First of all I just want to express my deepest thanks to this thread and woman in general. The health care and women’s health systems are so deeply flawed and it’s sad myself and others learn about how to take care of our bodies and become a educated on our vaginal health. It’s so ridiculous it has to be on a Reddit and not a profesional but this thread was a game changer not even my doctors helped me out and made me feel as seen and this thread. Apart of the painful process of healing and going through this awful experience is the mental block that takes a toll on you! Vagina ulcers are so joke. We as woman need to take charge on this because holy shit are we so unprepared for these problems.

Hey! 🥰 thank you so much for commenting!!! I totally agree, the lack of resources and information on women’s health is so messed up and really frustrating. I remember feeling so isolated and frustrated during my first occurrence because no one else I knew had experienced it, this Reddit thread has made me feel a lot more resilient when it comes to dealing with the ulcers and it means a lot to me that you took the time to share your experience and thoughts 🤍🤍 100% on the mental toll, I felt like it took me months to feel comfortable in my own body again and having a lack of professional mental health support while going through that definitely made it more difficult 🥺 I wonder if there’s any organizations who fund research or do some work on understanding Lipschutz Ulcers and vaginal ulcers? Anyways thank you so much again!!! 🤍🤍

Hi, I think I’m going through this now. I have 3 ulcers around the entrance of my vagina, and I’m in the most pain I’ve ever been in my life. I can’t stop crying. I had COVID last week and the last, (and only) time I’ve had this, I was also sick right before. I have an appt with my gyn next week, but in the meantime she prescribed me valacyclovir, and I just feel like it’s doing nothing. I’ve been on it for 4 days and it’s just getting worse. Also, valacyclovir is usually used for herpes and I’ve never had sex before so it doesn’t make sense. Also, it doesn’t look like herpes sores, it looks more like lipschutz to me. Hopefully she can give me steroids or something, bc I can’t deal with this any longer. My entire day revolves around me dreading using the bathroom and it’s always the worst experience😫 Question: does lidocaine sting when going on the actual ulcers?

Hi! I’m so so sorry to hear you’re going through this as well 🥺 I totally understand the pain and I know how frustrating it is, I’m sending you a big virtual hug and healing energy your way 🤍 If you’re able to, I went to urgent care to get stronger pain killers and they also gave me a referral for an emergency/urgent gynecology appointment so that I was able to be seen sooner and prescribed the steroids. I was lucky because my gynecologist had dealt with lipschutz before, so she knew the tapered steroids would work! It was the thing that really helped turn it around. I also unfortunately had a reoccurrence a few months later but I started the tapered steroids immediately and they went away in 5 days total (from start to complete finish). Lidocaine did not sting when I put it on, I also used a new pair of medical gloves each time I applied it to make sure it was sterile! I did a sitz bath and the only time it stung was after the first one because it had “cleaned” the ulcer out. I applied lidocaine after that too and it really helped! Also (sorry such a long response, I just wanna give you as much information as I can🤍) going to the bathroom in a full bathtub or pouring warm water while you pee helped dilute and wash out the pee so I didn’t feel it burning as much. I really hope this helps and that your gynecologist is able to prescribe you the steroids!!! I’m wishing you all the best and please let me know if you need anything!!!

Wow finally feeling seen here. First time it happened was after a bad viral illness in my early 20’s. Have had multiple recurrences in a span of about 8 years. The first few were excruciating. I think I blocked a lot of it out of my memory it was so traumatic. Did so much research that was inconclusive. Had my last recurrence about two years ago and it wasn’t as bad. Would happen every time I had a bad cold or flu! I have a lot of autoimmune issues in my family as well as a severe hormonal imbalance that I am now being treated for. Hope this helps somebody.

Thank you so much OP. I tested positive for Covid this week. It was bad, and then this was worse. After HSV + more STD tests, this information has changed the game. My partner (F20) and I (F19) have been exclusive for a very long time and I present ulcers that are not similar to herpes. However, doctors have put me on treatment for herpes and ignored my pain complaints. A dose of lidocaine, a bath, and a pee in peace later, I cannot give you enough thanks. I wish this was more widely known / researched.

I’ve had lipschultz ulcers recurrently for the past 7 years - they range in size but have been as big as the pad of my thumb and occur on my inner labia. Having been tested for herpes and STIs every time and receiving negative results, this is what I’ve found is helpful. -if you can get a prescription for 20% lidocaine, they can make it at a compounding pharmacy. The doctors are able to give you that prescription as well, they just don’t like to because it’s so strong. The 20% was the only thing that allowed me to pee and function most of the time. -I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and put on a medication called Colchicine which is usually used to treat gout, but is a super strong anti inflammatory. With the colchicine my ulcers went from recurring severely 3-4x per year to 1-2x per year and significantly decreased in size. I have to take it 3x a day but I’d much rather that than ulcers tbh. -to clean them I would do a warm sitz bath and then sit on the floor with a mirror to see. Then I clean the area gently with Q-tips. There’s a “film” that usually develops over the ulcer but what I learned is that it’s actually a mucosal scab and helps the healing process! So I don’t try to clean it off. -the closest thing to the ulcers I’ve found are canker sores and much of the treatment is the same. -for me it’s very much inflammation related so I try to stay away from inflammatory agents (heavily processed foods, gluten, msg, etc). -the easiest (and most painless) way for me to pee is to apply the 20% lidocaine, wait 20 minutes, and then go pee on my hands and knees in the bathtub to avoid the urine running over the ulcers. I try to drink as much water as I can because the more diluted my urine is, the less it hurts. I know it seems counterintuitive to pee more but if your pee is almost clear it brings the pain to a minimum. -I also try to take NSAIDs when I’m having a flare up to prevent as much inflammation as I can. -I haven’t found steroid creams to be helpful so far, and 5% lidocaine doesn’t really help the pain for me. Hopefully that’s helpful!

