When it comes to women's health, there is no such thing as a silly question. Do you have a question you want answered, but have been too afraid or embarrassed to bring it up with your GP? Or you forgot to ask while you were in the doctor's surgery? Now, you can 'Ask Dr Jean'.
Answering your questions for this edition of 'Ask Dr Jean' is gynaecologist and Jean Hailes Medical Director, Dr Elizabeth Farrell AM (pictured below).
I am 17 years old and have noticed that I have a pointy white piece of flesh coming from my vagina (hard like cartilage) and other smaller rough textured white bumps close by. I do not experience any pain from these, however it doesn't look like anything I have seen or heard about and I'm afraid it's not normal and I should be concerned… I'm too scared to book an appointment by myself to see my GP so it would be appreciated if you could please help!!
It is impossible to say from your description what it is that you can see. It may be a tag of your hymen which you have not noticed before. Our vulval anatomy becomes more prominent if we wax or remove our pubic hair and what we are seeing is most likely normal. Just as we each have an individual facial appearance, we also have an individual vulval appearance, and both are in the range of normal.
Your doctor needs to see what you describe as to make a diagnosis. You could take a photo of what you see, and with a support person go to the doctor and show them your photo. The doctor should examine you but may be able to diagnose from your photo.
