Vaginal Diseases

"Vaginal diseases" covers infections, inflammations, pain syndromes, and other conditions of the vagina and vulva. Most are common, treatable, and cause unnecessary suffering when self-treated or kept silent.

Common conditions

• Yeast infection (candidiasis) — thick white "curd-like" discharge, intense itching; common after antibiotics, in pregnancy, with diabetes.
• Bacterial vaginosis — thin greyish discharge, fishy smell, usually not itchy.
• Trichomoniasis — STI; frothy yellow-green discharge, irritation.
• Chlamydia and gonorrhoea — often silent; can cause pelvic infection and tubal damage; pelvic pain, discharge.
• Atrophic vaginitis — thinning of vaginal lining around menopause; dryness, painful sex.
• Contact/allergic dermatitis — from soaps, intimate washes, perfumed products.
• Vulvodynia — chronic burning/pain of the vulva; real, treatable with targeted care.
• Lichen sclerosus — thinning, white patches; itchy; needs specialist care.

Red flags — see a Health Expert

• Any bleeding after sex, or bleeding after menopause.
• Non-healing ulcer, lump, or pigmented patch — exclude rare cancer.
• Severe pain, fever with discharge, or symptoms affecting pregnancy.
• Recurrent infections (more than 4 a year).
• Symptoms in a young girl before puberty.

Self-care that helps, and what to avoid

• Wash with water only; avoid soaps, intimate washes, perfumed products inside the vulva. The vagina is self-cleaning.
• Cotton, loose underwear; change out of wet clothes promptly.
• Don't douche — it disturbs the normal balance and worsens infections.
• Don't insert unregulated products — ayurvedic suppositories, wheat rotis, "cleansing" creams, garlic. Real harm is common.
• Avoid antibiotics without a Health Expert — wrong use drives resistance and can trigger yeast.

When to see a Health Expert

• First episode of vaginal symptoms — so the cause is correctly identified.
• Symptoms not clearing in a few days.
• Recurrent symptoms.
• Any red flags above.
• Sexually active with new partner and symptoms — test for STIs.