Women may notice a variety of vulval symptoms including pain, itching or irritation, discolouration and discharge or bleeding. If these occur, and are not thought to be due to usually easily treatable problems such as thrush infection, it is important for a doctor or nurse to examine the vulva to look for any problems.
Many conditions can cause vulval symptoms but if the cause is not obvious, then a biopsy from the vulva may be necessary to make a diagnosis before deciding on further treatment.
VIN (Vulval Intraepithelial Neoplasia)
VIN is sometimes known as pre-cancer of the vulva and is usually caused by HPV (wart virus) infection. It can cause vulval irritation and discomfort and occasionally, if left untreated, can go on to form vulval cancer. Treatment is usually by surgical removal of affected areas of the vulval skin. .