Our body is always fighting invisible germs. If you win this fight, you will stay healthy. Otherwise, you will suffer from inflammation and pain until you recover. The vagina, or the female reproductive organ, is always at risk of bacterial infection.

Vaginitis, which is the penetration of bacteria into the vagina, is one of the most common causes of gynecologic visits of women. Vaginitis, also called vaginosis, is not limited to the vagina. It can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnant women can face various risks such as the premature rupture of membranes and premature labor.

▶ The most common type of vaginitis is bacterial vaginosis

The most common vaginitis is bacterial vaginosis, which accounts for about 50% of infections. This is followed by Candida vaginitis at 20-25%, and Trichomonas vaginitis which is at 15-20%. In addition, there are non-infectious vaginitis.

Bacterial vaginitis is known to be experienced by at least 40% of women at least once in their life. Half of them may occur without symptoms.

Bacterial vaginitis is caused by the disappearance of Lactobacillus which maintains the acid in the vagina and the growth of anaerobic bacteria that thrives well without oxygen. Lactobacillus ferments glucose to produce lactic acid, keeping the pH in the vagina below 4.5.

Anaerobic bacteria account for less than about 1% of all bacteria present in the vagina of a healthy woman. However, if you get bacterial vaginosis, it multiplies 100 to 1000 times, causing lactic acid in the normal vagina to disappear.

The typical symptoms of bacterial vaginosis are grayish-white vaginal discharge and a foul smell. This odor becomes worse after sex. The reason is the substance called “amine,” a metabolite of anaerobic bacteria. Vaginitis is often symptom-free, and even if there is no odor, one can still be suspected of having vaginosis.

▶ Causes and treatment of more serious vaginitis

It is not yet clear why Lactobacillus that maintains the acid in the vagina during normal vaginal anxiety, diminishes.

Disappearing Lactobacillus and vaginal acidity are factors affecting the lowering of acidity in the vagina, which is caused by excessive mucus secretion caused by the uterine cervix loosening, frequent sexual intercourse before and after menstruation, and back water that deepens the vagina.

Once the normal vaginal bacterium, Lactobacillus disappears, it is difficult to maintain it again, thus, there are many recurrences of bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis does not end with vaginal problems. Several complications can occur.

First, you may get pelvic inflammatory disease. If you have surgery and have bacterial vaginosis, your risk of pelvic infection increases. With acute pelvic inflammatory disease, fever occurs and severe pain occurs in the lower abdomen.

As a complication of pelvic inflammatory disease, pus may form, and the fallopian tube may be blocked due to sequelae, resulting in infertility.

If you suffer from bacterial vaginosis during pregnancy, the amniotic membrane surrounding the fetus becomes inflamed and the child can be prematurely born with premature amniotic fluid.

Bacterial vaginosis does not kill Lactobacillus, and is treated with antibiotics that are effective only for anaerobic bacteria, the causative agent of bacterial vaginosis.

Studies have shown that the most important thing in preventing bacterial vaginosis and maintaining a healthy vaginal environment is to conserve acidity in the vagina at a pH of less than 4.5. In particular, it has been found that lactic acid maintains acidity in the vagina and has excellent antibacterial properties.