Dr. Saroja. K

A healthy vagina is the basis of stellar sexual health and wellness. By practicing healthy habits and awareness, it's possible to avoid itches, rashes, and infections. Start by wiping right after a bowel movement. Avoid douches, scented soaps, and feminine hygiene products. Eating probiotic food like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut can keep the vaginal balance intact. Add in some Kegel exercises and yoga asanas to keep your vagina strong and flexible.

Everyday Habits For a Healthy Vagina:

• Wipe Properly And No Douching
• Stop Using Feminine Hygeine Products, Eat Probiotics
• Change Pad Every 6-8 Hours And Practice Safe Sex
• Visit A lady Sexologist When Needed And Practice Yoga

9 Ways To Keep Vaginal Problems In Check

1. Wipe From Back To Front

Wiping after a bowel movement seems like a trivial task. Yet, there is a healthy and safe way to go about it. Start from the front and move backward. In women, the openings of the anus and vagina are fairly close together. If you wipe from back to front, you increase the risk of bringing bacteria from the anus into the vagina. This move can trigger bacterial vaginosis, a vaginal infection characterized by a fishy smell, discharge, and itching. It is also marked by a burning sensation that amplifies when you urinate. So make it a point to start from the back and work toward the front. It may take some getting used to, but it’s the type of habit that will protect your vaginal health.1

2. Avoid Douching

Douching is the act of cleaning the vagina by spraying it with water or other fluids. Many believe that this practice will get rid of bad odor and menstrual residue. It’s much different than a simple rinse around the vagina, though. (The latter doesn’t do any harm, and can be a part of a regular shower or wash.) However, about 1 in 4 American women ages 15 to 44 years douche. Popular products include prepackaged douches containing vinegar, iodine, and baking soda. These douches are made to be inserted into the vagina using a nozzle or tube.

Unfortunately, this can adversely impact the natural balance inside the vagina. From dryness to irritation, douching can cause problems that weren’t there in the first place.3Douching doesn’t just flush out the good bacteria but can also help bad bacteria flourish, leading to conditions like a yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis. A healthy vagina needs certain levels of both bacteria, after all. And if you already have a bacterial infection? Douching can encourage the bacteria to move into the uterus, ovaries, and Fallopian tube. This can also cause an infection that can transform into pelvic inflammatory disease, a serious inflammation of the reproductive organs.4

Needless to say, douching should be avoided for prime vaginal health. The vagina naturally cleanses itself by emitting discharge and mucus. And while it may be tempting to speed it up, the vagina is perfectly capable of handling it on its own.

3. Ditch Feminine Hygiene Products 

But do we really need them? Most soaps are basic in nature, while the natural vaginal pH tends to be acidic. When you wash the vagina with these soaps too often, the natural state is thrown for a loop. It gives harmful microbes a chance to grow, causing bacterial vaginosis and fungal infections. Fragrances in soaps, cleansers, and gels can also irritate the vagina. While there’s a ton of debate on this topic, there’s no proof yet that vaginal washes can actually maintain an acidic pH. Yet, many products claim to do so. The vagina can maintain a healthy pH by itself. And if it is unable to do so, symptoms of itching and a foul-smelling discharge will manifest. At that point, a doctor’s intervention is the only thing needed.

4. Eat Probiotics

While a nutritious, balanced diet is important for reproductive health, probiotics have an exceptionally special role. The vaginal canal has a natural level of good bacteria that keep it healthy. Most notably, this includes the Lactobacillus bacteria. Research even speculates that inadequate amounts of Lactobacilli in the vagina can lead to a greater susceptibility to infections, from yeast infections to HIV type 1.8 So if you’re looking to optimize your vaginal health, eat foods that are rich in probiotic bacteria. Need ideas? Yogurt and fermented foods like kimchi, or miso are all tasty options.

5. Maintain Good Menstrual Hygiene

With the invention of high-absorbency pads, it’s easy to forget how important it is to change them regularly. Otherwise, bacterial overgrowth, rashes, and general discomfort may occur. To prevent these from conditions from developing, experts recommend changing pads every six to eight hours.9

Tampons aren’t much different. Leaving them in for longer than eight hours has been known to increase the chances of a potentially fatal condition called toxic shock syndrome. Your best bet is to change them at least four to five times a day.10 The Women’s Voices for the Earth report also points out that the dioxins, pesticidal residues, and fragrance chemicals in tampons and sanitary pads may pose a risk to reproductive and endocrine health, aside from causing allergies and infections.11Looking for an alternative? Consider a reusable menstrual cup instead of these conventional products.

