Misuse of antibiotics can cause vaginitis

"Whenever I catch a cold or my immune system is weakened, my vagina will immediately become uncomfortable and produce a lot of discharge. I went to the hospital for a checkup not long ago and was diagnosed with candidal vaginitis. The doctor told me that vaginitis may be related to the abuse of antibiotics. Is this true?"

Many patients with vaginitis are caused by the abuse of antibiotics, especially young women. They find it troublesome to see a doctor for symptoms such as colds and coughs, so they take antibiotics indiscriminately, which results in gynecological inflammation.

This is because, after using a large amount of antibiotics, while eliminating pathogenic bacteria in the upper respiratory tract, it also inhibits the activity of lactobacilli in the vagina. There are many kinds of bacteria in the female vagina at the same time, such as lactobacilli and candida. Under normal circumstances, lactobacilli and candida inhibit each other, thus maintaining the pH balance of the internal environment. However, once excessive antibiotics are taken into the body, the microecological environment of the vagina will be destroyed, breaking its self-regulating balance. Candida will overwhelm the reproduction of lactobacilli, leading to vaginal inflammation.

A survey in the United States showed that nearly half of women who used a strong antibiotic for more than a week would develop a fungal infection. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid blindly using antibiotics for a long time and in large quantities without following the doctor's advice, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics should be used less.

Female patients are especially reminded that if they find increased vaginal discharge, odor, vaginal itching, etc., it is best to seek treatment from a regular hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department. Do not take anti-inflammatory drugs that do not include vaginitis in the indications. If antibiotics are abused, misdiagnosis or untimely treatment is not given, it may cause pelvic inflammatory disease, adnexitis, etc., and in severe cases, it may lead to infertility.