Chronic Cervicitis
Chronic cervicitis is a gynecological problem of women that causes inflammation of the cervix. Let us have a look at more information related to chronic cervicitis from the following article.
What is Chronic Cervicitis
It is a condition that affects the lower genital tract. It leads to inflammation of the cervix due to an infection. These infections include Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's), injury to the cervical tissue, birth control devices like diaphragm and even cancer. There are two types of cervicitis. These include acute and chronic cervicitis. The acute cervicitis is caused by a bacterial or viral infection. This condition has specific symptoms that help in diagnosis. This is a long-term infection. It does not have specific symptoms and therefore left untreated by many women. This condition is only detected during a routine gynecological examination.
Causes
As mentioned above acute cervicitis is caused due to an infection like gonorrhea, chlamydia or genital herpes. Chronic cervicitis causes includes frequent bacterial infections leading to acute cervicitis. When an episode of acute cervicitis is not treated, it develops into chronic cervicitis. The risk of cervicitis increases when a woman is suffering from diabetes, acute and recurrent vaginitis or has multiple sexual partners. Surgical intervention like curettage, labor, etc, also lead to cervicitis.
Symptoms
Acute cervicitis is easy to spot due to its characteristic symptoms. These include yellow or gray vaginal discharge. It also causes pain during urination and intercourse. Women also experience vaginal bleeding and spotting due to acute cervicitis. In case of chronic cervicitis symptoms, they are mostly non-existent and unnoticeable. A recurrent acute cervicitis may be a sign of chronic cervicitis. Other symptoms include light, almost unnoticeable vaginal discharge. Discomfort and pain during urination as well as intercourse. When left untreated, it leads to profuse vaginal discharge, bleeding between periods and bleeding or spotting after sex.
Chronic Cervicitis with Squamous Metaplasia
Chronic cervicitis with squamous metaplasia is a benign condition. It causes inflammation of the cervix that is not normal. It occurs on the squamous cells on the surface if the cervix. This inflammation occurs when the cells undergo the process of maturation, that is, metaplasia. This condition can be detected with the help of a Pap smear.
Treatment
The doctor may ask your medical history and carry out tests like Pap smear and give the vaginal discharge for culture. In some cases, a biopsy of the cervix may be carried out. After the diagnosis have been made, the doctor will begin with the chronic cervicitis treatment. Mild cervicitis may be treated with help of antibiotics and other medications. This treatment includes cauterization, where a heated probe is used to burn the chronically inflamed and infected cells. This method helps get rid of the cells that cause inflammation of the cervix. Second method is cryosurgery, where extremely cold nitrous oxide or carbon dioxide gas it used. This gas helps freeze and kill the abnormal cells. This method is easier and less painful than cauterization. Lastly, one of the most widely used treatments is laser surgery. This method helps treat large areas of chronically inflamed cervix. This method however may take about 2 months for complete treatment. Therefore, it is more expensive than the other two methods for treating inflamed cervix.
You should seek treatment for this condition as soon as possible. If left untreated it may lead to many serious medical complications like miscarriage and infertility. Therefore, anyone who has suffered from a bacterial or sexually transmitted disease, should undergo medical checkups at least every six months. This is the only way to detect chronic cervicitis and get early treatment.
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