# labial adhesions



## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

At our latest well-child visit (two days ago), the Dr. mentioned that DD (19 months) has fused labia minora. She said that I need to gently apply a cream (like vaseline or something safe for the diaper area) and traction them apart. That seemed odd to me, so I asked specifically if I should just leave it be, similarly to not retracting an intact penis. She said, no, it's important to open the labia, and if I can't get them open and keep them open, she would have to refer to a urologist for further intervention. She said there will likely be some minor bleeding and pain, which just seemed a bit off to me. So, I didn't follow my intuition and do more research on the matter. Instead, today, I followed her advice, and tried to gently separate them. DD was obviously uncomfortable, and didn't like it *at all*. A few hours later, she began crying inconsolably, communicating that her bottom was hurting. I looked at her, and her labia are quite red and painful-looking. I applied calendula cream, which seemed to ease the discomfort. I am very unhappy with myself; I regret ever messing with her girl parts, and wish I'd just followed my intuition on the whole thing.

I've been doing some research on the topic, and am coming up with some conflicting advice. Some say to leave it alone, that labial adhesions will generally self-correct, others say to use an estrogen cream, others say to gently traction it open. If you have experience with this, how did you resolve it?


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## lovepickles (Nov 16, 2010)

I'm so sorry. My niece had this issue and I remember seeing my sister apply the cream (I think it was some sort of steroid) to prevent the same issue. I hated it and thought it was awful. But that was over 13 years ago. I need to make it clear that I disagree with majority of her parenting choices.

Causing pain in that area is not acceptable as a treatment option. Please get a second or third opinion.

Also, forgive yourself and talk to your daughter about it in very simple words. Stop feeling guilty for doing what you thought was right. But pay attention to your reaction to her pain because it is telling you something.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

Thanks for replying! DD is doing much better now. I am going to let it alone right now until I can find a new Dr. (for more reasons than this). I am definitely going to get another opinion. She seems to have no problem urinating, so I think it's fine to leave it for now. I just think that there needs to be a *really* good reason for causing pain to a child for any reason, but especially so to that area.


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Just came across this, my DD was 'diagnosed' with this also at her last well baby (9mos) 2 wks ago, and my pedi gave me 2 options: estrogen cream, or leave it be and by the time she's out of diapers getting more air flow things should self correct. She said she already knew I'd pick the latter and didn't see it being an issue unless she started having UTI's. Curious what ended up happening for your LO?


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

Well, we are taking the "wait and see" approach. So far, DD seems to be fine. No UTIs or trouble urinating, no pain, etc. I haven't checked it in awhile, because she really doesn't like me to mess with her girls bits unless absolutely necessary. I think that Dr. visit really left her feeling gun-shy about anyone touching her there. She is even testy about me cleaning her after a poopy diaper. She is close to being out of diapers, so I think it may completely resolve itself then. Thanks for asking!


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## Fly Girl (Jan 11, 2008)

My DD2 had this too. Her Dr. pointed it out at our first checkup when she was a week old. We were also told that we could apply an estrogen cream or just vaseline but were not told to traction it apart. I didn't do anything about it for awhile. Just kept an eye on it. But one diaper change I noticed that her labia had fused even more all the way down covering her vagina. At that point I decided to do something. I took a vaseline like cream with a q-tip and applied it to her labia with just a little pressure. I did NOT try to pull her labia apart and it did not hurt her a bit. I did that every day and about 2 weeks later it came apart. She's never had any issues since then.


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## pattimomma (Jul 17, 2009)

My DD had this problem as an infant. We used the estrogen cream and it worked like a charm. My pediatrician explained it as a common problem for babies and old ladies. Sure enough I noticed the exact same prescription cream in my mom's bathroom! At least I will know what to expect if it happens to me after menopause! LOL


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

Interesting! I really need to check DD again. She is just very much opposed to my doing anything in that area. She will tolerate it if I explain what I need to do, and reassure her that I will be very gentle.


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## ommom108 (Dec 7, 2012)

hi everyone

i felt i wanted to come to the forums and post what happened with us b/c i remember when i searched for info. on what happened to girls with labial adhesion, i'd always find dialogue from people in the midst of it but never from someone who had passed it or was older.

our daughter will be 4 years old this month.

she had partial labial adhesion in the middle section that did not block urine & left a tiny opening at the bottom for her vagina.

we opted to NOT use cream since she didn't have UTIs and to just wait and see.

sometimes i'd worry 'cuz she'd mention being ow-y at her butt but i realized it happened usually after she was racing around on her trike or balance bike so maybe that area is more sensitive to pressure that way when the labia are still adhered. she never cried or had pain while urinating.

this month when wiping her i realized she had fully opened up!

i was VERY glad to see that and just wanted to share our instance with others.

the timing of it (may be totally random or not) is also pretty much the same month we are (i think) weaned.

best wishes,

om mom 108


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## ~Nikki~ (Aug 4, 2004)

My daughter had this as a baby and we used the estrogen cream. Applied it daily and very very gently applied pressure so as not to cause pain. It didn't take long (maybe a couple of weeks?) and it separated. It didn't cause any pain (that she expressed), no bleeding, tearing, etc. I've heard it's common, too, but don't know anyone else in "real life" that's dealt with it.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

ommom108, that is interesting, because DD is nearly weaned, and has pretty much lost the adhesion. I haven't heard her complaining about pain, but I do try to be extra gentle with her when I wipe her bottom. She is still pretty gunshy about anyone touching her there (and I'm almost exclusively the only one who changes her diapers), so I mess around as little as possible. I wonder if nursing has anything to do with adhesions? That is very interesting.


