What happens when vaginal pH is out of balance?

The normal vaginal mucosa is capable of protecting itself against bacteria and pathogens under balanced pH conditions (that is, pH reaches a psychological level).

The vagina is a smooth muscle canal connecting the vuryeter to the cervical, located between the urethra, the front bladder and the back rectum. The vaginal mucosa is a very sensitive macrom pattern to estrogen (female sex hormones). The intermediate cell layer and the glycogen-containing surface cell of the vaginal mucosa grow thickened under the effect of estrogen.

The microbial system in the vagina is abundant, including beneficial and harmful bacteria that co-live peacefully, do not cause diseases, of which Lactobacillus sp (accounting for about 50-80%) converting glycogen into lactic acid makes the vaginal environment acidic, maintaining a balanced pH value (3.8 – 4.5) – called the biological pH of the vagina.

With the balance of the vaginal resident micro-system and the biological pH of the vagina will have the effect of creating a natural defense mechanism of the female genital system, which is resistant to local pathogens as well as external intrusive agents.

There are quite a few reasons why vaginal pH is imbalanced, such as:

• Use antibiotics, fungi medications, high-dose or prolonged corticoids.
• Vaginal dosing habits when cleaning the genitals.
• Use of contraceptives or endormonal drug treatment.
• Changes in hormones due to age.
• Suffer from chronic pathology: diabetes mellitus, immuno impaired,…
• Has polyps, tumors in the vagina.
• Radiation treatment.
• Place contraceptives, contraceptive diaphragm, spermicides,…

The balance of the vaginal resident micro-system and the maintenance of the biological pH in the vagina have the effect of creating a natural protective barrier of the female genital system against pathogens.

For some reason the vaginal pH is unbalanced, the body's protective barrier is inefficient or lost, which is a favorable condition for harmful microorganisms (in place and from the outside to enter) to develop causing inflammation. At the same time, gynecological inflammation continues to cause vaginal pH to become more imbalanced, facilitating worsening inflammation, the formation of a pathology spiral.

Besides, vaginal pH imbalance also causes disadvantages to the process of conception, because when the vaginal pH is unbalanced, the sperm will be hindered on the way to meet the egg for conception, or worse at that pH is not suitable for sperm , the amount of sperm will be reduced when it has just reached the vagina, making it difficult to conceive in many cases.

To maintain a balanced vaginal pH can be done in several of the following methods:

• Proper hygiene of the genital area:
  • Dry the genital area after going to the toilet.
  • When washing only outside, avoid the habit of dousing into the vagina, dry when finished washing.
• Avoid dampness of the genital area (such as sweat, frequent immersion in water, do not dry after washing, wear panties while still wet,…).
• Change clean panties after going swimming or bathing, change tam tamers regularly (after every 3-4 hours it is recommended to change once).
• Avoid wearing too tight panties, avoid clothes that are not highly permeable, should wear spacious and airy and should choose cotton material with high perspiration absorbance.
• When there are signs of vatisitis (as well as gynecologic infections in general) should see a specialist as soon as possible, do not order drugs or use any treatment drugs, to avoid inconveniences and discomforts brought by the disease as well as complex complications of the disease (such as inflammation of the uterus, ovarian inflammation, pervasive pelvic inflammation,… for pregnant women can cause miscarriages, extra-intra-uterus pregnancies, amniotic infections, premature birth ,…).