Online shopping platforms often recommend me some “medical products” with a strange style: remedies for lowering blood sugar, strange medicines for hair loss, various weight loss teas and aphrodisiacs…
It’s useless to report false propaganda, if you don’t see it.
Until a while ago, the shopping platform recommended the so-called ” Vaginal Inflammation Self-Checking Pads “, my sense of responsibility as an obstetrician and gynecologist suddenly came to my mind, and I decided that I must say why this type of pads are not recommended (yes, the conclusion is put here).
It’s this kind of pad丨A screenshot of a treasure
Reason 1: Uncertainty
Click on the page of “Vaginitis Self-Check Pads”, and you will find that the detection principle is essentially the pH measurement of vaginal secretions .
Instructions in product details丨A screenshot of a treasure
But this measurement method is very problematic .
In daily life, there are not only vaginal secretions, but also urine residues and sweat in the private parts. If you have had intercourse, used lotions, taken drugs, or have bleeding, etc., it will interfere with the local pH level .
When clinically testing the pH of vaginal secretions, a dry cotton swab should be used to sample the vaginal side wall. The cotton swab should not be pre-moistened, and the liquid (such as blood, semen, lubricant, cervical mucus, etc.) should not be in contact with the posterior vaginal fornix. , so as to prevent other factors from interfering with the pH of the sample and obtain the most accurate results possible.
Can you measure the pH of secretions with a pad? Isn’t this nonsense!
If you don’t expect it to detect inflammation, and you want to measure pH, that’s fine too. But look at its price! Only 6 pieces for 19.9 yuan! You can buy thousands of pH test strips instead! Just…why? Right?
pH test paper is cheap!丨 Station Cool Hailuo
Reason 2: Abnormal pH value does not mean vaginitis!
Even if it can measure the pH of vaginal secretions, it does not mean vaginitis .
There is a certain relationship between the pH of vaginal secretions and health .
The normal vaginal environment is acidic, and the pH value is generally between 3.8 and 4.4. If the lactic acid bacteria in the vaginal environment lose their dominant position and miscellaneous bacteria proliferate abnormally, the pH value will rise, and some inflammation will appear.
This is probably the initial design idea of the “self-inspection pad”. However, there is no simple correspondence between the pH of vaginal secretions and vaginal inflammation .
In addition to the errors caused by the contamination of blood, lubricants, cervical mucus, etc. mentioned above, sexual life, topical medication, douching, etc., can also cause a temporary increase in pH – these are not vaginitis, right?
Lactic acid bacteria need glycogen to produce lactic acid, and glycogen is positively correlated with estrogen levels, so infancy, menopause and some breastfeeding women with low estrogen levels will also experience increased vaginal pH – are these vaginal inflammation?
Conversely, a normal pH does not necessarily mean health .
Among the common vaginal inflammations, bacterial vaginosis and trichomonas vaginitis are prone to increase the pH value of secretions, but if Candida vaginitis is not associated with bacterial vaginosis, the pH of secretions is often normal. Scope – this is really vaginitis .
In clinical detection of vaginal inflammation, pH value is an important reference item, but it is only one of many important reference items .
Diagnosis of an inflammation depends not only on pH value, but also on clinical manifestations, secretion characteristics, and whether there are characteristic substances or pathogens in the leucorrhea test results . Some uncommon inflammations also require pathogen culture or more complex testing to confirm the diagnosis.
You must know that the manifestations of different vaginal inflammations are sometimes very similar, and doctors have to make comprehensive judgments based on the test results, not to mention ordinary people who have not received professional medical education and professional equipment.
Do not conduct self-diagnosis if you are uncomfortable, so as to avoid incorrect medication delaying the condition and causing additional damage [3,4].
Reason 3: Don’t use pads if it’s okay
When gynecologists conduct health education, they often instruct female compatriots to wear cotton and breathable trousers to avoid local heat and humidity.
This is because the hot and humid environment is suitable for bacterial growth . Coupled with “nutrients” such as secretions and excreta residues, the reproduction rate of bacteria is super doubled, which is very unfavorable for local hygiene.
The pad is an absorbent product that generally has a hydrophilic absorbent layer and a waterproof isolation layer. No matter how “comfortable and breathable” pads are advertised, as long as there is an insulating layer, it is difficult for the pads to be as breathable as cotton underwear .
Usually using a pad is like wearing an isolation suit for the private parts, which is stuffy. This uncomfortable environment, coupled with the inconspicuous contact surface of the pad, may also induce vulvar dermatitis, aggravate the original symptoms of vaginal inflammation, and cause discomfort such as itching and pain [1, 2].
You don’t need to use it when you don’t need it, there is a washing machine, and it’s not troublesome to wash your underwear丨Zhanku Hailuo
Therefore, in addition to the situation where you have to use pads during menstruation, you should use as few pads as possible at other times, and keep the area clean and breathable, which is conducive to health and hygiene.
So I usually use “self-inspection pads”, is it for health or unhealthy? confuse.
If you have similar concerns
In fact, even if there is vaginal inflammation, not all need treatment .
Bacterial vaginosis, for example, is essentially just an imbalance of the vaginal flora. If there are no uncomfortable symptoms such as increased secretions, odor, genital itching, and other infections, and not in special periods such as pregnancy or before gynecological surgery, no additional treatment is required. You only need to pay attention to daily hygiene and wait for the natural recovery of lactic acid bacteria. That’s it .
In addition, it is normal for the vulva to occasionally have a slight itching : since the skin on other parts of the body is inexplicably itchy for a while, it is not a big problem, so the skin of the vulva is not outside the law, and it should also be allowed to occasionally itch. As long as it doesn’t itch after cleaning and care, there is generally no need to worry.
But if you still feel very uncomfortable after cleaning, changing underwear and other measures, and there is still a lot of secretions, smelly, etc., then you should go to the hospital for inspection and treatment in time , and don’t use strange products to waste your money and increase your own. Anxiety and delay in treatment.
references
[1]. Spinillo A, Pizzoli G, Colonna L, Nicola S, De Seta F, Guaschino S. Epidemiologic characteristics of women with idiopathic recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis. Obstet Gynecol. 1993 May;81(5 ( Pt 1)):721- 7. PMID: 8469460.
[2]. Corsello S, Spinillo A, Osnengo G, Penna C, Guaschino S, Beltrame A, Blasi N, Festa A. An epidemiological survey of vulvovaginal candidiasis in Italy. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2003 Sep 10;110( 1): 66-72. doi: 10.1016/s0301-2115(03)00096-4. PMID: 12932875.
[3]. Ferris DG, Nyirjesy P, Sobel JD, Soper D, Pavletic A, Litaker MS. Over-the-counter antifungal drug misuse associated with patient-diagnosed vulvovaginal candidiasis. Obstet Gynecol. 2002 Mar;99(3):419 -25. doi: 10.1016/s0029-7844(01)01759-8. PMID: 11864668.
[4]. Vaginitis in Nonpregnant Patients: ACOG Practice Bulletin, Number 215. Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Jan;135(1):e1-e17. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003604. PMID: 31856123.
Author: Flying Knife Broken Rain
Editor: Li Xiaokui
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