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Good to know! DD is 13mos, she's slowly dwindling on her nursing (much to mommy's dismay!) and is down to about 3-4x a day, maybe a bit more if her teeth bother her but not so much for eating purposes, just comfort. I haven't noticed anything looking more closed, she expresses no indication of pain or discomfort, hasn't had any UTI's. We do have her 1yr wellness in a wk so I'm sure the pedi will go poking around and I'll watch how DD reacts - I leave it be, so I'm not sure how she will feel if the pedi starts pulling at things but I'll certainly tell her to stop if it bothers my baby! I had asked my midwife at one point if she thought it was related to the mom having low estrogen while nursing thus not passing on any to baby to open things up but she really didn't know much about it.


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Ok, finally got around to the 1yr well baby, and everything is open


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## nia82 (May 6, 2008)

DD had it at 18 months. She was fine before, but started "butt scooting" at 11 months and that must have aggravated her skin and caused it to fuse. She was closed up completely. I didn't notice cause she is my first girl and I never felt like it was necessary to wipe a lot so I didn't look much at it (I removed poop, but not smegma, as that's unhealthy to wipe away). At any rate, we opted for the estrogen cream. I only used it for less than a week I think and she opened up. NO traction or pain, and our doctor never mentioned that. That seems old-fashioned and dangerous advice.


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## blackbird2 (Apr 14, 2008)

A doctor noticed what she called thick labial adhesion at my DD's 1 yr check up. She had a grain-of-rice sized hole at the bottom and a smaller one at the top. She recommended estrogen cream. We opted to wait a little and talk with a doctor we had a better relationship with. DD had no discomfort or UTIs. Within a month we could see significant change (opening), and when we saw our usual doctor at 15 months her labia were much more open (about 1cm in length?). Everything looks healthy, so we're going to keep waiting.

The statistic I remember are that 80% of these cases resolve themselves within one year. My DS's foreskin didn't retract fully until he was between 3 and 4 yrs old. I don't think this is a topic that most american doctors are very comfortable with, and I think it would be much easier to treat a 4 yr old who can have a clear understanding of what's going on and why. Those are the thoughts that also influenced my decision.


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## naturalhealer13 (Feb 2, 2013)

My DD went through this from about six months old to currently five years old. I used the Premarin Estrogen cream when she was a baby then I found this site read how other mothers were against the estrogen cream on babies. So I opted to use the Candelula cream when she was about three. She still is almost completely closed and I think I am going to have to take her back to the doctor. Her doctor said she would most likely grow out of it after she was potty trained. She did not. We get her open then a few months later check and she's growing closed again. I want to talk to my Gyno about it when I go in December. She doesn't like the doctor messing around down there. We do the stretch thing after bathes just like he said to do. Oh and she was also breast fed, someone mentioned that in a earlier post. I don't want to let it go for so long that she ends up needing surgery or what ever they have to do. Since the Candelula cream isn't doing the trick, I guess I will have to use the estrogen cream. It works in two weeks if you apply it twice a day. I'm just concerned because it keeps happening.


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Naturalhealer - Have you tried a Naturopath? That was going to be my next step if DD didn't open, seeing if there was a homeopathic treatment that would help things out.


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## naturalhealer13 (Feb 2, 2013)

Well, sassy it looks like the nearest place to find something like that is three and half hours away in a big city. I will have to discuss that with my husband, but thanks for bringing it up. I won't give up just yet. I just don't know how much longer I should let this go?


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## sassyfirechick (Jan 21, 2012)

Yikes! That is a haul. Some will do phone consults, I know my sister was considering that for some issues she's having and couldn't find anyone close. Here's hoping you get some answers!


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## MARYANN3 (Sep 4, 2013)

Both my daughters also had this. We have an excellent PED and she gave us Premarin. It's an estrogen cream. I only needed to use it for a very short period of time along with some very gentle manual pulling after the a couple of days and all was corrected. I can't imagine having to have caused them any pain in this area as it's such a sensitive area.


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## naturalhealer13 (Feb 2, 2013)

Just an update for future mothers who go through this. I took my Daughter to the doctor last Friday, she was complaining it hurt down there. She was red and irritated looking so I had her soak in a vinegar bath and called the doctor the next morning. The Candelula cream just wasn't doing the trick for her. mHe prescribed the Premarin again and told me I'd just have to keep checking it after we get it back open. After her bath he said to gently pull the skin apart so its not against each other all the time. He said in his 30 years of practice only one time did he have to do a surgical procedure on a girl. And that was only because it was left untreated for years. I'm not real comfortable with having to keep looking at my daughters girl parts, but she's use to and it doesn't bother her. I don't know what affect the estrogen cream is going to have on her in the future, her Ped says he's seen girls start puberty at age 10 now, and when I asked him if other girls had underarm body Oder at age five now like my daughter has just started, he said yes. His excuse for early puberty was all the hormones and steroids in the chicken we eat these days. Ugh...... We eat as organic as we can, but it's hard to find around these small out of the way towns. Anyway, thanks for all the advice and support. I suppose I will repost in a few years and give an update about how things worked out with the Premarin. Hopefully she won't hit puberty at age eight or anything.


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