Does female cervical erosion affect pregnancy? Is female cervical erosion related to cervical cancer?

The term "cervical erosion" is very misleading and can easily cause panic. Therefore, the term has been abolished internationally and replaced with "cervical columnar epithelium ectopia" or "cervical columnar epithelium ectopia". However, due to the backwardness of domestic medical knowledge, there are still many over-treatments, and people have strong misunderstandings about this term.

Give "cervical erosion" a proper name - please call it "cervical columnar epithelial ectopia" or "cervical columnar epithelial ectopia"!

The female cervix originally looks smooth and flat, because its surface is covered with squamous epithelium. In the distance of the smooth and flat squamous epithelium, there is the red cervical columnar epithelium, which is originally located at the internal cervical os and cannot be seen from the outside. However, due to the long-term effect of estrogen levels in the body, the cervical columnar epithelium moves outward to a place visible to the naked eye. "Cervical erosion" is not real erosion, it just feels like erosion intuitively. When observing the erosion surface under a colposcope, it is actually a complete columnar epithelium. Because the columnar epithelium is a single layer and the stroma underneath is red, it looks like red erosion to the naked eye.

It can be seen that the outward migration of the cervical columnar epithelium is a physiological phenomenon. The reason why many female friends are so afraid of this disease is largely because they are frightened by the word "erosion".

Therefore, the term "cervical erosion" has been abolished internationally, and it is now uniformly called "cervical columnar epithelial ectopia" or "cervical columnar epithelial ectopia"!

Several misunderstandings about "cervical erosion"

1: Is "cervical erosion" related to lifestyle?

What do you think of when you hear the word "cervical erosion"? Words like "erosion" and "rotten" always remind people of bad things, so this word is very misleading. The reason why many women are so afraid of this disease is largely because they are frightened by the word "erosion". In fact, "cervical erosion" has nothing to do with lifestyle. It is not caused by sex, because "cervical erosion" also exists in women who do not have sex. No, after we correct the name, we should call it "cervical columnar epithelium migration". Cervical columnar epithelium migration will not affect sex life.

2: Is “cervical erosion” related to cervical cancer?

Many female friends are particularly worried about the development of cervical cancer after discovering that they have "cervical erosion". They believe that the more severe the "cervical erosion" is and the longer it lasts, the more likely it is to develop cervical cancer. In fact, this is not necessary. "Cervical erosion" - "outward migration of cervical columnar epithelium" is a physiological change, that is, the squamous epithelium of the cervix is ​​replaced by columnar epithelium, rather than true erosion. Cervical cancer is the canceration of cervical epithelial cells, and the main reason is long-term persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HpV). The causes and pathogenesis of the two are different, and the pathological changes are also different. Therefore, simple "cervical erosion" - "outward migration of cervical columnar epithelium" will not lead to the occurrence of cervical cancer if it is not combined with HPV infection.

3: Will “cervical erosion” affect childbirth?

Many female friends found "cervical erosion" during pre-pregnancy examinations, and they worry whether this will affect pregnancy and normal delivery. In the past, some people believed that "cervical erosion" is often accompanied by inflammation, which will affect sperm penetration and pregnancy. But now it is found that for the vast majority of young women, "cervical erosion" is not accompanied by inflammatory infection, so it will not lead to infertility. For women who are preparing to get pregnant, if "cervical erosion" - "cervical columnar epithelium migration" is not accompanied by any symptoms and TCT is normal, it is recommended to actively try to get pregnant, and there is no need to rush to do too much treatment for "cervical erosion". Sometimes, excessive treatment out of good intentions will do bad things. For example, physical treatments such as laser treatment of the cervix may cause cervical adhesions, and LEEp surgery may cause cervical scars. Cervical adhesions may affect pregnancy, and cervical scars may cause the cervix to become harder, which is not conducive to cervical dilation during normal delivery, and may cause a slower delivery process. If accompanied by excessive leucorrhea or yellow leucorrhea, which has caused discomfort, appropriate medication can be used for treatment, and pregnancy can be attempted after the symptoms improve.

What should I do if I find "cervical erosion"?

If "cervical erosion" is found, vaginal cleanliness and cervical cytology (TCT) examinations should be performed. If both are normal and there are no symptoms, no treatment is required. Female friends must not let their cervix suffer innocently! If the examination shows abnormalities, vaginitis or cervical lesions can be treated according to the examination results, and there is no need to treat "cervical erosion". However, treatment is required for symptomatic cervicitis, such as increased leucorrhea, yellow leucorrhea, odor, and polyps. At this time, treatment is for cervicitis secondary to "cervical erosion", not "cervical erosion itself". Chronic cervical inflammation such as cervical cysts and cervical hypertrophy does not need to be treated, and only regular check-ups are required.