What do you know about different genital infections?
In this section, the expert doctor provides complete information about genital tract infection and introduces different types of diseases and gives the necessary recommendations and treatments in this case.
All women notice major changes in their bodies from the time they reach puberty and experience their first period, and at the same time, they may experience new diseases that they didn’t know anything about before. One category of these diseases is various infections of the genital area and the resulting secretions. Of course, not all secretions are considered abnormal and do not require treatment. If you always had questions about these secretions and could not easily ask your doctor, don’t miss Dr. Azita Safarzadeh, gynecologist and infertility and laparoscopy specialist.
These discharges are normal and do not require treatment
Secretions in women are divided into 2 physiological and pathological groups. Physiological secretions usually occur from the beginning of the first period until menopause due to ovulation, which are clear, colorless and slightly stretchy, and their amount increases around the 10th to 18th day of the menstrual cycle. In fact, these secretions are called “estrogenic” and are a sign of ovulation. Even sometimes, their amount is so high that it makes a person suspicious and has to go to the doctor’s office, while these secretions are not dangerous. The second type of physiological discharge is a very small amount of white discharge, odorless, somewhat stretchy, cheesy and non-itchy. In fact, because the vaginal area is close to the anus, there is a small percentage chance of fungus growth, even a 3-year-old girl can get this fungus in normal condition, both of these discharges are normal and do not need special treatment.
Should we self-treat or not?!
If the secretions are physiological, odorless, clear or white, there is no need to consult a doctor. Those who have very light, white, sticky, cheesy, odorless secretions and a slight itch can use clotrimazole topical antifungal drug for 7 nights without seeing a doctor, but if they do not get better, it is better not to continue this treatment and see a doctor. do Pathological secretions also need to be diagnosed and treated by a doctor. It has been observed many times because the patient has visited once in the past and received antifungal treatment, then he uses the same antifungal treatment for any discharge on his own without consulting the doctor, and when he goes to the doctor, unfortunately, his condition has worsened since the first day. . In fact, the treatment of each secretion is different according to its pathological factor. If you want to use microbial treatment for fungus, it will not work, so it is better if the patient has yellow, green, foamy and foul-smelling discharge to see a doctor, because if the treatment is not done well, it may lead to infertility and even abscesses. be pelvic Sometimes, due to the lack of proper treatment, we even have to remove the ovaries, uterus, or even part of the intestine and part of the bladder.
Pay attention to the signs
Pathological secretions are divided into several categories. These discharges may be caused by a very severe fungus. Their color is white and their quantity is very large, and sometimes it is watery and accompanied by a lot of itching and redness of the external area of the penis. This disease is called candidiasis and needs treatment. Its treatment is usually done with local and oral drugs. Another category of pathological secretions is yellow and smelly secretions, which are sometimes accompanied by excessive itching. These secretions are of different types. One of them is called “microbial mix” (bacteria of different types). Others are caused by the bacteria “Gardenella” or sometimes even “Trichomonas”, which is a protozoan organism that causes a lot of itching. In any case, the treatment of these secretions is usually with the drug metronidazole, which is used topically and orally.
Antibiotics increase the possibility of fungus?!
Since self-medication is very common in Iran, many times the patient takes antibiotics for 2 to 4 days, and when the symptoms of the disease decrease, he stops taking them. With this, some of the microbes in the vagina are destroyed, but because the treatment is not complete, some of them survive and become resistant to antibiotics. For this reason, no matter what kind of antibiotics the patient takes, unfortunately this pus does not stop and we may even have to do surgery. Antibiotics should be taken for at least 7 days and then stopped if the doctor deems it appropriate. Self-administration of antibiotics is not recommended in any way. It is interesting to know that by taking antibiotics, the possibility of fungus in the vagina increases. In the vagina, there is a bacillus or protective microbe called “Doderlen”. This bacillus is the protector and guardian of the vagina and does not allow other microbes to enter that part and prevents the growth of fungus to some extent, but when we use antibiotics to treat a disease such as influenza or sinusitis, unfortunately, this good bacillus is destroyed, so the possibility of fungus growth It increases in the vaginal area. Many times when an antibiotic is prescribed for a patient, we have to give him an antifungal medicine because of the itching so that he doesn’t get irritated.
This infection causes infertility!
There are other discharges that are greenish or yellow-green, which can be caused by trichomonas, gonorrhea, or gonorrhea. This discharge has its own treatment, especially if it is gonorrhea, penicillin treatment is necessary, and if it is trichomonas, metronidazole treatment should be done. In these cases, both husband and wife should be treated. If these secretions are repeated in the patient, it is recommended that, in addition to treatment, a series of other general tests are also given in terms of hepatitis, AIDS, etc., because STD diseases are diseases that are transmitted through sexual contact and may cause sterility in men and women. become women, which means they may multiply in men’s prostates or cause the fallopian tubes to close in women.
The husband must also be treated!
In the case of pathological secretions, especially in the area of yellow secretions, one must also remember to treat the wife, because these bacteria are transmitted to the wife through sexual intercourse, and if the husband is not treated, it can remain in his prostate and then be transmitted to the wife again through sexual intercourse. to be Many women are treated after going to the doctor and receiving medicine, but after the first intercourse, the infection is transmitted to them again and the symptoms of the disease appear in them again. In the case of yellow and smelly infection, both husband and wife should receive adequate and appropriate treatment.
Why does the possibility of fungal infection increase with the use of contraceptives?
Contraceptive drugs, unfortunately, increase the growth of fungus in a limited number of people, because those who use contraceptive drugs usually used a condom before, and if they leave it, if there is an infection in their partner, it will be transmitted to them, and the possibility of developing fungus increases, but these drugs themselves It alone does not increase the growth of the fungus. Since stress also affects the immune system, it increases the number of infections in the whole body, that is, when the immune system is weakened, a person is more likely to suffer from sinusitis, colds, flu, etc. But it is not like saying that every person who is stressed will definitely get a vaginal infection.
Postmenopausal women may also be affected
Since physiological secretions are less in postmenopausal women and the vaginal environment is dry, severe infections usually occur less often in these people, but sometimes and rarely we see very severe infections in postmenopausal women, so it cannot be said that they do not get infections at all, but only They suffer from it less often, but in any case, they should see a doctor. Those who are not married because they do not have a marital relationship do not get any other infection except the fungus.
Discharge during pregnancy is difficult to treat
The type of secretions during pregnancy is no different from other times, only that the bad thing that happens during pregnancy is that the immune system weakens. There are patients who have yellow discharge throughout their pregnancy, for which the doctor prescribes various antibiotics to treat them, but they either do not get better, or if they do get better, the discharge returns after a while, but as soon as they give birth and after one to three months. When they visit, they say that we don’t see any traces of those discharges at all. The reason is that after childbirth, the body’s immune system returns to normal. But in general, the treatments that we can do for pregnant women during pregnancy are different. In the first 3 months, we prefer not to prescribe many oral medicines and antibiotics to the patient and treat them through local treatment. This causes a little delay in the treatment and we cannot remove these yellow secretions until the time of delivery, but 90% of these secretions will disappear by themselves after delivery.