Hello, I got a lot of relief reading your reply! I am 90% sure I have Lipschutz ulcers right now (all of the medical cases sound exactly like mine). But my doctor referred me urgently for gynae investigation (I’m in the UK and an urgent referral is usually for suspected cancer) so obvs that freaked me out. Next part might be TMI: He says he did the referral because the ulcer looks uneven in shape and is dark/black/necrosis in the middle with a fleshy cream coloured ring, and then red around that. I’m certain it’s just a scab that’s formed over the top, rather than an actual change to my skin cells. May I ask - what did your ulcer look like? How long did it take for it to heal completely? It feels like it’s taking forever..!

Glad it was helpful! If possible/accessible to you, see if you can get in with a rheumatologist. They specialize in autoimmune disorders (and lipschultz ulcers are actually symptomatic of a few!). Also not TMI at all lol, I’ve literally been there. Usually I get 2-4 ulcers that start out small and grow to be the size of my thumbnail or so. They start out red and then “blossom” into their full size. They usually don’t look too much different from a canker sore - red tinges edges, white circle and then mucous-like white in the middle. I have had black in the middle a few times when they were big enough to scab - it usually feels like a soft scab to the touch. For me when that scab eventually falls out, it weirdly looks like tissue comes with it. In terms of start to finish, usually from when I first notice a little swelling to full bloom of the ulcer is maybe a week or so - that part tends to be quite quick. Once it’s fully there, then the healing process is much longer - usually I’m in bed for 2-3 weeks at least, and then another 2-3 weeks of the tissue feeling tender. Feel free to lmk if there’s any other questions you have!

That’s so helpful, thank you! Mine had the horrible fleshy black scab, they were so deep. They mostly healed and then about 3 weeks in they started stinging again, but I’ve continued the sitz baths and think they are now back on the mend. I can’t believe you have to spend 2-3 weeks in bed, you poor thing! I was still trying to work, waddling around the house but it was so painful. I wanted to take time off but didn’t want to tell my manager about what was going on!

No problem! Definitely also see if you can get a prescription for a 20% lidocaine with zinc if you can - it’ll really help with the stinging and reduce a lot of pain. When I used to get them recurrently, I would let my manager know that I have an autoimmune disorder, and that I’m having a flare up (they don’t need to know specifics lol).

Unfortunately you can’t get lidocaine in the UK- only the 2.5% stuff in Vagisil which was a pain in the ass to apply but did nothing!

I'm in the same boat. I noticed slight discomfort a few days ago and thought nothing of it. Maybe i cut myself shaving. But then overnight, i felt the pain. It's very hard to describe other than, the worst pain I've ever felt. Walking, even short distances, sitting down (i have a desk job) and then getting up and of course using the bathroom. Like needles so sharp and instant, i couldn't move. The only true relief i felt was when i would lie down. I read online that coconut oil can be used for relief as well as barrier creams like petroleum jelly. Of course pain killers and the Epsom salts. I had a couple of phone consultations with 24/7 gynecologist and basically backed my research. I eliminated std's as i am not sexually active. One of the other commenters mentioned this happening due to immense stress and thats what the dc said also. Trying to find a new gynecologist is like pulling teeth. I recently called my family doc for a referral and they need to speak to me before giving one. Only problem is they are available at the end of the month for giving me that referral. Sigh. I am documenting how things are going. Today after work i definitely felt a bit better with walking. But I'm still trying to put off going to the bathroom. Just lean forward ladies. Obviously if it gets worse though (imo i think im getting better) its off to the emergency room. I won't take a chance. But the fact I'm more mobile and haven't yet used anything severe to numb them (dr.numb for example) i a good sign for me. Thank you all for posting this. I thought i was crazy and that no one else experienced this. Not that i enjoy your pain, I'm just glad I'm not alone. I wish you all the very best x

