Taipei City Hospital

Vaginal secretions are called leucorrhea: normal vaginal secretions can clean and protect the vagina. The secretions change with the menstrual cycle after puberty. However, if secretions change either in quantity, color, smell or viscosity, or cause itching or pain, you must be careful. You may have vaginitis.

Clinically, many pathogens, including an imbalance of normal flora or sexually transmitted disease pathogens, can cause infection of the private parts of females (cervix, vagina or urethra) and vaginitis, with such symptoms as increased secretion, secretion color change, strong smell and vaginal itching and pain.

Li Lanhui, medical technologist at the laboratory in Kunming branch of Taipei City Hospital, says: taking an imbalance of normal flora for example, Gardnerella vaginalis or Candida sp., can multiply excessively in the vagina due to the use of antibiotics, chemotherapy, hormone disorder or infection, which inhibits the growth of the originally dominant Lactobacillus sp., causing Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) or Candidiasis.

Take infection of sexually transmitted disease pathogens for example: the infection of such common sexually transmitted diseases as infections of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas vaginalis can also cause increased vaginal secretions. These pathogens spread among sexual partners through mucosa or wounds due to unclean or unsafe sexual behavior, which can increase the chance of contracting HIV and the risk of infertility due to long-term asymptomatic infection.

Li Lanhui says that most females will experience vaginal irritation in their life. The pathogens that cause female genitourinary tract infection are of many kinds, and different pathogens require different medical treatments. Only with the diagnosis of qualified doctors according to clinical symptoms and medical history, together with professional specific examinations of laboratories can a good therapy be prescribed to treat symptoms and cure the diseases.

Currently, Kunming branch provides specific nucleic acid testing services for the above five common vaginitis pathogens. If you suffer abnormal secretion that has lasted for a long time, we recommend you come with your partners to safeguard your happiness.