6. Practice Safe Sex

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with protecting your sexual health when you’re with a new partner (or multiple partners). Use physical barriers such as condoms and diaphragms to protect yourself from contracting a sexually transmitted disease.13

Another safe sex practice is urination after sexual intercourse. This simple habit can help get rid of bacteria in the urethra and bladder. You can also wash around the vagina after sex to prevent unwanted bacteria and foreign bodies from entering the vaginal canal after sex. But remember, these actions won’t prevent sexually transmitted infection. A physical barrier is still your best option.

7. Visit A Lady Sexologist For Preventive Care

Whether you have a mild itch or a suspicion of something serious, a doctor is a good person to turn to. If you have a persistent itch for more than a week or if it turns into inflammation with a smelly discharge, see a doctor immediately. And if there’s a new vaginal hygiene practice that catches your attention, a doctor is the best person to assess if it is right for you.

8. Perform Kegel Exercises

The vaginal canal is made up of muscles just like the arms and legs. Pelvic floor exercises that involve contracting and relaxing muscles in the hip region can be very helpful in keeping the vagina strong and flexible. This is especially ideal post-pregnancy when the vagina loses some of its elasticity. By doing these exercises often, it can be restored to its previous physical state.

9. Give Yoga A Shot

Performing yoga regularly can also help your vaginal muscles. The ashwini mudra (horse pose) can increase blood flow to the pelvic region, tone the vaginal muscles, and keep the vaginal tissue healthy.17Specifically, this move entails contracting and releasing muscles in the pelvic region.

HIV is a systemic disease which affects all parts of the body. The oral cavity also has some tell-tale symptoms which indicate HIV / AIDS. A careful examination and detailed history of symptoms is essential. In some cases, the oral manifestations could be the area where HIV is suspected. This can help in reducing morbidity and improves prognosis. The oral lesions that occur in HIV patients can vary and differ significantly in children and adults. While there are a variety of oral lesions in HIV-infected individuals, listed below are some common infections seen in HIV patients. These are a combination of fungal, viral and bacterial infections.

1. Candidiasis: Candida is an opportunistic fungus that is normally present in the oral cavity and with reduced immunity of HIV, recurrent bouts of the infection begins to show up. It can be in the form of regular thrush which is whitish and cannot be scraped off (pseudomembranous candidiasis), hyperplastic candidiasis (white patches which can be scraped off) or erythematous (reddish patches). Candida can involve any part of the oral mucosa including the pharynx and the palate.
2. Herpes Simplex: This is the most common viral infection seen in patients with HIV/AIDS. There could be primary or secondary infection of herpes virus, especially inside the mouth and the vermillion border of the lips.
3. Herpes zoster: This virus, when already present in the body, can be reactivated with HIV/AIDS and with oral herpes. The distinction with herpes simplex is from their distribution. These are unilateral, along the distribution of the maxillary or mandibular nerve. The lesions appear both on the facial skin and the oral mucosa. While the facial ones break open and form crusts, the mucosal ones coalesce to form larger lesions.
4. Hairy Leukoplakia: This is present in about 20% of asymptomatic HIV patients. Onset of hairy leukoplakia is an indication of rapid progression of HIV with increased CD4 counts. The typical lesion is a non-movable, hairy lesion along the side of the tongue and can spread to the top and the undersurface of the tongue. There are large amounts of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) identified from biopsies of hairy leukoplakia.
5. Cytomegalovirus: If the ulcers have a necrotic base with a halo surrounding it, it is CMV infection, usually seen on any oral mucosal surface.
6. Periodontal disease: This is one of the bacterial infections that manifests itself in HIV patients. It can take two forms such as Linear Gingival Erythema (LGE) which can subsequently lead to Necrotizing Ulcerative Periodontitis (NUP). The oral hygiene is generally good with minimal plaque and there is rapid bone loss and soft tissue reddening and swelling. The, mouth, therefore is certainly a window to one’s health.

