This article is to enlighten women especially non-medical women on what they refer to as “Toilet infection”, and also for its prevention and care
Prevention
You can prevent infection by the following ways: –
Stop Vaginal douching
Just use clean water to wash your vagina when bathing if you feel dirty. Because medicated soap, antiseptics and salt, harm the good bacteria living in the vagina. So in order not to kill them, simply use ordinary clean water. After all, the vagina normally secretes fluid that makes it moist and continually clean the vaginal environment, so you just need a bath and not to be involve in douching.
Always change your inner-wears
ATLEAST change your inner wear everyday and if you live in places that are hot, you need to change, ATLEAST twice. But the recommended way is to change whenever you come back from work or whenever you’ve sweat much.
Always stand or just bend while urinating
By bending to urinate, it prevents you from getting infection through splashing of the urine. I know it may seem difficult, but after you finish, just wash your legs with water. This will help you a lot than the stress and discomfort of having infections.
Do not share inner-wears
Some ladies share inner wears! It is the truth but if you do this, simply stop it. Some may say she is my friend, some say she is my sister. I wonder if your sister or friends cannot have infections. After all, everyone that has the infection is a friend or sister to someone. So STOP sharing inner-wears.
Stop using Perfume on the vagina
Stop the use of perfume or scented soap on the vagina.
Use Cotton Inner-wears
Cotton can absorb moisture easily than nylon, so using cotton will help absorb moisture and prevents irritation of the vaginal environment.
Care in Intercourse
Whenever you have sex, make sure you are not wounded in the process, because some people tend to use some unimaginable means. So always try not to harm yourself either through abrasion or through the use of some objects because a tear, scratch or injury breaks the natural barrier of the skin and hence infection ensues.
Signs
The general signs and symptoms of toilet infections are:
Itching
This is the commonest sign and it can occur at anytime. This itching can be so intense that it can make a woman to feel like crying especially if you are in the public. The bad side of it is that, in some women, the itching comes with pain whenever you try to scratch or rub the area. This is very discomforting.
Pain on Urination
Some people experience severe pain especially when urinating or when having sex.
Abnormal Discharge
There could be a discharge from the vagina that is not normal from the normal fluid secreted in the vagina that helps to keep it moist. This abnormal discharge is usually noticed when it becomes much, or when it starts smelling or when the color is abnormal. The color and smell of the discharge helps in knowing to some extent what type of organism is causing it. So always note the color when you want to go and see your doctor. The differences are explained below.
Abnormal Menstrual flow: When this becomes too much, it could affect the number of days it takes for your flow to end. It could also affect the Amount and the timing.
Abdominal Pain: Toilet infections may also cause abdominal pain in some women.
Treatment
Bacterial vaginosis
For the treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis, the following antibiotics are used,such as: -Metronidazole (Flagyl) If you are taking alcohol, stop and finish the treatment with Metronidazole first, because alcohol increases the side effects associated with Metronidazole. If your pregnancy has not pass 3 months, do not take metronidazole because it can be harmful to your baby’s mental health. – or Clindamycin (Cleocin). It is recommended that you treat it because the infection will not go on its own unless you treat it and it keeps increasing in severity the more you refuse treating it. Clindamycin or Metronidazole may cause vaginal itching or discharge so take note. If you have Bacterial Vaginosis, there is no need for you to treat your male partner because it is not a Sexually transmitted disease and the bacterial love living in the vagina and not in the penis. (This is only applicable to Bacterial Vaginosis and not to all Toilet(Vaginal) Infections.)
Trichomoniasis
The drug of choice in treating Trichomoniasis is Metronidazole. A single does is usually Ok for treatment but you should avoid Alcohol to prevent severe nausea and vomiting. You and your sex partners are required to be treated with the medicine even if they do not have signs of the disease because it can be transmitted from a woman to the male partner and not just women. It is a sexually transmitted infection. SO, this one is not from toilet seats or anything related to Toilets. The organism responsible for this is called Trichomonas vaginalis. Trichomoniasis is primarily an infection that affects the sexual organs of reproduction and urination. The Vagina of the women is affected mostly whereas the urethra is most commonly affected in Males(So this means that Men can also have ‘Toilet Infections’ too because this type is a sexually transmitted infection, So I still insist that the word “Toilet Infection” is not appropriate).
Yeast infection
Yeast infections are treated usually but not always with vaginal creams and vaginal applications rather than oral medication; and Pregnant women are usually treated for a longer period than non-pregnant women(because pregnant women have low immunity compared to their non-pregnant counterparts) and must be closely monitored. Severe infections(when the infections prevent you from doing your daily activities or affecting your social life) are treated with Oral single dose of anti-fungal drug which could include: – Fluconazole (Diflucan) or – Itraconazole (Sporanox). These drugs like I said are taken once or for 3-5 days with the same cure rates. However, care must be taken because they might cause liver problems and the symptoms of liver problems may manifest with yellowish skin, yellowish eyes, and/or pale stools. If you begin to notice any of these signs, STOP taking the drug and see your doctor immediately.
This article was culled from an article that was originally published on jotscroll.com