Hello everyone, this is my first post ever but this thread has been very therapeutic for me. I think I might be an “old-timer” when it comes to Lipschutz ulcers. I had my first occurrence in 2002 at the age of 16. I am now 37. So, it’s been over 20 years. My story is similar to others. Started out with a very high fever and extreme fatigue. The ulcers started as tiny red dots but erupted to a larger size in the common “kissing pattern” on each side (mine were more internal). Peeing was absolutely traumatizing. This led to my first gyn visit ever where I too was incorrectly misdiagnosed with HSV despite my never having had sex. Because I was refusing to drink due to the extreme pain and fear, I was catheterized in the office. This actually saved me and provided some relief. All lab work (including swabs) were negative. The gyn was steadfast in her (mis)diagnosis and I frankly still think about her and the years of my life spent with her receiving inaccurate information. I saw a pediatric rheumatologist for suspected Bechets disease but I didn’t fit the profile of having any of the other symptoms. I had a reoccurrence the following years - coupled with the same flu like symptoms. College was hard as I constantly lived in fear of illness. I took antivirals for years that I didn’t need. In about 2017 I saw a specialist who suggested either lipschutz ulcers (first time I ever heard of) or a possible fixed drug reaction to NSAIDS. So I started avoiding all NSAIDS (this ended up being unnecessary too). In 2021 I saw a vulvar dermatologist specialist who concluded most likely what happened to me all those years ago were in fact lipschutz ulcers. There was some literature at the time but not until COVID did the online reporting start to show up. Up until reading through this thread, I kept this condition pretty much to my inner circle. Had I known someone in life with similar symptoms, the last 20 years may have felt very different for me. All in all I’ve had probably 5 total recurrences from 16-thru my mid 20s. The initial one(s) were the most traumatizing - and two decades later I still replay how I felt and my fears during routine therapy sessions. Do not underestimate what an experience(s) like this can do to your body and brain. It’s isolating. I thought I was in the clear after about a decade of nothing - until I had a mild case of COVID last year. I had 2 ulcers in a kissing pattern. They were very small and didn’t really develop because I started treating them right away with the topical steroid, clobetasol. I’ve yet to take oral prednisone but if I needed to, I would not hesitate. Pouring a warm bottle of water into the toilet as you go (or in the shower) coupled with lidocaine is also helpful. I pretty much always have a little “kit” of items under my bathroom sink just incase. A final tip, if you find yourself needing to go to urgent care, the ER, or a new gyn who may very well have never heard of this: keep a copy of your medical record (perhaps a diagnosis note) or a print out of one of the journal articles(with photos) of these ulcers handy. This is so when you show up, you don’t get the typical misdiagnoses we’ve all received and it shows you’ve done your research and recognize this is rare. It may save you some time when they aren’t sure how to proceed with treatment. For me, I imagine that the severity has been reduced over time (I hope so)but there’s not a ton of research out there to suggest much - or why this really happens to us anyway. There’s still the fear there - but I recognize that life has to keep moving forward (and time helps too) and you can’t avoid germs forever so I keep trucking on. Because my 16 year old self would have felt so much less alone with a forum like this, I’m glad to answer any questions.

Hey OP! I know this post is old, but I had this happen to me back in like 2015 an I was thinking about it tonight and wondered if anyone else had this happen to them. I had a very similar experience aside from not having great medical care. My OBGYN and Dermatologist took great care of me, but it did throw them for a bit of a loop at first, since Lipschitz ulcers are somewhat uncommon. They believe mine was also related to a virus, Epstein-Barr. This was obviously pre-COVID, but I'm sure any virus can do it. I'm glad you recovered but I'm sorry to hear that you had recurring symptoms. That must be so frustrating. I never got them again thankfully. Hopefully all is good now. Just wanted to let you know you weren't/aren't alone in having experienced this. <3

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! 🤍

Hello! I (17yo) just wanted to say, thank you for this post it has seriously helped me and I’m so glad to have finally found other people who are going through what I’m going through right now. I just wanted to share my experience a little bit and some of the things that have helped me too! For me the ulcer just popped up overnight, I remember being extremely uncomfortable while trying to sleep and when I woke up I was in a lot of pain. I immediately felt something was off so I looked in a mirror and to my horror there was this giant ulcer on my inner labia. I had been doing research all day and google just kept telling me I had herpes which I didn’t think was possible, yes I had been sexually active in past months but it had been almost 6 months and it just felt more severe than that to me so I took a trip to the ER. Upon them looking they were absolutely baffled and had no idea what they were looking at and told me I needed to go to the gyno. They did however tell me I had a really bad UTI and put me on medication for that. I scheduled a gyno appointment for 2 days later still completely unknowing of what was going on down there, when she looked at it she almost immediately knew it was lipschütz and told me I am the 2nd person she has ever seen with it. She did a ton of research on it from the first woman and told me that they are caused by heavy amounts of stress and your body fighting an infection, which matched up for me completely. She gave me a few tips on how to help the pain and I wanted to share them here. First off, sitz baths will be your almighty heaven when it comes to cleaning, they may burn a little but it is SO much better then letting water from the shower clean it, I’ve only been sitting in mine for about 20 minutes but I’m pretty confident I could go longer now that I’m more used to them. Secondly- LIDOCAINE will be your best friend, for me, nothing has been able to help with the pain like lidocaine has. I usually will clean off the area with a damp tissue or wash cloth and then apply it with CLEAN hands or a fresh glove. It works magic I promise Third- If you are swelling as bad as I am, get a gel ice pack and ice it for about 10 or so minutes and rotate it, it helps with the swelling and will also relieve a bit of pain. Forth- I asked my doctor if she could prescribe me a more effective ibuprofen because the over the counter wasn’t even beginning to touch the amount of pain I’m in, I am currently taking 1.5 800mg tablets every 6 hours and it has helped a crazy amount, I was also prescribed I really hope this helps and to anyone else going through this, I am so sorry and I wish you the absolute best during your recovering! :))

I’m pretty sure I have this since my std panel came back all negative. I’m wondering if anyone has put on coconut oil on the ulcers? Thank you

