Best time for a gynecological exam?

Diagnosis and treatment of gynecological disorders, many of which require vaginal examination, is performed in women with cyclic menstrual flow. The timing of the consultation should be chosen according to the timing of the menstrual cycle. If the timing of the visit is appropriate, it will not only facilitate the diagnosis of the disease, but also the treatment. Generally, gynecological examination is not performed during menstruation because the opening of the uterus is slightly open during menstruation and the endometrium is invasive, so it is easy to bring bacteria into the examination and cause inflammation of the endometrium, fallopian tubes and other reproductive organs, which can cause long-term back pain and abdominal pain if not handled properly. In addition, gynecological examinations can also squeeze the endometrial fragments shed during menstruation into the myometrial wall, fallopian tubes and even the pelvis, causing endometriosis and gradually increasing dysmenorrhea. Therefore, the best time for gynecological examination is 3 days after menstrual cleansing. However, if there is persistent irregular vaginal bleeding or sudden heavy bleeding with abdominal pain, syncope, or the appearance of swelling, one should not mechanically wait for menstrual cleansing to avoid delaying the condition. Patients are advised to wash their vulva with water before the visit and should avoid sexual intercourse as well as vaginal medication the day before to avoid affecting the results of laboratory tests. Preparation for tubal patency test, IUD or IUD removal, cervical treatment, hysteroscopy, hysterosalpingography, etc. should be performed 3-7 days after menstruation and intercourse should be prohibited from after menstruation to before the examination to prevent infection. In the case of infertility, diagnostic scraping to check whether the ovaries are ovulating should be performed 12 hours before the predicted menstruation or at the beginning of menstruation to scrape the endometrium, rather than after menstruation. To check for pregnancy, the patient should be seen around 50 days after menopause, when the pregnancy test is mostly positive and the uterine enlargement is more obvious on gynecological examination. In conclusion, different diseases are diagnosed and treated in different ways, and different times need to be chosen. Patients need to be informed and also listen to their doctors.