Use a mirror to look at more than just your face


Women may have early infections or precancerous growths, but may not be aware of changes in the vulva until the disease becomes more advanced. As you would expect, more serious cases require more extensive treatment…which could even mean a major loss of vulvar tissue to survive.

Yet, if caught early, your physician can better treat as well as prevent the spread of infection or growths on the vulva. The key is early detection.

A simple self exam of the vulva is the most important habit you can start now to help you notice important changes in the vulva… changes which need to be reported and discussed with your physician.

The term “vulva” is used to describe the outer genitalia, the parts that can be seen externally. Just as the word “face” describes several parts (eyes, nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, etc), the word “vulva” includes the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, clitoris and the perineum. The mons pubis is the mound-like fatty tissue that covers the pubic bone and itself is covered by skin and hair.

If you see patchy white areas in the vulva, that is not normal. It may be lichen sclerosus, this is especially true if you are postmenopausal.


The symptoms of LS are thinning skin, white patches of skin, itching and/or burning, painful sexual intercourse, and sores or lesions resulting from scratching. If left untreated, LS can result in fusing of the skin, atrophy, and narrowing of the vagina.

The only way you can tell if you have an abnormal skin condition there is to look. I don’t mean every day, I am talking about maybe once a months, or even once every three months. If you are itching or you have painful sex, you need to look more often. If you have a mole down there and it starts changing colors or appearance, or even if it starts itching , you need to see your gynecologist and consider having it biopsied.

The appearance of a darkly pigmented growth or a change in a mole that has been present for years may indicate melanoma. The ABCD rule can help tell a normal mole from one that could be melanoma.





The other thing I see a lot of in the office is the bartholin gland cyst. This shows up as an abnormal, puffy growth, right near the opening of your vagina. It can get very painful and big,. It is easily treated though, by using local anesthesia in the office and lancing it with a knife. I know that sounds scary , but you get relief right away. Of course if it keeps coming back, we move to more aggressive forms of treatment, like opening the cyst or removing the gland in surgery.

The other reason to look at your vulva is to find out where your clitoris is. I can’t believe the number of women that have never looked between their legs. Especially young women. I have patients that don’t even know where the clitoris is. First of all, you can’t have an orgasm if you don’t even know where your clitoris is.

The clitoris is located beneath the point where the inner labia meet. The head, or glans, of the clitoris may appear to be smaller than a pea or bigger than a fingertip. But only the tip of the clitoris can be seen at the top of the vulva in the soft folds where the labia meet, under the skin of the clitoral hood. The rest of the spongy shaft of the clitoris reaches inside the body up to more than five inches! It can come in different sizes, and it can have different levels of sensitivity. Like the penis, the clitoris becomes stiff and swollen during arousal. Unlike the penis, the clitoris is designed only for pleasure.

The clitoris is the pleasure center of the vulva. It’s a pretty cool organ. It doesn’t have a central role in intercourse and reproduction like the penis and the vagina do. The clitoris is basically there just to make women feel good! And it is SUPER sensitive: the clitoris has thousands of nerve endings in it! This can be good news and bad news. While the clitoris is made for intense pleasure, for a lot of women, it can be too sensitive to touch directly. To get the maximum mileage out of this organ, women need to tell their partners how they like to be touched.

Some mirrors are meant to be used for your face, like the one’s that magnify your looks 10X. That mirror belongs to your face, but the others are good for the vulva too!

Alexandra Simotas