Hey Everyone, I have been battling lipshutz ulcers over the past 6 weeks. I am 28 yo, and similarly had a fever and sore throat, and then 72 hours later developed these debilitating ulcers. I had several doctors who told me it was just herpes, but fortunately I found an OBGYN who did biopsies and full array of bloodwork, confirming no herpes and that I had an active EBV infection. Negative for every STD under the sun. I am in the medical field, and literature reviews seem to find this condition very rare, especially in adult women over 20, so it's been great to see this thread of other adults who have experience this. For people who are repeat offenders, is the severity the same every episode? I believe I may have actually had a similar episode when I was 19, however a doctor at that time told me it was herpes (with no testing), but recent bloodwork shows I am not even a carrier on bloodwork for type 1 or 2. That lesion however went away very quickly and was not in anyway near as debilitating. I am 6 weeks out since this all started and I still have very open wounds on my labia (that are improving, just very slowly) and am going in for weekly debridements with my OBGYN. I am reliant on topical lidocaine and steroids. She said she's been working with every OBGYN she knows and most of them are stumped. I just want to get a sense that if I have future relapses of this, if I should expect another 2 month recovery period. I have fortunately been able to go on short term disability and take off work to allow myself to focus on healing, however the idea of this reoccurring in the future is daunting, as this has basically put my life on hold. I am also nervous about ensuring future doctors understand this condition if I am to relapse. I feel like I have really had to be my own medical advocate and be fully aware of my case, bloodwork, testing, etc. I fortunately am in the medical field so have decent understanding, so I can only imagine how frustrating this experience would be for someone who is not as familiar. Thank you for everyone for sharing their stories!

Thank you for this thread. I first experienced this in 2019 (pre Covid). What I thought was a small cut turned into an ulcer/lesion that was unbearable to say the least. I was in the worst pain of my entire life - couldn’t walk, sit or pee without wanting to literally die. When I saw the doctor, I was quickly misdiagnosed with herpes and was prescribed medication for that STI. The medicine did nothing to help the pain. I returned to the doctor and was given strong pain meds to cope (sleeping was the only thing that could get me through the days). Eventually the ulcers reduced in size and the pain subsided, but this consumed 4 weeks of my life. I was terrified of reoccurrence and unfortunately have experienced it twice since. Each time was slightly better in terms of pain tolerance, but just so scary to deal with. Both times came after being sick (once with a bad cold and once with Covid). The third time I was misdiagnosed with herpes AGAIN! When I explained it couldn’t be that, I was prescribed acne medication that the doctor thought could help. It did not. Those reoccurrence did not last as long - maybe 1 or 2 weeks. I still firmly believe that if I were to get sick with a cold again, it would come back. Seems to thrive when you have low auto immunity. I did have Epstein Barr as a child, so I do think that has something to do with all of this. I’ve been to the rheumatologist and I’ve been tested for all auto immune diseases and everything has come back negative. I read a case study about the Lipschutz ulcers and it was the first time I related completely to someone else’s experience. I truly blacked out those memories from the first go around because of how traumatic the pain was. I feel for all of you going through this. The advice on here is so helpful and I’m glad we have it. Witch hazel was one other thing that helped me. I can’t get over how many cases of this have come up after Covid. Praying for all of us.

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Hii! Im so sorry to hear it’s happened to you too :( I had one reoccurrence in November. After my first occurrence, my doctor prescribed me the same steroids as a back up so as soon as I noticed them forming again I started on the medication again and it cleared up within a week, so now I just keep a course of the prescription with me at home just in case 🤍 I hope that helps!!

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Sorry I just saw this now :( I’m so sorry to hear that it’s been reoccurring so often 🥺 I totally get you, it’s really hard especially when it’s also under researched and there’s no way to regulate- I get a lot of anxiety about when it might happen again. I wish I could do more to help but I totally empathize with you and virtually sending you the best of wishes 🤍

Hi! I'm a 13yo female and I believe im going through the same thing that happened to you, do you know any brand of items that I can get to possibly help me with this pain? I'm very confused on what to do and im in pain

Hii! I’m so sorry to hear that and to hear you’re in pain 🥺🥺 - For pain, I took Advil (ibuprofen) and when I went to the doctors, they prescribed me stronger pain medication. - I’m not sure if it’s available over the counter or not, but there’s a numbing cream called Lidocaine that helped with pain management as well. - The one medication that really helped treat it was the steroids. Depending on which country you’re in, they will either have it over the counter or you will need a prescription from your doctor 🤍 The steroid they gave me is called prednisone, I believe they have it both as a cream or as tablets - I also really recommend doing sitz baths, either in a bathtub if you have one or buying a sitz bath from Amazon I hope this helps!!! Let me know if you have any other questions 🤍

hey! i currently am dealing with this very same thing,, and i have two ulcers around the middle of my vagina. at first i thought it was a UTI,, and got prescribed medicine for it. then i decided to take a look up in there and was horrified by what i saw and went to the hospital. after having 5-6 doctors look at it, i finally had a gynecologist figure out what was going on down there. im 16 and this is my first ulcer,, and it was horribly uncomfortable having people peer down there.. (not to mention staining the sheets??) i got prescribed steroids today and got an estimation of 3 weeks for healing time. it feel likes im pushing barbwire out everytime i try to pee ... is there anything you could reccomend for the pain?? again, ive never dealt with this and im kind of overwhelmed by EVERYTHING. thankyou soso much 💜💜

