaria (hives) that appear within minutes, in some cases accompanied with itching. The first outbreak of urticaria can lead to others on body parts not directly stimulated, scraped, or scratched. In a normal case, the swelling will reduce itself with no treatment within 15–30 minutes, but, in extreme cases, itchy red weals may last anywhere from a few hours to days.

The underlying cause of dermographism is not known, and can last for many years without relief. Five percent of chronic cases are never solved. Increased incidence has been observed following prolonged exposure to microwaves.[3][4]The condition may subside and be effectively cured; however, it is often a life-long ailment. It is not a life-threatening disease and is not contagious.

Symptoms can be induced or worsened by periods of anxiety, physical stress, tight or abrasive clothing, watches, glasses, heat, cold,[5] or anything that causes stress to the skin.

She diagnosed me with UNPROVOKED and PROVOKED vestibulodynia and slight vaginismus (where vagina goes extremely tight and resists anything being inserted). She said because I have this demographic skin, it could be a contributing factor to my vulvodynia. I have burning pain around and very slightly inside the vulvodynia. So I have been having Aveeno oatmeal baths, washing gently with Aqueous & a flannel and wear nothing but stretchy black leggings and sleep in baggy PJs. The dermatologist scraped my arm lightly with the lid of a biro (I did wonder what the hell she was doing at first!) and about half a minute later it came up extremely red and took a few hours to wear off. I'm sure for most it would come up slightly red, but this was VERY red and inflamed. She said this may also be the case for my vagina even with very light pressure which is why she believes it is partially provoked. She recommended taking anti-histamines before sex and using lidocaine (although to be honest I'm not a big fan of lidocaine!).

Give it a go and see what happens as if you have the same result, it may be worth seeing a dermatologist too!

Nothing happened?

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/15246090050073657

In this study, they found 27% of their vulvodynia patients had dermatographism, and 83% had irritant contact dermatitis! You're definitely onto something, Belle

(FYI, in the paper, they treated dermatographism with oral antihistimines, and the contact dermatitis by figuring out the culprit and minimizing use of creams in the vulvar region, which they argue generally exacerbate symptoms).

Alana, that's good that means you don't have this 'demographic' skin. Most women actually don't

Yeah, that's what my dermo said alessandria !

Alessandria, that article says that no women in the study were treated with amitryptline, what does that mean? That's what I'm on now. T x

Amitriptyline is a great drug for VVS and neuropathic pain in a lot of cases, tinkerbelle, but it's one that generally people are a little afraid of prescribing unless it's absolutely necessary. It is one of the few wonder drugs for vulvodynia and does cure some patients, so the risk is by all means worth it in those cases. But, TCA poisoning is a terrifying event, and one I'm sure your doctor warned you about extensively. You are very unlikely to get it just taking your medication as prescribed, but if people accidentally or intentionally overdose, it's BAD news. So, they mean that they are just are aiming to shift patients from a high risk therapy to a low risk one.

Ah i see!... i'm weaning off it now, i was up at 75mg for about 3 weeks and got so emotional that me and gp both decided it probably wasn't going to work. May be worth giving lyrica a go next then ! x

Yes, I have dermographism, which is a type of mast cell disorder. (It's nothing to do with the word "demographic", by the way!) I'm on two antihistamines, a proton pump inhibitor and an H2 blocker for it, which is controlling the symptoms reasonably well. By which I mean that I am no longer prone to getting an allergic-type reaction and passing out as as result of merely standing up. I'm not sure if the treatment has helped the vulvodynia or not. Being in a good relationship, and specifically a good sexual relationship, seems to be the thing which has helped the most.

Oops, i was spelling it wrong lol :-) interesting how we both have it !!!

Takver, what is a proton pump inhibitor and an H2 blocker ??xxx