Many people think that vaginitis is a disease of women of childbearing age and that they get it because of the presence of sexual activity. How can postmenopausal women get vaginitis when they are less sexually active? Is it a problem of style? In fact, this is a wrong understanding, geriatric vaginitis has nothing to do with style problems, and do not have to be ashamed to say, this is a common disease after menopause. First, the etiology of geriatric vaginitis vagina itself has the ability to resist infection, the most important mechanism includes the vaginal epithelial cells contain glycogen can maintain a certain acidic environment, the normal vaginal parasitic bacteria to inhibit the growth of germs, the vaginal surface of the cells by the influence of estrogen to regular shedding and renewal, and so on. Postmenopausal women’s distinctive feature is that the level of estrogen is very low, the vaginal epithelial cells will atrophy, glycogen synthesis ability to decline, self-renewal and repair ability to decline, the normal vaginal bacteria to reduce, so it is easy to be infected in the outside world under the attack of pathogenic bacteria. Second, the performance and diagnosis of geriatric vaginitis The symptoms of geriatric vaginitis are the same as those of vaginitis in young women, but also different. The similarity is that both feel the vulva, vagina itching, pain, burning sensation. The difference is that older vaginitis often has a small amount of vaginal bleeding, or even vaginal bleeding as the only symptom, but bleeding as a manifestation of vaginitis is uncommon in younger patients. The diagnosis of senile vaginitis is usually based on symptoms (vaginal discomfort, bleeding), gynecological examination (bleeding spots on the vaginal wall or signs of inflammation), and culture of vaginal secretions. Patients with vaginal bleeding as a manifestation need to exclude tumors. Third, the treatment of geriatric vaginitis Since the cause of geriatric vaginitis is 2 points: 1, low estrogen levels caused by vaginal cell atrophy and decreased defense mechanism; 2, pathogenic bacteria to take advantage of the infection, then the treatment needs to address these two issues. We all know that the treatment of vaginitis is mainly local placement of anti-(fungal) drugs (such as metronidazole, clotrimazole), but geriatric vaginitis simply using antibacterial drugs is not effective, the reason is that the first cause of morbidity is not well resolved. Therefore, the treatment of geriatric vaginitis emphasizes the use of topical estrogen in the absence of contraindications, and in some patients, the inflammation can even subside without the use of antibacterial drugs after the use of estrogen. Topical estrogen is also effective in preventing the recurrence of geriatric vaginitis. Some postmenopausal women do not have obvious vaginitis, but recurrent urinary tract infections, the use of a variety of antibiotics is not effective. This situation is similar to senile vaginitis, the urethral epithelial cells are also affected by estrogen, you can try to use estrogen to treat. Fourth, the prevention of geriatric vaginitis Because the low level of estrogen is an important cause of geriatric vaginitis, so reasonable hormone replacement therapy can effectively prevent or alleviate postmenopausal urogenital discomfort, of course, hormone replacement therapy must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor. Paying attention to local hygiene of the vulva is also an important preventive measure, but it is not recommended to use all kinds of “medicinal liquid” for vaginal douching. If you find that the vagina is not comfortable, do not be embarrassed, and timely to the hospital, geriatric vaginitis after reasonable treatment is very good.