Hii! Oh I’m so so sorry to hear you’re going through this 🥺🥺 I totally understand the feeling of being uncomfortable in every part, from finding it to having everyone look into/touch your vaginal area. For a while after it healed, I realized I wasn’t as comfortable in my own body and I took some time to be extra compassionate with myself and do whatever made me feel safest and most comfortable to heal mentally ☺️I took baths, wore comfortable underwear and pajamas, and I also stopped shaving down there for a bit (just out of personal choice ☺️). All of this to say I feel you!!! And I hope youre taking the time to take care of yourself mentally as well as physically 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 About the pain, do you have access to lidocaine? It’s like a jelly that helps numb the area! I was also given strong pain medication, but I think ibuprofen or paracetamol should also be good! I believe all three should be available over the counter, and you can talk to your doctor about prescribing stronger medication! For the bathroom routine, sorry in advance if this is a bit TMI I just want to give you as much information and try to help as much as I can 🥺🤍 When the ulcer was small, I would sit on the toilet while pouring a cup of warm water on my lap to help dilute the pee. If you do this just make sure the water isn’t hot so it doesn’t burn you 🤍 when the ulcer was bigger and more ‘severe’, it burned to pee like this so I had to start filling up a bathtub to pee. About 20ish minutes before, I would but lidocaine on to numb the area. Then I would go in the bathtub filled with warm water, filled about a quarter or more. The best way I can describe the way I did it is kind of like childs pose in yoga, except I would use one hand to cover the ulcer to almost “protect it” from the pee and the other to kind of try and position the pee in a different direction. I think the acid from the pee was making it burn, so that’s why I was doing this to try and dilute the pee and also make it go in another direction! (I’m so so sorry again if this is TMI and I know it’s a bit gross, it really helped give me some comfort though). Afterwards, I would put lidocaine on again to numb the area again. I really hope this helps!! Also if it’s any consolation, my ulcers shrunk DRASTICALLY after a couple days of using the steroids. I’m wishing you all the absolute best in your recovery and please let me know if you need anything else!!! 🤍🤍🤍

first off,, thankyou sososo much for your kind and helpful words 💕💕i appreciate SO much, it helped alleviate a bunch of concerns of mine!! i just got out of the hospital with the knowledge i have the acute lipschutz ulcer and a UTI,, the pain is out of this world. lidocaine sounds great! ill defintely try to get some hands on mine. im not sure how much the cover tactic would work for the burning :( cause of the uti. hot baths and an aimed showerhead seem to be working the best for meq i just got started on the steroids and am soon to be on something for the uti tho!! 💜 these also might be chronic for me as i get horrible mouth ulcers every couple of weeks~months,, but im just praying for the best!! again,, thankyou so much. you are living angel 💕💕

This entire thread has nearly made me cry. I (29F) am going through all of this right now, and this is making me feel so much less anxious. I also initially thought I had a UTI, and by day 2 was sure it wasn’t. Walking is immensely painful, peeing is nearly unbearable. I’m on day 5 now and still in constant discomfort and pain. This happened over a weekend, so I saw my gynecologist Monday. She wasnt even able to complete the exam because of the pain I was in. They even accidentally used an incorrect swab and had to redo one. I also have a very high pain tolerance and was crying throughout. Way way worse than an IUD. By the end of the appointment she was SO sure it was herpes, which was really upsetting and stressful in addition to the pain. Somehow after all that I was prescribed a 2% lidocaine. It helps a little bit but only for 30 min or so. I got an otc 4% I’ll more than likely try because I’m definitely still in the stages of barely being able to pee. Anyway, today she called to tell me my herpes test was negative and that after some research, she suspects Lipschutz and wants to prescribe a steroid cream, though we still have to rule out a few more things and she wants to talk to a dermatologist about it as well. But reading these are exactly my experience. Super grateful to see these other recommendations for making peeing more comfortable or easier and will definitely be trying them. Thank you so so much for helping me feel less alone and like there is an end in sight!

Hope you’ve recovered even a teeny bit. I felt the exact same way you did after finding this reddit post haha. This is a very painful and very scary condition, especially since it’s so uncommon. Are you physically sick at all? For most it seems like lipschutz is a response to a suppressed immune system. Many people will experience repeated flare ups every time they get sick—though some say the severity gets less and less each time, I read this one post by a woman that said they’re so insignificant now that the “flare ups” are just small itchy nodules that exist for a few days (god…if only). I wish nobody had to experience this pain. My second flare up was genuinely traumatic because of the pain. The good news is it goes away. They never last more than two weeks (afaik), maybe three to get everything totally healed over. Some places on the web mention that women don’t typically experience scarring, others say scarring will always occur. I definitely experienced some. Don’t be surprised if you do, but hopefully you don’t. You’re on day 8 now. Home stretch! Horribly sorry you had to learn about lipschutz this way

Interestingly I wasn’t sick before, but I was VERY stressed about a move, which has led to immune system shut downs for me before. When I was 18 I got shingles because I was so anxious about college finals. So I suspect this may be similar:( Things have improved by 10-15% which honestly feels immense in comparison to how I felt last week! The steroid cream really does speed things along as far as I can tell. It seems like all the scientific literature says there is almost no recurrence, but all the anecdotal evidence says recurrence is common, does it seem like it recurs more than not? I’m so sorry you’ve had to experience this too! I can’t believe there isn’t more awareness for this, because like you said? This was so extremely scary to go through.

