The difference between cervical erosion and cervicitis

Many women do not know much about cervical erosion and cervicitis, and find it difficult to distinguish between the two, which often brings certain difficulties to treatment. There are many differences between cervicitis and cervical erosion, mainly including the following:

1. Cervical erosion

Cervical erosion is not a disease, but a symptom. It refers to the shedding of the epidermis at the external cervical opening and its replacement by another type of epithelial cells at the cervical opening. Because the new epithelium covering the surface is very thin, you can even see the blood vessels and red tissue underneath, which makes it look like real erosion, hence the name. However, cervical erosion is not real erosion. Its occurrence may be related to factors such as the different locations of the maternal estrogen levels at the junction of the original squamous and columnar parts of the cervix, as well as inflammatory infections. If a patient has cervical erosion, accompanied by an increase in leucorrhea that is sticky and has an odor, or even blood in the leucorrhea and contact bleeding, it may be cervicitis, and appropriate treatment should be taken in a timely manner.

2. Cervicitis

Cervicitis is a common disease in women of childbearing age. It can be divided into two types: acute cervicitis and chronic cervicitis. The chronic type is more common in clinical practice. The main symptoms of patients are increased vaginal discharge, which is purulent, often accompanied by waist pain and lower abdominal discomfort. At the same time, some patients may experience intermenstrual bleeding and bleeding during sexual contact. Gynecological examinations can reveal redness and swelling of the cervix, eversion of the mucosa, and tenderness. If the infection spreads to the surrounding areas along the lymphatic vessels, the cervical epithelium may fall off and even form ulcers.