Diagnosing HIV with Western Blot Test-

It is a series of blood screenings are performed to test for HIV. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), also known as an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), is the first test that your healthcare provider will order to screen for HIV. ELISA, like the Western blot test, detects HIV antibodies in your blood. Antibodies are proteins your immune system produces in response to the presence of foreign substances, such as viruses. If you test positive for HIV on the ELISA test, your provider will order the Western blot test to confirm HIV infection. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

There are some commonest misconceptions about infertility, and these misconceptions should be eliminated as soon as possible so that the actual facts can be known. There are many online sites where you can find detailed information on the scientific explanations regarding infertility, and you can follow them.

List of myths and facts regarding infertility:

1.Myth: The menstrual cycle of a woman is for 28 days.
Fact: Normal cycle ranges between 21-36 days.

2.Myth: A woman can have pregnancy on the day one of menstrual cycle.
Fact: The released eggs remain viable for almost 12-14 hours, and a woman can get pregnant after an intercourse done two-days after ovulation and five-days before ovulation.

3.Myth: Infertility occurs due to stress.
Fact: Ovulation can surely get delayed due to hormone suppression, but infertility does not occur due to stress.

4.Myth: Sperms stay active for few hours.
Fact: Sperms stay alive at least for five days.

5.Myth: Men with a higher sexual-drive will have a normal sperm-count.
Fact: No relation is there in between fertility and virility. Sometimes, it has been found that men having a higher sex-drive do not produce sperms.

6.Myth: Women have to wait for three months to conceive after stopping the usage of contraceptive pills.
Fact: As soon as a woman stops pill usage, hormonal levels go back to normal condition, as a result of which ovulation begins immediately.

7.Myth: Only females have infertility troubles.
Fact: Both women and men suffer from infertility troubles as per the current scientific studies.

8.Myth: Ovulation occurs in a woman on the 14th day of menstrual cycle.
Fact: Ovulation can be calculated by counting 14 days backwards from the past menstrual cycle's last day.

9.Myth: Daily sex can increase conceiving chances.
Fact: During ovulation, having sex each day, especially in between 12-16th day of the cycle can be the best timing.

10.Myth: Fertility troubles occur at 35.
Fact: Peak fertility timing in a woman's life is 20, and this might continue until late 30s. Fertility troubles might even arrive at a younger age. With age, conception chances get declined, especially after 35. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.

Here are some treatments and symptoms of uterine bleeding

Symptoms and Treatments for Uterine Bleeding
I’m Dr. Sharda Jain, Director of Life Care Centre. I’m going to talk today about uterine bleeding.
Uterine bleeding is a very common problem. Every fifth woman after she starts having periods is troubled because of altered heavy bleeding pattern. Now, if she is less than 20 years then, in that particular case, if the cycle is coming less in 21 days and she is bleeding for more than five days and if she does see passage of clots she should, you should not delay it because her haemoglobin is going to dropped out, her studies are going to get suffered, so, please see gynaecologist as early as possible.

Between 20 to 40 years, this time, the bleeding is usually related to pregnancy because these people are married and anytime in case if there is a lapse in using a contraceptive, effective contraception then, in that particular case it is all related to pregnancy. After your doctor’s visit and examination a trans-vaginal sonography is done and we find out what is the cause and the treatment is done early.
After 40 years, when the woman has got problems, we have to be worried about it, because at that particular time the chance is we think that they can be uterine malignancy or it can be genital malignancy. Again, it is a very simple procedure.

After doctor’s examination, after an ultrasound, opsis, endometrial biopsy is done and that sorts out everything. So, the diagnosis right on the day 1 is done in 90 percent of cases at the end of 48 hours, you find you have a full diagnosis. Sometime the bleeding comes after the stoppage of period that is after menopause and that time we view it just like that it can be, it is cancer unless proved otherwise.
Again, we have to be aggressive here, along with ultrasound, along with endometrial biopsy, hysteroscopy is also done at that particular stage and then we want to find out that there is no underlying malignancy.
Do not ignore the bleeding problem in your wife, in your daughter, in your daughter-in-law.
Seek the doctor’s help early.
You can visit us on the site of Lybrate.