[Vulvovaginal diseases: differentiation between treatable infections and other causes]

Disorders of the vulvar area are quite frequent. Only part of inflammatory diseases are caused by an infection. The number of possible pathogens is limited. Noninfectious inflammatory dermatoses and allergies also occur in the vulvar area and should gain much more attention. While most infections are curable, some dermatoses are curable too, but most can only partly be improved. The importance of skin care is still underestimated. The early diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory disorders of the vulva save patients much unnecessary pain and also prevent vulvar carcinoma or excessively mutilating interventions.