The main symptoms and causes of vulvitis in a child

What is vulvitis? Vulvit - an inflammatory process of the external genitalia( labia and clitoris).Many mistakenly believe that vulvitis is the problem of adult women.

In fact, vulvitis in a child is much more common. The emergence of vulvitis in newborns is associated with the anatomical features of the girls: the outer sexual lips of the girl are more open, the thinly gutted mucous does not yet contain lactobacilli and the level of PH in the vagina is higher.

The result is a weak protective function of the vagina.
There are 2 types of vulvitis in a child:

• Primary vulvitis or non-infectious, they are most often affected by children mainly due to anatomical and physiological characteristics, for example, allergic vulvitis in children;
• Secondary vulvitis( infectious) is associated with an infectious inflammatory process in the internal genitalia.

Causes of vulvitis in children

The most common cause of primary child vulvitis is non-compliance with elementary purity. Vaginal mucosa can be irritated by prolonged contact with dirt or feces.

The use of creams, powders, soaps, foam for baths containing artificial colors and flavors, detergents with bioadditives seriously worsens the situation and is a predisposing factor for the occurrence of allergic vulvitis in children. In other words, insufficient and excessive hygiene. As a rule, vulvitis in newborns is associated with diaper dermatitis.

The causes of non-infectious childhood vulvitis, in addition to physiological factors and non-observance of personal hygiene, are endocrine diseases, helminthic invasion, vitamin imbalance, recurrent respiratory diseases, tonsillitis, irrational administration of antibiotics. In general, all that leads to a decrease in immunity.

The main cause of the development of secondary( infectious) vulvitis in a child is usually the conditionally pathogenic microflora, which, in an unfavorable combination of circumstances( for example, weakening immunity) acquires pathogenicity( Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, etc.) and manifests itself in various urinary diseasespathways, intestinal dysbiosis. But infectious inflammation can also be caused by ingress of foreign objects into the vagina. Very often young children thrust their fingers or small objects, studying, thus, the structure of their body, which is the cause of redness and the presence of secretions from the external genitalia.

Signs and symptoms of the disease

Symptoms of vulvitis in children can be very different, depending on the cause of it. Very often vulvitis in a child is accompanied by discomfort of the external genitalia, there is burning, itching, as well as soreness in walking and urination, it is possible to increase the inguinal lymph nodes.

Sometimes there is a discharge of a different color and odor. When the vagina is damaged by an E. coli, there are discharge of yellow-green color with an unpleasant odor;Staphylococcal infection is accompanied by a thicker yellow-white discharge;when candidiasis appears white raids.

Abundant discharge with a sharp odor and an admixture of blood appear when a foreign object enters the vagina. In neglected cases, untimely treatment on the mucous membranes may form ulcers and erosion.

Thus, pathological changes in the tissues are accompanied by a commissural process, which leads to the coalescence of the labia minora( synechia).Often children's vulvitis is caused by pinworms and is very acute - the child wakes up in the middle of the night with complaints of pain, severe itching, burning of external genital organs, creaking of teeth in sleep, etc.

Treatment of vulvitis

How to cure vulvitis? Treatment of childhood vulvitis can not be delayed in order to avoid chronic form. During a visual examination, the pediatric gynecologist will diagnose and prescribe the appropriate treatment based on the results of bacteriological and bacterioscopic smear tests.

Most often in the primary children's vulvitis gynecologist appointed baths with decoctions of medicinal herbs, which will have a disinfectant and anti-inflammatory effect. It is quite acceptable treatment of vulvitis with ointment, powder or cream of such action.

With secondary vulvitis treatment will consist in eliminating a particular causative agent - the cause of the disease. In this case, antibiotics, antifungal and antimicrobial medicines are used.

In allergic vulvitis, children are prescribed antihistamines, and a diet that excludes food allergens from the diet is recommended. During the treatment period it is necessary to refuse salty, sharp and flour products, but vegetables, fruits and, in particular, sour-milk products will positively influence the organism as a whole.

When foreign bodies are found in the vagina, a vaginoscopy can be performed( examination of the vagina using a vaginoscope).If the cause of vulvitis were helminths, antihelminthic drugs are prescribed. With a decrease in immunity, the intake of immunostimulants and vitamins is recommended.