Vaginitis is an inflammation of the vaginal mucosa and usually falls into one of three categories: hormonal, irritant or infectious.
* Hormonal vaginitis includes atrophic vaginitis usually found in postmenopausal, or postpartum women. Sometimes it can occur in young girls before puberty.
* Irritant vaginitis can be caused by allergies to condoms, spermicides, soaps, perfumes, douches and semen. It can also be caused by hot tubs, abrasion, tissue, tampons or topical medications.
* Infectious vaginitis accounts for 90% of all cases in reproductive age women and is usually caused by Candida albicans (a yeast), Trichomonas vaginalis (a protozoan) or by Gardnerella (a bacterium). Other less common infections are caused by gonorrhea, chlamydia, mycoplasma, herpes, campylobacter and some parasites.
Significance; Vaginitis can be initially harmless. However, if it is caused by an infectious organism (e.g. chlamydia) it may progrees throughout the uterus into the fallopian tubes and ovaries. An advanced infection of this type can lead to infertility. Therefore the PH value is measured regularly at gynecological screenings, and a microbiological unstained preparation is applied, in order to recognize vaginitis. An infection via human papillomavirus (HPV) can eventually increase the risk of cervical carcinoma.
Symptoms; A woman with this condition may have itching or burning and may notice a discharge.
|
|
|