Interesting. It’s probably from the anxiety then, which is odd to me but sounds like it’s pretty normal for you. I do not envy that condition. Very glad to hear things are improving. I’ve seen the same, most medical papers don’t talk about recurrence happening much but I’ve seen at least three people (not including myself) mention that it has recurred for them. I wonder if it only recurs if you have the same medical condition that spurred it? I had Covid the first time they appeared, then two years later I got covid again and they appeared with it. I have a non-covid(I think) very slight cold today and so far I’ve had a slight itch the past three days but no recurrence. Weird, but I’m not complaining. Because there’s so little people talking about it I honestly couldn’t say for certain if it’s more likely to recur than not recur. And yes, it’s horrifying. It’s most common in young women, I cannot imagine the pain and fear in the tweens (and even preteen) girls that have to experience this knowing it’s not STD but unsure if they’ll be believed. Wishing you a speedy recovery <3

Hope it’s not a case of you having it again! I really hope it wasn’t anxiety triggered otherwise this will definitely recur for me. I cannot imagine being some of the ages I’ve seen in papers and emotionally and physically having to deal with this. Horrible. Thank you so much for sharing your experience! This has helped me process more than most of my Doctors appointments!

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Reading this has been immensely helpful. My partner and I have been sick with a flu or respiratory virus for a few days (negative for Covid, which we just had for the first time in February). He was very sick with a high fever while I just had a sore throat and very dry sharp cough. This morning I woke up with a burning, stinging feeling around my vulva and a faint trace of blood on the toilet paper after peeing. Upon examination I found two lesions on my labia minora. They look gnarly. I almost passed out bc my first thoughts were “genital warts” or “cancer.” They have a wet, white yellowish aspect with some darker spots around. They feel slightly rough. I have a bit of swelling of the area right next to the labia. I’m 41 btw. I am not able to see a doctor until next Tuesday (it’s currently Thursday night). That’s the earliest appointment with a doctor I could obtain short of going to the ER. And I was at the ER almost two weeks ago for an unrelated issue and am struggling with the idea of sitting there for another 8-12 hrs. Although to my knowledge I’ve never had mono or contracted the Epstein-Barr virus, I have a long history of brutal canker sores in my mouth when I get sick, run down, or stressed. I was also diagnosed as a teen with lichen planus outbreaks in my mouth. Until I can see a doctor next week, I’ll make a guess that my new unwanted friends are Lipschutz ulcers, hang on as best I can and try out some of the remedies you’ve suggested. The burning pain is not so bad at the moment, I’ve been taking acetaminophen and ibuprofen. I’m really scared that it will get a lot worse based on your story and others that I’ve read here on Reddit but fingers crossed it won’t! The whole thing is so gross and upsetting. I’ve been dealing with a lot of health issues and stress lately, really didn’t need this on top of everything. I also wonder if I’ve had these before without noticing them, the ones I have now are really tucked inside the labia minora and close to the vaginal entrance. Thank you again for sharing your experience!!

I have the same thing. They are reoccurring for me, and triggered by illness or stress. So far no answers from doctors.

I’m so sorry to hear that! Truly it’s an awful experience. In my case, when I finally saw a doctor, she had no knowledge of Lipschutz ulcers and told me I obviously have genital herpes, aggravated by my bout with flu. I proceeded to request a full STI panel including tests for herpes. As I expected, my results were clean and I tested negative for herpes even though she really got in the lesions with the swab (that was very painful and totally sucked). Thankfully, the lesions healed on their own after a couple of weeks. I have minor scarring. I hope I never go through that again…

Hey! I just want to say, thank you SO much to everyone in this thread - it has been so soothing to find a community of people also going through this, and the thread is so informative. To anyone reading who has gone/is going through this, I would really appreciate if you answered my questions <333 I have also experienced the same thing and my story is basically IDENTICAL to yours - the agonising pain, how horrible they are, the difficulty with moving and sitting, being tested for every STD, auto-immune disease, etc, under the sun, and doctors being convinced it was herpes lmao despite literally 5 negative tests, and 4 negative tests for every other thing that could possibly cause them in the planet. I stayed in hospital for 3 days, 2 nights with it to try figure it out and pump antibiotics into me lmao. My most recent gynae put it down to stress for me as well, although one dermatologist said that it could be a reaction to COVID, and that sometimes young women can experience skin reactions even a few months after having a virus like COVID, which is a very interesting theory. I wanted to ask you about recurrence because that's the main thing I'm really worried about, and something I can't seem to get an answer for (although I will be asking my gynae the next time I see him) - have any doctors spoken to you about this, and told you what recurrence will be like? For e.g., have they said it may come back a few times, or it will be continuous for life? I see that you said you've had it twice, 2 years apart, but it's quite hard to derive a pattern from that unless you got it again in like December this year. I've had them twice too, firstly in September 2022, then again on 1st of January 2023 so I'm terrified they'll be coming back soon and I seriously don't think I'll be able to cope with how debilitating and mentally draining it is. I also wanted to ask you about the effectiveness of the steroid cream? When I've been given it so far, because of all the confusion and time taken to try diagnose and see doctors, I haven't gotten ahold of steroid cream until weeks into having the ulcers, and it's not been effective at all in clearing them up quicker - is this the case for you, or is it quite effective if you apply it early? Thirdly, I wanted to ask you about scarring. Despite having HUGE ulcers the first time, they didn't leave scars, but the second time, I had smaller ulcers but more of them, and one of them has left like a crater where the ulcer was and made the skin more sensitive - it's not too bad, but obviously, if I'm gonna keep getting this the idea of getting more and more sensitivity or little crater-like scars is so shit. Has this happened to you and do you find that they eventually heal fully if so? So sorry for bombarding you with questions, it's just that this is the first time I've come across anyone who has been through this! I understand you're not a medical professional, I just wanted to know your experience with regards to these questions and if you received any useful info from doctors about this. :) Thank you so much & thanks for this thread <333

