How to correctly diagnose chronic cervicitis: the four most reliable examination methods

Cervicitis is a familiar gynecological disease, and in daily life, chronic cervicitis is one of them. Once symptoms appear, immediate examination and treatment are necessary.

What is cervicitis?

Cervicitis is a common disease among women of childbearing age, with two types: acute and chronic. Acute cervicitis often coexists with acute endometritis or acute vaginitis, but is common in chronic cervicitis. The main manifestation is an increase in vaginal discharge, presenting as thick or purulent mucus, sometimes accompanied by blood or trapped blood.

Symptoms of chronic cervicitis

1. Increased vaginal discharge: The symptoms of chronic cervicitis are mostly mucus, with bloodstains or a small amount of blood in the secretions, which may cause contact bleeding. The stimulation of vaginal discharge can cause itching of the external genitalia.

2. Pain: Frequent occurrence in the lower abdomen or lumbosacral region, with pain occurring in the upper abdomen and thighs.

3. Bladder and intestinal symptoms: Chronic cervicitis directly spreads to the waves and connective tissue around the bladder, causing frequent urination in the bladder. In cases with clear urine and normal urine routine tests, inflammation continues to spread.

4. Other symptoms: Chronic cervicitis symptoms such as irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, pelvic heaviness, infertility, etc.

Diagnosis of chronic cervicitis

The main symptom of patients with cervicitis is an increase in vaginal discharge, with some patients presenting as the only symptom. In addition, there are also some symptoms of acute and chronic cervicitis. Usually, acute cervicitis with vaginal discharge is purulent, and patients often have bladder irritation symptoms such as lower abdominal and lumbosacral pain, frequent urination, urgency, and pain. Chronic cervicitis with vaginal discharge is milky white, mucous or light yellow, purulent. Some severe patients also have bleeding symptoms, mostly worsening after defecation and sexual intercourse.

Examination for chronic cervicitis

1. Gynecological examination: mainly examine the size, shape, texture of the cervix, the thickness of the cervical tube, contact bleeding, followed by vulvovaginal, uterine and parametrium.

2. Cervical scraping cytology examination: routine examination, simple, economical, and most important auxiliary examination, as well as initial screening method with priority for cancer prevention examination.

3. Colposcopy examination: It can quickly detect invisible lesions and remove suspicious areas for biopsy during colposcopy examination, significantly improving the accuracy of live examination.

4. Iodine test and naked eye observation: This method is very simple and inexpensive, and can detect at least 2/3 of the lesions. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using naked eye observation in developing countries. As a preliminary screening method for cervical cancer, apply 3% -5% acetic acid solution to the cervix, observe the reaction of the cervical epithelium to acetic acid, and then take a biopsy in the white lesion area.