Imagine a clock superimposed on the area, with noon pointing towards the clitoris. Women who experience vulvar vestibulitis tend to experience pain from the 3 o'clock position to the 9 o'clock position, as well as just inside the vaginal opening. This pain can be sharply focalized, and there may be small sores, bumps, or what feel like small grains of sand beneath the skin's surface in these areas. The term vulvodynia is usually used to describe burning or stabbing pain that is felt more diffusely throughout the vulva.
Many women have both vulvodynia and vulvar vestibulitis.
Others may also experience rectal pain or itching. However, many other women have no problems except for vulvar pain. However, many women do not have family members who suffer from vulvodynia or the other illnesses mentioned above. Age of onset varies from late teens to post-menopause. There are frequent attempts to use surveys to discover what else may correlate with vulvar pain.