Dr. Bhagyashree Deshmukh

Are you experiencing swelling, bump and lesions in your vaginal area? These might be an indication of female vaginal sores. They may be itchy, quite painful, are usually tender and may also produce discharge. The sores usually develop because of skin disorders. Most cases of genital sores are symptoms of some kind sexually transmitted infection (STI). 

Diagnosis of female genital sores
A physical examination is undertaken for finding out the exact cause of genital sores and swelling in women. A pelvic test may also be carried out and you will be required to provide your doctor with your medical history reports. Blood tests, including blood work and a culture of the sore are also used for diagnosis. A culture is referred to as the method of taking a sample from your genital sore and testing it for the detection of bacteria. An ideal treatment method is suggested by your doctor after proper diagnosis. 

Self Care 
Based on the symptoms you experience and observe, you can cure vaginal sores by using simple self-care methods before consulting a doctor. A sitz bath is effective for getting relief from pain and discomfort. You can prepare a sitz bath at home by filling your bathtub with warm water and adding a saline solution or baking soda to the water in the bathtub. The water should be up to your hips when you get into the bathtub. You may even purchase a small basin meant for a sitz bath, which is available at all drug stores. 

Treatment
There are various ways of treating vaginal sores and the exact treatment depends on the cause of the sores. Here is a list of the most common treatment methods:

1. Use certain oral and topical medicines for treating the sores and getting relief from pain.
2. Try other medicines which include pain relievers, antibiotics, corticosteroids, antiviral medications, and certain anti-itch medicines for treating vaginal sores. 
3. Some forms of genital sores do not require treatment, but you can get rid of them if they are bothering you. A noncancerous cyst is such a type of sore.  
4. The long term outlook for vaginal sores depends on the cause. Sores accompanied by swelling occur due to chronic skin conditions, which are likely to affect you again in the future. You should get an existing STI treated for avoiding the recurrence of vaginal sores. 
5. The best way to keep away from vaginal sores is to have safe sex using protection, such as condoms. This will prevent the infection from being transmitted to your sexual partners. You must not hide the fact that you are having vaginal sores to avoid harassment, and should always open up and seek proper treatment.

Like many systems within the human body, the reproductive system is also a self maintaining one and performs many complex functions on its own. The female reproductive system is one such system and within it, the vagina is an especially good example. It is a self contained system wherein, the balance of the vaginal bacteria is maintained for proper health.

Douching
Douching is a process that involves the cleaning out or washing of an internal cavity of a body, such as the anus or the vagina with the help of water and special nozzles. Vaginal douching has become prevalent among women, mostly due to aggressive marketing campaigns which claim that it helps to keep the vagina clean. It is estimated that in developed nations, one in four women perform douching regularly.

Is it any good?
Vaginal douching has been reviled by most medical professionals around the world. The consensus is that not only does vaginal douching have no benefits; it may also be harmful for your vagina in general. The vagina is an ecosystem wherein multiple types of organisms thrive, including bacteria and fungi. These organisms keep each other in check and maintain the health of the organ. These organisms help maintain the pH Levels (the alkaline to acidic radio) within the vagina. Douching may actually disrupt the balance and cause harm by destroying one type of micro-organisms and letting the other proliferate, thus causing infections and other problems.

Problems caused by vaginal douching
Douches, especially the ones found in the market, contain elements such as iodine, baking soda, vinegar and other chemicals that can make the delicate vaginal balance go haywire. Some of the disorders that can be caused by it are mentioned as follows:

1. Yeast infections: This is due to the proliferation of the fungi known as ‘candida’ within the vagina. This fungus is present within the vagina, but douching can reduce the bacteria that counteract it, resulting in rapid growth. This is one of the most common infections of the vagina.
2. Bacterial vaginosis: Similar to how yeast infections occur, in this case, harmful bacteria proliferate within the vagina. This is also a common vaginal infection and douching has been deemed as one of the leading causes for it.
3. Pelvic inflammatory diseases: Douching pushes the bacteria of the vaginal canal into the cervix and the uterus, resulting in infections such as PID or pelvic inflammatory diseases (an infection in the reproductive organ in females).
4. Pregnancy related problems: A myth has been floating around that if a woman performs douching after sexual intercourse, it will wash away the sperm and hence prevent her from getting pregnant. In fact, the reverse is true. Douching can often push the sperm up into the uterus causing pregnancy. Not only that, pregnancies caused in such a manner have higher chances of bearing complications such as ectopic pregnancies (a condition wherein the fertilized egg gets implanted outside one’s uterus), birth defects, etc.
5. Irritation and vaginal dryness: Douching at the very least will result in the vagina turning dry as the natural mechanisms are disrupted. This results in irritation and itching.

Babies can enter this world in one of two ways: Pregnant women can have either a vaginal birth or a surgical delivery by Caesarean section, but the ultimate goal is to safely give birth to a healthy baby.

A C-section, or Caesarean section is a surgical procedure to remove baby through an incision in the mother’s abdomen and then a second incision in the uterus.

A C-section may be a necessity in certain situations, such as delivering a very large baby in a mother with a small pelvis, or if the baby is not in a heads-down position and efforts to turn the baby before a woman gives birth have been unsuccessful.

Sometimes the decision by an obstetrician to perform a C-section is unplanned, and it is done for emergency reasons because the health of the mother, the baby, or both of them is in jeopardy. This may occur because of a problem during pregnancy or after a woman has gone into labor, such as if labor is happening too slowly or if the baby is not getting enough oxygen.

Some C-sections are considered elective, meaning they are requested by the mother for non-medical reasons before she goes into labor. A woman may choose to have a C-section if she wants to plan when she delivers or if she previously had a complicated vaginal delivery.

Reasons for a C-section may include-

1. Health problems in the mother
2. The mother carrying more than one baby
3. The size or position of the baby
4. The baby’s health is in danger
5. Labor is not moving along as it should

The surgery is relatively safe for mother and baby. Still, it is major surgery and carries risks. It also takes longer to recover from a C-section than from vaginal birth. It can raise the risk of having difficulties with future pregnancies. Some women may have problems attempting a vaginal birth later. Still, many women are able to have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).

How You Might Feel-

You won’t feel any pain during the C-section, although you may feel sensations like pulling and pressure. Most women are awake and simply numbed from the waist down using regional anesthesia during a C-section.

That way, they are awake to see and hear their baby being born. A curtain will be over your abdomen during the surgery, but you may be able to take a peek as your baby is being delivered from your belly.

However, women who need to have an emergency C-section occasionally require general anesthesia, so they’re unconscious during the delivery and won’t remember anything or feel any pain.

Recovering from a C-section-

After a C-section, a woman may spend two to four days in the hospital, but it may take her up to six weeks to feel more like herself again.

Her abdomen will feel sore from the surgery and the skin and nerves in this area will need time to heal. Women will be given narcotic pain medications to take the edge off any post-surgery pain, and most women use them for about two weeks afterward.

A woman may also experience bleeding for about four to six weeks after a surgical birth. She is also advised to not have sex for a few weeks after her C-section and to also avoid strenuous activities, such as lifting heavy objects.