ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a comprehensive discussion of the causes and implications of ethnic differences in pain perception. It reviews two sources of information on vulvar sensation: quantitative sensory testing (QST), which measures the perception thresholds of quantifiable stimuli such as temperature, touch, pressure, and vibration; and subjective sensory effects reported by women who used external feminine hygiene products under controlled conditions. In clinical trials of external hygiene products, the frequency of slight vulvar burning and itching in response to physical contact with wet wipes or dry tissue was unaffected by menopausal status, but the stinging response appeared to be muted in postmenopausal women. QST also demonstrated that young women with Vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (VVS) have a measurable, heightened sensitivity to vestibular touch and pain and that stimulus intensities perceived as touch by healthy women elicit pain in VVS patients.
