Inflammation of the cervical canal
The cervical canal is understood to mean that part of the uterus that is located between the vagina and the uterine cavity and connects them. Inflammation of the canal mucosa is called endocervicitis. Most often women of working age are affected by this disease.
Causes of inflammation of the cervical canal
The causes of endocervitis are infectious and non-infectious. The former include infection with such microorganisms as streptococci, gonococci, Escherichia coli, chlamydia, Trichomonas, candida, ureaplasma, staphylococcus, herpes viruses and papilloma. Non-infectious causes of inflammation can be trauma, neoplasms, radiation, erosion of the cervix, and prolapse of the cervix. However, they are quite rare.
Most often, the disease begins with an inflammatory process in the vagina, then passing to the cervix. It is often accompanied by colpitis.
But not all women necessarily develop endocervitis. There are several factors that are provoking in the development of the disease. These include:
· Deformation of the cervix after abortion, probing of the uterus, the introduction of an intrauterine device, trauma during childbirth, diagnostic curettage;
· Local or general decrease in immunity after inflammation of the genital organs;
· The onset of regular menstruation;
· Frequent stress.
Normally, there is almost always a mucous plug in the lumen of the cervical canal, which protects the uterine cavity from the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms from the vagina. With various medical manipulations, the cork collapses, its physical and chemical composition changes, as a result of which the infection can freely penetrate into the uterus through the cervical canal, thereby causing endocervicitis, and then endometritis.
The infection can also enter the cervical canal with menstrual blood. That is why it is during this period that you especially need to remember the rules of personal hygiene.
Symptoms of inflammation of the cervical canal
What are the symptoms of endocervicitis? From the first days in the genital area there is a burning sensation, itching, pulling pain in the lower abdomen, discomfort during intercourse, abundant or small discharge. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, then the acute period turns into a chronic course.
Complaints, of course, will no longer be, but this does not mean that the woman has recovered. It's just that the disease passed into a latency period, and the female body adapted to the infection. If it is not treated, the inflammation will spread to neighboring organs and complications may arise in the future.
In some cases, endocervicitis is asymptomatic and does not affect a woman's health, however, the presence of inflammation in the cervical canal can lead to pathological changes in the cervix and serve as a basis for the development of cervical erosion, and then its dysplasia. With inflammation of the canal, the composition of the cervical mucus changes, which subsequently may be one of the causes of infertility.
Diagnostics
In order to prevent and diagnose the disease, a woman should visit a gynecologist at least once a year. If any complaints appear, you also need to visit a doctor to determine the nature of the disease and its treatment. The diagnosis is made in a complex, after questioning and examining the patient.
Typically, women undergo the following tests:
· Examination with the help of gynecological mirrors - in the presence of inflammation, redness and swelling are observed in the cervical canal, purulent discharge;
· Microscopy of a smear - when it is carried out, the intensity of inflammation is determined by the number of leukocytes and the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the canal;
· Bacteriological examination of smears, revealing the causative agent of the disease;
Colposcopy - it visually shows signs of inflammation thanks to the use of a special device - a colposcope, with special illumination and optical magnification;
· Cytological examination of a smear after colposcopy - in this case, epithelial cells are examined.
Only after a thorough examination and identification of the pathogen strain, the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes individual treatment. It will depend on the cause of the disease and the duration of its course.
Depending on the woman's condition, she is prescribed appropriate drug therapy, which can be supplemented with immunostimulating therapy to maintain immunity. After treatment, antifungal therapy is carried out, the restoration of the vaginal microflora. After recovery, to confirm the result, the woman is recommended to take the tests again after a while.
Endocervitis can be avoided if you follow simple and effective rules: be confident in your sexual partner or always use condoms, observe intimate hygiene and undergo a preventive examination by a doctor every year with mandatory tests. All this will help a woman to be always confident in her health!
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
