Vaginitis | |
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Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | Gynecology |
ICD-10 | N76.0-N76.1 |
ICD-9-CM | 616.1 |
DiseasesDB | 14017 |
MedlinePlus | 000897 |
eMedicine | med/3369 med/2358 emerg/631 emerg/639 |
MeSH | D014627 |
Vaginitis, also known as vaginal infection and vulvovaginitis, is an inflammation of the vagina and possible vulva. It can result in discharge, itching and pain, and is often associated with an irritation or infection of the vulva. Infected women may also be asymptomatic.
It is usually due to infection. The three main kinds of vaginitis are bacterial vaginosis (BV), vaginal candidiasis, and trichomoniasis. A woman may have any combination of vaginal infections at one time. Testing for vaginal infections is not a part of routine pelvic exams. If there is discomfort in the vulvovaginal area, women can request their health care providers evaluate for the presence of an infection.
A woman may have vaginal itching or burning and may notice a discharge.
The discharge may be excessive in amounts or abnormal in color(such as yellow, gray, or green).
The following symptoms may indicate the presence of infection:
Vaginitis is the disruption of the healthy vaginal microbiota. The vaginal microbiota consists of those organisms which generally do not cause symptoms, infections, and results in good pregnancy outcomes, and is dominated mainly by Lactobacillus species. The disruption of the normal microbiota 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:
Other less common infections are caused by gonorrhea, chlamydia, Mycoplasma, herpes, Campylobacter, improper hygiene, and some parasites, notably Trichomonas vaginalis. Women who have diabetes develop infectious vaginitis more often than women who do not.