Colpitis or Vaginitis manifests itself as inflammation of the mucous membrane with the seizure of the vulva.
Colpitis can affect women and girls of all ages. It can begin suddenly, and the symptoms are often intermittent. The effects of vaginitis are usually bothersome and uncomfortable, and they can be painful as well.
If untreated, complications can occur, prolonging treatment and recovery.
Common Symptoms of Colpitis include:
- Vaginal itching
- Vaginal discharge
- Vaginal soreness and tenderness
- Vaginal irritation that is temporarily relieved by water from the bath or shower
- Vaginal pain
- Vaginal bleeding
- Swelling, tenderness, or bleeding of labia (the area around the vagina)
- Urinary urgency (a feeling that you have to go, even when you only have small amounts of urine)
- Urinary frequency
- Burning with urination
- Pain, soreness, or bleeding during or after sexual intercourse
Most of the time, vaginitis symptoms are treatable. However, the treatment has to be tailored to the cause. The wrong treatment won't do any good, and it could make things worse.
Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids are growths in your uterus. They are usually not dangerous but they can cause pain , heavy bleeding and problems with fertility or pregnancy.
They are different types of treatment and medications than can help manage your symptoms.
Uterine fibroids don’t always cause symptoms but some of them are:
- Heavy or longer periods
- Bleeding between periods
- Painful cramps
- Pain during sex
- Pain in your belly or lower back
- Pelvic pressure
- Infertility
Uterine fibroids treatment will depend on
- Your age
- Your general health
- How bad the symptoms are
- The size, type and location of them
- Whether you want to get pregnant
Uterine Polyps
Uterine or endometrial polyps are overgrowths of the inner lining of the uterus.Women with polyps usually present with irregular or heavy vaginal bleeding .
Single or multiple polyps can range from a few millimetres to several centimetres in size.
Irregular bleeding including spotting is the most frequent symptom in women with polyps. Less frequent symptom include heavy bleeding, post menopausal bleeding and prolapse of the polyp through the cervix.
Uterine polyps are usually diagnosed by microscopic examination of a biopsy of endometrial tissue but can also diagnosed on ultrasound or hysterosopy.
Ovarian Cysts
Ovarian cysts are fluid filled sacs that grow inside or on top of one or both ovaries and are usually asymptomatic but pain in the abdomen or pelvis is common .
The ovaries are reproductive organs in women that are located on the pelvis.They produce eggs and female hormones , estrogen and progesterone .
Sometimes a follicle does not release an egg during ovulation and instead it continues to fill with fluid inside the ovary. This is called follicular cyst.
There are two types of functional cysts:
- Follicular cyst This cyst begins when the follicle doesn't rupture or release its egg but continues to grow.
- Corpus luteum cyst When a follicle releases its egg and begins producing estrogen and progesterone, it's called the corpus luteum. Sometimes fluid accumulates inside the follicle, causing the corpus luteum to grow into a cyst
Often, ovarian cysts don't cause any symptoms. In fact, it may not be known an ovarian cyst is present until it's discovered by your doctor during a routine pelvic exam. In some cases, some or all of the following symptoms may be experienced:
- Pelvic pain
- pain during sex
- a frequent need to urinate
- heavy periods, irregular periods or lighter periods than normal
- bloating and a swollen tummy
- feeling very full after only eating a little
- difficulty getting pregnant – although fertility is usually unaffected by ovarian cysts
Many ovarian cysts disappear on their own. A follow-up ultrasound scan may be used to confirm this.
If you are postmenopausal, there is a slightly higher risk of ovarian cancer. Regular ultrasound scans and blood tests are usually recommended over the course of a year to monitor the cysts.
Surgical treatment to remove the cysts may be needed if they're large, causing symptoms or potentially cancerous.
HPV
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common infection that is passed on by sexual contact. It is likely that most of us who have ever been sexually active have had HPV at some time in our life although we may not have known.
HPV is not a single virus but a family of more than 100 types of HPV that affect the body. Approximately 40 types of HPV affect the genital area.
It is some of these types that can cause changes to the cells in the cervix and that can lead to cervical cancer.
If you have an abnormal smear test it is a sign that you have probably been exposed to HPV.Some smear test samples are now tested for high-risk types of HPV.
There is no cure for HPV—it is best to take steps to prevent it. Young women can prevent certain types of HPV infection by being vaccinated. You can decrease your risk of infection by avoiding contact with the virus. To lower your chance of infection:
- Limit your number of sexual partners. The more partners you have the greater your risk of infection.
- Use condoms to reduce your risk of infection when you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Condoms also help protect against other STDs.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse
When the muscles and ligaments supporting a woman's pelvic organs weaken, the pelvic organs can drop lower in the pelvis, creating a bulge in the vagina (prolapse). Women most commonly develop pelvic organ prolapse years after childbirth, after a hysterectomy or after menopause.
Pelvic organ prolapse can affect the front, top or back of the vagina. The main types of prolapse are:
- anterior prolapse (cystocele) – where the bladder bulges into the front wall of the vagina
- prolapse of the uterus and cervix or top of the vagina – which can be the result of previous treatment to remove the womb (hysterectomy)
- posterior wall prolapse (rectocoele or enterocoele) – when the bowel bulges forward into the back wall of the vagina
It's possible to have more than one of these types of prolapse at the same time.
Symptoms may include:
- a sensation of a bulge or something coming down or out of the vagina, which sometimes needs to be pushed back
- discomfort during sex
- problems passing urine – such as slow stream, a feeling of not emptying the bladder fully, needing to urinate more often and leaking a small amount of urine when you cough, sneeze or exercise (stress incontinence)
Some women with a pelvic organ prolapse don't have any symptoms and the condition is only discovered during an internal examination for another reason, such as a cervical screening.
PAP Smear (PAP TEST)
A Pap smear, also called a Pap test, is a very simple tool that’s designed to detect abnormal cell changes on your cervix. The test itself is very easy. Your OB/GYN simply takes a swab of your cervix, and the cells are examined under a microscope.
Your OB/GYN often performs this test as part of your annual wellness exam while you’re in your childbearing years.
The results of your Pap smear either come back as normal or abnormal. An abnormal test result means that you may have abnormal cell changes on your cervix.
These cell changes are mostly due to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most common sexually transmitted disease, mostly in early adulthood. There are over 150 types of HPV, approximately 40 of which can lead to cancer, which is where the Pap smear comes in.
Abnormal Pap results signal to your OB/GYN that they need to monitor you more closely, which they do by performing a colposcopy. For normal Pap smear results with HPV infection, your doctor will retest you in a year. Tests for other STDs like gonorrhea and chlamydia can also be performed on your Pap smear specimen.
With a colposcopy, your OB/GYN uses a specialised instrument to take a closer look at your cervix. Your doctor may then remove a tiny piece of your cervical tissue for a biopsy.If your results show persistent abnormal cell changes, your OB/GYN may turn to a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) to remove the affected tissue.If you’re showing outward signs of an HPV infection, namely genital warts, the specialist doctor clears those up with a topical medication at the hospital.