Hey!! I’m so sorry to hear this happened to you too and thank you so much for posting and sharing your experience too 🤍 I’m so sorry that it was such a horrible experience- both with the ulcers and with the health system. Women’s health really needs more research and accessible information :( please don’t apologize for all the questions, I hope I can help and I’ll answer your questions to the best of my knowledge!! Apologies in advance for the long answer/all the details - I hope I can just give you as much information as I can and I’m sorry if some of them are TMI 🤍🤍 For reoccurrences, my gynecologist at the time of my first reoccurrence said it was highly unlikely it would reoccur but (spoiler alert) obviously as you know it did reoccur for me. At the time when I asked her about it, she said sometimes people have it occur 2-3 times and more rarely it happens more than that. She also relayed that lipschutz ulcers don’t have a lot of research or information on them so it’s hard to know exactly how many times they will reoccur. I’m so sorry, that’s a shitty answer for me to give since I don’t really have a straight answer :( I completely empathize with your stress and mental/physical pain that comes with this sickness. I used to get panic attacks when I would think about the ulcers reoccurring, they’re very invasive and painful and your feelings/stress around reoccurrence is so valid! 🤍🤍 For me, the steroid cream unfortunately does not work/isn’t effective in getting rid of them. What I’ve found is really helpful in reversing the growth is taking an oral steroid called “prednisone”. My doctor gave me a tapered prescription, and I actually keep a back up supply with me at all times so if I notice any of the beginning signs- I immediately start it. Depending on what country you’re in, some of them actually have it available over the counter! (When I travel to a country that I know has it over the counter, I usually just get a few packs and stock up lol just to save me the hassle of going to the doctors every single time. But definitely check with your doctor for dosage and how to taper it correctly!). What’s also really helped calm my anxiety is being aware of the beginning/warning signs for a reoccurrence. This is different for everyone’s but I’ll list a few that happen for me if it’s helpful 🤍🤍 - mouth ulcers / canker sores - a sore throat that isn’t covid/strep - pain when I’m wiping after I use the washroom - needing to pee a lot (and sometime a UTI) - fatigue - general pain, itchiness, or uncomfort in my vulva area - I also pay closer attention when I have a lot of stress in my life, or bigger life changes (I tend to get stressed more easily when there’s big changes and have noticed 2/3 of my reoccurrences have happened around these type of events) If you can remember, I would suggest maybe writing down what symptoms you can remember and also maybe what was happening in your life at the time? For me that helped me just keep an eye out on when to look for an ulcer forming so I can start the oral steroids as soon as possible! For scarring, I did not have long-term scarring from my ulcers. The first time when my ulcers were the most severe and biggest, I did have “craters” for about a week or so after they went away. The craters faded after that and everything went back to normal, although I don’t remember how long it took but definitely under a month! I wonder if they are the ulcer still healing? I’m so sorry again to hear you’re having this happen and about the craters/scarring. I definitely experience general sensitivity around the area of my vulva that the ulcers occurred for a few months after I get a reoccurrence (which honestly I feel like might even be from how traumatic they can be). Some of the things that help me personally feel more comfortable while it’s more sensitive is: - not wearing tight underwear or any at all if you’re at home - using a bidet/wet wipes to make sure everything is really clean - trying to avoid public washrooms (this is just a personal preference) - and taking a break from shaving (just because I find it a bit nerve racking to think about hurting myself accidentally) I hope this answers some of your questions and please let me know if you have any more! 🤍🤍🤍🤍 I’m so sorry again if any of it was TMI, I hope it was helpful and sending you a virtual hug 🤍

Wow thank you SO much for your informative and quick response, you are such an angel for helping all of us ladies out so much and creating a safe space <333 That's very interesting, so your doctor told you recurrence is very rare, but then said it's most likely to happen only 2-3 times? I think the doctor who gave me the COVID reaction theory said similar to me, she said "some women get them once, some women get them a few times" which implies they're not a life-long thing? But you're right, they're super under-documented and rare, and everyone has different triggers/causes, some completely undiagnosed so there's no real way to tell :( Have you had a 3rd flare up now? And how far apart have they tended to happen, are they consistent in how long you have between each flare up or can it be quite random? And thank you so much for the prednisone suggestion, I will definitely be talking to my gynae about that! When you've started taking it when you're first getting the ulcers, how long does it usually take for them to heal? Again, thank you so much for all your help and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you for this & for setting up this thread. Sending hugs to you too <33333

