# Labial Adhesion Question



## LorrieJ (Jul 29, 2004)

I have read the previous posts regarding labial adhesions and I really don't know if this is my dd's source of pain. The threads I have read didn't really state whether just wiping in that area caused extreme pain. My dd screams, squirms and tenses her legs when I try to wipe her vaginal area. I should mention she is 2yo and I rarely try to spread the vaginal area to clean since she has screamed since birth when I tried clean the area. So I resorted to the bathtub and trying to separate it a little at bathtime without her noticing or hoping the tub would take care of any bacteria. I never told a doc because I haven't had great luck with the docs in my area. I like the gentle approach. So moms, if your children had labial adhesions were they in extreme pain when the area was touched? If not can someone tell me what might be wrong. Today I did try to separate the area a little to remove some poop and she writhed in pain and a got a little peek and it looked like some strands were in the area. I can't even get a look at her urethra she tenses so much. She tells me it hurts her. Help. Should I just never venture into that area?


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## Ann-Marita (Sep 20, 2003)

This does not sound like what my dd experienced. DD had labial adhesion. It caused her no pain, but I didn't try to separate the adhesions.

Are you speaking of separating her outer labia for cleaning? Or are you saying you try to pull the adhesion apart?

My DD's adhesion went away on its own when she was about 8 yrs old.


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## LorrieJ (Jul 29, 2004)

Oh yes, just the outer labia for cleaning and that is what hurts her. I can't get a peak in there to see if anything is wrong. Today I tried and just a few minutes ago she was screaming because she went pee. I know it is from the area that I tried to open. When she was sitting I looked at the outside and the area between her vaginal area and anus looked very red. Perineum right? Already forgot the terminology from birthing class.


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## Cajunmomma (Nov 21, 2001)

I had a dd with it, too. My pediatrician noticed it almost immediately after her birth and gave us a hormone cream to treat her with. It's too bad that you can't find a doc that you like and trust. Maybe a nurse or midwife?


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## LorrieJ (Jul 29, 2004)

Does this sound the same? I might call her naturopath, but it is very expensive.


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## Ann-Marita (Sep 20, 2003)

No, LorrieJ, that does not sound the same. The bright red sounds like a rash or infection or some kind of irritation. Does it get better after a bath (no bubbles)?

Cajunmomma, my dd's first pediatrician prescribed hormone creme, too. I used it for one day and just didn't like the idea of putting hormones on my infant. DD's second doctor took a "wait and see" attitude. It never really caused any bad problems (a few twinges when it started separating). It separated naturally when she was about 8 yrs old.

LorrieJ, you might try treating it like diaper rash. (It's been a long time, but...) frequent baths, lots of airing out time and being nude, maybe some calendula creme?

I think it would be worth a trip to the naturopath if it continues.


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## Ravenmoon (Mar 2, 2002)

Sounds like the redness is from irritation and not from the adhesion.I would NOT try to pry open the adhesion.IF the adhesion is stopping her from being able to pee properly she needs help right away.If she just has the redness and irriation and can pee fine it could be a rash or yeast.Use some ointment/salve for awhile to help with that.No bubbles in the bath, and make sure she wipes well after the potty.

Girls will eventually start to create their own horomones around 8-12 years of age and this will correct the adhesion.You can use a horomone cream to correct it now but that is up to you.


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## Cajunmomma (Nov 21, 2001)

It doesn't sound the same to me. My daughter had absolutely no pain. I would hesitate to be convinced that it would always resolve on its own, though. I know some girls now in that 8-12 age range who are still having problems.


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## LorrieJ (Jul 29, 2004)

We never use soap with her because her skin is so sensitive. I don't know what it is but I guess I will call the naturopath. Since she has been this way since birth, I at first attributed it to her just being extremely sensitive in that area and I read that it was ok not to clean in there when diaper changing. Her bodily fluids and baths would naturally keep it clean. Sometimes I think it is the diapers (disposable) the cloth was giving her a rash but I think I will switch back to cloth. She does sometimes scream when she pees but she has never had a fever with it. She does sometimes smell yeasty after eating breads and things. We try to avoid all sugars and yeasts. She is still nursing and sometimes I slip off the wagon! Maybe it is the yeast problem. Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will try some creams and I also have a lanolin ointment from the naturopath that we use when her butt gets a little sore. I will try that.


