Is it possible for a woman to have genital canker sores and *not* have Behcet's Disease?

July 13, 2006 9:00 AM

Is it possible for a woman to have genital canker sores and *not* have Behcet's Disease?

I have been on Keflex (an antibiotic) once a day for over three years. I was prescribed it in an attempt to control the cystic acne that I suffered from on both my face (chin, mostly) and genitals (on the inner labia). The Keflex seems to keep things well controlled, but over the last six months I have developed a series of canker sores on my inner labia.

They are intermittently painful and they don't seem to be healing. I went to the doctor today and she thinks its Behcet's, a genetic auto-immune disorder.

Clearly, I'd like to think otherwise. I don't get canker sores in my mouth, nor do I have joint pains, blurry vision, or most of the other symptoms. However every search I make for genital apthous ulcers brings up Behcet's.

Does anyone have any first or secondhand experience with such things? The onset of mine seemed to be linked to the consumption of unusually large amounts of citrus, but I could be imagining this.

Thanks!

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (6 comments total)

I assume the doc ruled out any STDs?
posted by tristeza at 9:15 AM on July 13, 2006

Did your doctor rule out syphilis and cancroid?
posted by serazin at 11:01 AM on July 13, 2006

I wouldn't rule out Herpes, either. For some, the sores are very similar in appearance to canker sores.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:49 AM on July 13, 2006

What type of doctor did you see? I'd try a dermatologist for a second opinion.
posted by trevyn at 12:50 PM on July 13, 2006

Your real problem may be that if you get a diagnosis of Behcet's your doctors may wish (or your insurance company may wish) to discontinue your antibiotics under the assumption that what you've had all along was Behcet's misdiagnosed as cystic acne.

If you want to forestall such a move, you might be able to go online and find some maverick M.D. who's treating it with antibiotics rather than the immunosupressants which were all I saw listed on the site you linked. From what I saw there, it is the sort of disease which some researchers, especially in Europe, now think is likely to be caused by a cryptic infection instead of pure auto-immunity.

Good Luck!
posted by jamjam at 2:04 PM on July 13, 2006

Regarding jamjam's post, remember that your care is always your decision. You may have to jump around doctors until you get one that treats you how you want, and depending on your insurance it may be tricky to get them to pay for it, but nobody can "cut off" soneone else's prescription or force you to accept care.
posted by trevyn at 1:21 PM on July 14, 2006