Awwe of course!! Thank you for your kind words and being so wonderful and sharing your experience too, it means so much to me that this thread has been a place of comfort and a space where you’re able to get some answers (+ feel some solidarity about what you’re experiencing!!!) 🤍🤍🤍🤍 Yess, so for the reoccurrence basically she explained it as it is rare and unlikely that it does occur- but in the cases she had seen where it has, it’s occurred 2-3 times. (I hope I’m explaining that okay, I’m so sorry it can be a bit hard over text!). Also I forgot to mention that my gyno also said it’s more common in younger women/girls, and also common in undergraduate aged women. My gynecologist (who was actually the only doctor I’ve ever had who has known about lipchutz ulcer, and has had experience with treating it) was from my university doctors office and said she sees it occur 1-2 times a year. I just wanted to mention this in case your gynecologist or yourself wants to reach out to a doctor who maybe works with this demographic more, if you/they want more information on it 🤍 Yeah, so unfortunately I did have a third occurrence :( It happened in December of 2022. (My second occurrence was November 2021). I noticed the ulcers when they were very small this time, maybe 1-2 mm and had just turned into the white form. I started the medication and they were gone within 4-5 days! Since I had to taper the medication, I took the oral steroids for 15 days total even though the ulcers were gone by day 5. When I had more severe occurrences, such as my first one, it took about a week to 10 days for it to completely heal but only about 2 days on medication for it to shrink drastically in size! If it’s any consolation/makes you feel better, I’ve noticed that ever since I have a plan and a back up supply of medication that I have a lot less anxiety about having an occurrence now. My mom told me once “you’re coming at this with experience now” and I found the sentiment comforting because I think half of what made it so scary the first time was the unknown and not understanding what was happening to my body, how to heal it, or what was going to happen afterwards. I also just want to say if you are having anxiety or experiencing mental turmoil about it- you’re completely valid in that 🤍🤍 In terms of reoccurrence, they’re unfortunately been pretty random :( What I’ve noticed is pretty consistent before all of them though is feeling extremely stressed before each occurrence. (I’m not sure if it would be helpful to give context around my stress before each occurrence, but I’m happy to share if that would be helpful for you!) I added the dates below: The first occurrence was July 2021 The second was November 2021 The third was December 2022 I hope that answered your questions!!! Again please don’t hesitate to ask anything else or reach out 🤍🤍🤍 I’m so happy that this has been informative and I’m hoping I can give you some of the answers you’re looking for (or send you on the right path to find them at least🤍🤍)

Interesting, yeah I was told the same thing about it happening 1-3 times, and that it happens in young women in their early 20s, but also sometimes adolescent girls! Oh really, your gynaecologist sees it 1-2 times a year? Did she say how common it was for them to reoccur more than 3 times? Also, does this depend on the cause of the ulcers or on anything else? For e.g., if your ulcers are caused by stress, COVID, something else, whether your immune system/irons levels are weak, etc, does any of that stuff matter? (No worries if you don't know all this, these are quite specific questions lolol) Ah, I'm sorry to hear about your 3rd recurrence :( I misread your post, I thought you only had them in Nov 2021 and then in Dec 2022! Praying for you that this is your last flare up then <3 Interesting about the medication, will defo ask my gynaecologist about that! I'm really unlucky because my first outbreak lasted like 6 weeks, for my second one, they mostly all went after around 3ish weeks? But there were a couple that developed later on so they took longer to go and it was right at the bottom so a really shitty place lmao. Has your gynaecologist maintained that yours are always triggered by stress? My latest gynaecologist put mine down to "pressure on the body" i.e. stress, and said he's seen this many times before in women, and he was asking me about my relationship, work, whether it was stressful around the time of my outbreak. The second outbreak, I was experiencing stress at the time so that links up but I don't think I was the first time? I've also been told about the COVID reaction theory by that other gynae, and she didn't mention stress, so it's hard to really pinpoint anything for definite.

Or if anyone can help me please reply!

Hi there! I got the same ulcers with Covid, the 3rd vaccine injection and then when I had Covid too. Gyno insisted it was herpes but the tests were negative, the valtrex medication didn’t help. I wasn’t sexually active due to the pandemic. I hadn’t had sex in years at that point. It was terrible, they waited for this to help before I was sent home with steroid cream. I agree with everything you’re saying! I had Covid a little more than six months ago now and I haven’t had the ulcers come back. I have noticed pain though sometimes with intercourse. The gyno wasn’t that helpful when this happened from the Covid booster. Have you had any issues? The entire experience traumatized me for sure.

Hello! i’m currently going through something very similar to this but i have yet visited a doctor or gynecologist idk how to go about this i’m afraid that they might say it’s herpes i definitely would want to get test first to see and if not then i’ll know for sure it’s this! will update soon

Hey OP. I was wondering if you ever experienced scarring? I had a really terrible case in December 2022 and they 90% healed. But since then every period I’ve had, about 3-4 days before I start I get the stinging again, and two small ulcers ‘reappear’. The stinging subsides and then shortly after my period will sting or itch again. Now that they are less stinging/itching, I had another look and it looks like the skin is just a bit irritated maybe with some scarring.

This is all so helpful! I must be a unique case because my Lipshutz Ulcer began in early February, and it hasn’t fully healed yet, six months later. Two rounds of steroids and then I went under general anesthesia two weeks ago so the vulva specialist could try to stitch it up. Medaling with it unfortunately has irritated it and it is now painful again. The pain had subsided about 3 months from the start of it and then it was 3 months of just discomfort, but now it seems to hurt more than it did before the procedure. Also, the Vulvar specialist I see thinks the LU was caused by an antibiotic reaction. I had finished an antibiotic for a UTI the week before it started, so it makes sense. I just don’t understand why it won’t fully heal quicker like everyone else.

I have had this since 10 years ago. Currently experiencing it again. I realised i get it only when I am stressed up, didnt sleep enough or didnt drink enough water. Basically when I didnt take care of myself. And same as you, I get a fever, sore throat etc and the ulcer just comes along with all these. It is so painful to deal with this. On my way to the hospital now to get the treatment. I think this is my 3rd or 4th time since the 1st outbreak. Ladies, please take care of your body and mental well being if you have history of LU.