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## QuietTempest (Aug 5, 2004)

My daughter was recently diagnosed with labial adhesion. Last week, at our 1 year check-up, her doctor noticed it and showed it to me. I felt awful for not noticing it before, but honestly, she's so small down there and it's hard for me to tell what's normal and what's not.









I think it may have separated a little when the doctor was checking her because she started crying. She rarely ever screams or cries with her doc (crying is reserved for nurses that bring "ouches"), so that was a definate sign something was wrong. She peed just moments after and I think that made things even worse. I feel awful when I have to change her diaper because she cries whenever I wipe her or put the Premarin her doc prescribed on her. She tries to wriggle away and keep her legs together so it's hard to even check the area anymore without help from a second set of arms.

I don't like the idea of giving my little one estrogen, either, but I really want this problem taken care of and I worry that if I try to wait it out, she'll be faced with a bladder or kidney infection if the adhesion spreads.

I've not tried it myself, but I read somewhere that flaxseed oil would help this problem in days rather than weeks and is an all natural remedy. Does anyone know anything about it?


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## CallMeIshmael (Sep 12, 2004)

Flax oil definitely works -- as a nervous first-time mom, I wasn't comfortable waiting out my daughter's adhesion, even though it would probably have been fine to do so. I applied flax oil a few times a day, and it cleared it up in a week or so.

Keep in mind, though, that flax oil works because it is a phytoestrogen -- in other words, it exerts hormonal effects. It may be "natural", but that doesn't mean it's benign.


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## insahmniak (Aug 16, 2003)

FWIW...

The two year old among us was crying with peeing just weeks ago. She was hesitant to let me check her, but said that it burned when she peed. I FINALLY got in there for a closer look and found it was bright red, pretty hidden in the folds so that it wasn't visible unless I pulled them apart, which upset her of course. It was so red I thought it was frank blood, but there was nothing on the tissues. Anything that red must be SOOOO painful!

I thought adhesions at first, because I'd never heard of this redness. My sister with 4 daughters said that all of hers have had this at some point or another. She links it with changes in diet, and I think that's what happend with us. We had just started drinking juice and she went crazy with it. So I've since explained to she that too juices hurt her yoni, and that water doesn't. We're water people now. I think the juices caused some chemical change in the urine, which made it more irritating.

We don't use soap, either. We hardly ever bath, and when we do we usually don't use shampoo. So it's not necessarily a soap issue, but it could be for some I suppose.

Also, when we get off the potty I say, "Tree pose!" and she complies and we get a really good wipe. Yoga rocks!

Oh, and I put petroleum jelly on it for a couple of days, too, to keep the urine off it so that she could pee better. PJ is the only thing that I've found will NEVER sting, no matter what. Other more natural stuff usually ends up stinging and I won't try them anymore.

Hope this helps you.


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## QuietTempest (Aug 5, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CallMeIshmael*
Flax oil definitely works -- as a nervous first-time mom, I wasn't comfortable waiting out my daughter's adhesion, even though it would probably have been fine to do so. I applied flax oil a few times a day, and it cleared it up in a week or so.

Keep in mind, though, that flax oil works because it is a phytoestrogen -- in other words, it exerts hormonal effects. It may be "natural", but that doesn't mean it's benign.

Thanks so much for your feedback.


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## ~member~ (May 23, 2002)

I come from a long line of midwifes and medicine women. Western doctors do not know anything about breastfed babies and few know about intact males.
Hormones are in your breastmilk and reach your babies. Baby girls are often 'closed' and it is normal for breastfed baby girls. Like a couple pp's said, when their dd's turned 8 yo or so, it went away. Again, normal, because the girls have hit pre-puberty and make their own hormones. Adult doctors in Western medicine seem to think infant girls are supposed to be 'open' like adult women are, and that is just not true.

Same with intact boys. Their foreskin will retract on it's own when their bodies start to change.

If your child is in pain, then something is wrong. Pain is a signal for the body to alert to an infection or an owie.

The genital area should always be cleaned between diapers. No, you do not pull apart their labia to clean. If you can visually see excrement in the middle crease, then you gently wipe downward. Front to back, until the wipe is clean. You don't put your finger in there or any other object....
You know I wish they had informed health professionals to take the time to teach how to properly care for breastfed baby's genitals. It is so sad to hear what some parents have gone through from misinformed medical people.

I am not sure if I am explaining well enough on here.

If any of the above doesn't make sense or needs clarification, please don't hesitate to ask and I will try to make it more clear or understandable.


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