Vaginitis

Key takeaways

Vaginitis belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vaginitis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vaginitis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vaginitis, also known as vulvovaginitis, is inflammation of the vagina and vulva. Symptoms may include itching, burning, pain, discharge, and a bad smell. Certain types of vaginitis may result in complications during pregnancy. The three main causes are infections, specifically bacterial vaginosis, vaginal yeast infection, and trichomoniasis. Other causes include allergies to substances such as spermicides or soaps or as a result of low estrogen levels during breast-feeding or after menopause. More than one cause may exist at a time. The common causes vary by age. Prepubescent girls are often at risk for development of vulvovaginitis because of low amounts of estrogen and an underdeveloped labia minora. Diagnosis generally include examination, measuring the pH, and culturing the discharge. Other causes of symptoms such as inflammation of the cervix, pelvic inflammatory disease, cancer, foreign bodies, and skin conditions should be ruled out. Treatment depends on the underlying cause. Infections should be treated. Sitz baths may help with symptoms. Soaps and feminine hygiene products such as sprays should not be used. About a third of women have vaginitis at some point in time. Women of reproductive age are most often affected.

Signs and symptoms

A woman may have vaginal irritation, itching, or burning or may notice a foul-smelling or abnormal discharge that could appear green or yellow. The following signs or symptoms may indicate the presence of infection:

Irritation or itching of the genital area inflammation (irritation, redness, and swelling caused by the presence of extra immune cells) of the labia majora, labia minora, or perineal area vaginal discharge foul vaginal odor pain/irritation with sexual intercourse

Complications Vaginal infections left untreated can lead to further complications, especially for the pregnant woman. For bacterial vaginosis, these include "premature delivery, postpartum infections, clinically apparent and subclinical pelvic inflammatory disease, [as well as] postsurgical complications (after abortion, hysterectomy, caesarian section), increased vulnerability to HIV infection and, possibly, infertility". Studies have also linked trichomoniasis with increased likelihood of acquiring HIV; theories include that "vaginitis increases the number of immune cells at the site of infection, and HIV then infects those immune cells." Other theories suggest that trichomoniasis increases the amount of HIV genital shedding, thereby increasing the risk of transmission to sexual partners. While the exact association between trichomoniasis infection and HIV genital shedding has not been consistently demonstrated, "there is good evidence that TV treatment reduces HIV genital shedding. Five studies were reported in the literature and, of these, four found a decrease in HIV genital shedding after TV treatment." Further, there are complications which lead to daily discomfort such as:

persistent discomfort superficial skin infection (from scratching) complications of the causative condition (such as gonorrhea and candida infection)

Causes

Infection Vaginitis is often caused by an infection or the disruption of the healthy vaginal flora. The vaginal flora consists of those organisms which generally do not cause symptoms and is dominated mainly by Lactobacillus species. Disruption of the normal flora can cause a vaginal yeast infection. Vaginal yeast infection can affect women of all ages and is very common. The yeast Candida albicans is the most common cause of vaginitis. Specific forms of vaginal inflammation include the following types: Infectious vaginitis accounts for 90% of all cases in reproductive age women:

Candidiasis: vaginitis caused by proliferation of Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei Bacterial vaginosis: vaginitis caused by increased growth of Gardnerella (a bacterium). Aerobic vaginitis Other less common infections are caused by gonorrhea, chlamydia, Mycoplasma, herpes, Campylobacter, improper hygiene, and some parasites, notably Trichomonas vaginalis. Rare cases of amebic vaginitis have been reported, primarily in tropical, developing countries. Women who have diabetes develop infectious vaginitis more often than women who do not. Further, either a change in pH balance or introduction of foreign bacteria in the vagina can lead to infectious vaginitis. Physical factors that have been claimed to contribute to the development of infections include the following: constantly wet vulva due to tight clothing, chemicals coming in contact with the vagina via scented tampons, antibiotics, birth control pills, or a diet favoring refined sugar and yeast.

Hormonal Hormonal vaginitis includes atrophic vaginitis usually found in postmenopausal women.

Irritation/allergy Irritant vaginitis can be caused by allergies or reactions to vaginal sprays, douches, spermicides, soaps, detergents, or fabric softeners. It can also be caused by hot tubs, abrasion, tissue, tampons, or topical medications. Foreign body vaginitis (most common foreign bodies are retained tampons or condoms) may cause extremely malodorous vaginal discharges. Treatment consists of removal, for which ring forceps may be useful. Further treatment is generally not necessary.

Diagnosis Diagnosis is typically suspected based on a women's symptoms. Diagnosis is made with microscopy (mostly by vaginal wet mount) and culture of the discharge after a careful history and physical examination have been completed. The color, consistency, acidity, and other characteristics of the discharge may be predictive of the causative agent. Determining the agent is especially important because women may have more than one infection, or have symptoms that overlap those of another infection, which dictates different treatment processes to cure the infection. For example, women often self-diagnose for yeast infections but due to the 89% misdiagnosis rate, self-diagnoses of vaginal infections are highly discouraged. Another type of vaginitis, called desquamative inflammatory vaginitis (DIV) also exists. The cause behind this type is still poorly understood. DIV corresponds to the severe forms of aerobic vaginitis. About 5 to 10% of women are affected by aerobic vaginitis. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes for the several causes of vaginitis are:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vaginitis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vaginitis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vaginitis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vaginitis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vaginitis

In research: Vaginitis appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vaginitis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vaginitis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Inflammations, Inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs, Vagina, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vaginitis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Vaginitis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vaginitis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vaginitis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vaginitis in simple terms?

Vaginitis, also known as vulvovaginitis, is inflammation of the vagina and vulva. Symptoms may include itching, burning, pain, discharge, and a bad smell.

Why does Vaginitis matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vaginitis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vaginitis.