Post Date July, 18 2023
Vaginitis is particularly common in daily life, and bacterial vaginitis is one of them. After getting sick, it can also show many symptoms. We should pay attention to changes in the body and go to the hospital for examination in a timely manner.
Symptoms of bacterial vaginitis
1. The characteristics of vaginal secretions: Patients with bacterial vaginitis often have a gray white color, very viscous, or even a paste like appearance, uniform and consistent, but not purulent secretions, and the amount may vary.
2. The discharge has a fishy odor: Patients with bacterial vaginitis have a particularly high amine content in their vaginal discharge, resulting in a fishy odor. During sexual intercourse or after activity, the odor deteriorates due to the promotion of amine release. Adding 10% potassium hydroxide to the secretion can also release the odor of amine.
3. Vaginal secretions can identify clue cells: In patients with bacterial vaginitis, vaginal secretions can be detected as clue cells in wet coatings.
4. Increase in pH value of vaginal discharge: Patients with bacterial vaginitis have an increase in pH value during vaginal discharge examination, ranging from 5.0 to 5.5, while normal individuals have a pH value of 4.5 to 4.7.
5. Vulvar symptoms: The patient's external genitalia is uncomfortable, feeling varying degrees of itching in the external genitalia, and the itching is more pronounced in resting and tense states. Bacterial vaginitis can also experience varying degrees of external burning sensation, and a few patients may experience pain during sexual intercourse. Very few patients experience lower abdominal pain, difficulty in sexual intercourse, and abnormal urination. There are no obvious congestion symptoms during the onset of vaginal mucosal epithelium. When combined with trichomoniasis infection, foam like vaginal secretions occur, and itching intensifies. When combined with odd itching and candida infection, vaginal secretions are in the form of curds or tofu dregs, and a few patients feel pain during sexual intercourse.
Examination methods for bacterial vaginitis
1. Smear microscopic examination: Take secretions for smear to find clue cells (Cluecells). Clue cells are epithelial cells with a large number of Gartner bacteria attached to their surface, characterized by rough surfaces, small particles, and seemingly scattered flour. Bacteria are Gram negative spherical bacteria.
2. Amine test: Dropping potassium hydroxide solution into vaginal secretions and smelling a fishy release of ammonia is due to the high amount of amine in the secretions, which can release the odor of ammonia when encountering alkali.
3. Culture method: Isolation should be carried out before cultivation, and circular, opaque, and smooth surface colonies with a diameter of 0.5mm can be observed.
