The Urology Center Glossary terms

Vaginitis:

The term vaginitis means inflammation of the vagina. The inflammation may be secondary to bacterial infection, viral infection, fungal infection or even non-infectious causes.

Vaginitis symptoms are very commonly confused with symptoms of cystitis or bladder infection. Both vaginitis and cystitis cause vaginal area burning with urination. However, vaginitis may cause vaginal burning just after urinating, as well as during urination. This small difference in the symptom of vaginal burning may be an important factor in directing the doctor to the correct cause for the symptoms, so that the correct treatment may be provided.

A common cause of misdiagnosis in women with vaginitis is related to misinformation due to so called "clean catch" urine analysis. When women collect urine specimens by urinating into a cup, the urine thus collected is nearly always contaminated by vaginal contents. That is, abnormal cells and bacteria appear in the urine as the result of the flawed collection method. The abnormal appearing urine may lead the physician to unintentionally misdiagnose cystitis or a bladder infection. This may lead to prescribing repeated doses of antibiotics for bladder infections, when in fact the problem is commonly vaginitis.

Of course, vaginitis requires a very different type of treatment, which usually includes stopping all antibiotics. This problem may be avoided by careful attention to detail in evaluating the symptoms of vaginitis (such as burning after urinating), by performing tests on vaginal fluid or by collecting urine in women with a small catheter, followed by performing a culture on the urine, in addition to simple urine analysis.

One of the most common causes of vaginitis seen in urology patients is that of yeast (fungal) vaginitis, occurring in patients after the use of antibiotics. The standard of care for the treatment of simple adult female true bacterial cystitis/bladder infection is a three-day course of antibiotics. Use of antibiotics for longer than three days promotes the development of yeast vaginitis. Longer courses of antibiotics tend to destroy the natural protective lining of the vagina, allowing the growth of yeast in its place.

Differentiation of the causes of vaginitis beyond simple infectious causes requires an evaluation by a qualified doctor such as a gynecologist. Often gynecologists perform testing of vaginal fluid to determine the exact nature of the vaginitis symptoms so that treatment may be targeted to the specific cause of the problem.