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Vulvodynia

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Aesthetic and Regenerative Gynecology

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Abstract

Vulvar pain is a complex disorder of varied etiologies. Vulvodynia refers to chronic vulvar pain without specific identifiable cause and may have many associated factors. It carries significant negative effect on woman’s health, self-esteem, relationships and quality of life. As vulvodynia is a diagnosis of exclusion, it is imperative to exclude all treatable causes before assigning vulvodynia as the cause of vulvar pain. In the absence of specific tests, clinical assessment is of utmost importance to find the cause of vulvar pain. Treatment should be holistic and focus not only on the primary site of pain but also on its subsequent impact on the patients’ lifestyle and sexual functioning. There is no strong evidence of benefit of a particular treatment intervention over the others. It is important to individualize the treatment plan as disease course is chronic with fluctuating symptoms and presentation is varied. Usually, various treatment modalities including medical treatments, psychotherapy, physiotherapy and dietary advice are combined because different treatment strategies tackle different facets of chronic vulval and sexual pain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

    Rashmi Bagga & Rimpi Singla

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  1. Rashmi Bagga
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  2. Rimpi Singla
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Touch, Advanced Obstetrics, IVF & Cosmetic Gynae Centre, Mohali, India

    Preeti Jindal

  2. Global Rainbow Healthcare, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Narendra Malhotra

  3. City Clinic - International, Mahboula, Kuwait

    Shashi Joshi

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Bagga, R., Singla, R. (2022). Vulvodynia. In: Jindal, P., Malhotra, N., Joshi, S. (eds) Aesthetic and Regenerative Gynecology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1743-0_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1743-0_24

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