We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Topical Bee Honey for the Treatment of Dysesthetic Vulvodenia.
- Authors
Abdelhafiz, Ahmad Tageldin; Mohamaed, Jihan Abdelmonaem; Hashem, Ahmad
- Abstract
BACKGROUND Dysesthetic vulvodenia is a subset of the vulvodenia (vulvar pain) syndrome, which is a psychosomatic diagnosis, often accompanied by physical and psychological disabilities. It is a difficult management problem. Most systemic and topical treatments do not achieve real success. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty one patients with dysesthetic vulvodenia, resistant to all conventional therapies, were evaluated and included in the study. They were treated with twice daily application of crude Egyptian clover flower honey till the symptoms disappeared or definitely subsided, or for a maximum of 8 weeks. The patients completed a pain scale (based on the Friedrich criteria) and Rosen's Female Sexual Function Index pre- and post-treatment. RESULTS A total of 51 patients were diagnosed as having dysesthetic vulvodenia at their initial office visit. Each patient identified the location and provided a description of the pain she was experiecing. The most common description of the pain sensation was "burning/pricking" (39%), followed by "burning" (24%). Thirty nine women (76%) had some degree of sexual dysfunction. One patient discontinued the treatment. No serious side effects were reported. Forty-five patients (90%) stated that, overall, their pain had improved, and twenty two (59%) had improvement in pain with sexual activity. Analysis of the pre- and post-treatment questionnaires revealed a significant decrease in pain intensity and in the frequency of the overall painful episodes. CONCLUSION Topical crude honey is safe and effective in providing temporary relief of dysesthetic vulvodenia with problems of vulvar pain and sexual dysfunction.
- Subjects
THERAPEUTIC use of honey; VULVODYNIA; SEXUAL dysfunction; PATIENTS; CHRONIC pain
- Publication
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2007, Vol 14, Issue 1, p114
- ISSN
1394-195X
- Publication type
Article