How to treat vulvar inflammation in children?

Vulvitis is a common gynecological disease. Most people believe that vulvitis is exclusive to adult women, but in fact babies can also suffer from vulvitis. Usually, babies with vulvitis will experience pain when urinating and defecating, and sometimes they may pull their diapers. The vulva will become red and swollen, and the secretions will be relatively large. Parents must pay attention to children with vulvitis, otherwise it will affect their health.

How to treat vulvar inflammation in children

Vulvovaginitis

Vulvovaginitis in baby girls is a common disease in pediatric gynecology. This is because the ovaries of young girls are not developed, estrogen secretion is low, the vaginal epithelium is thin, and there is a lack of vaginal bacteria. In addition, the labia majora of young girls are not developed, and the vestibular mucosa is easily exposed and susceptible to bacterial invasion. When bacteria invade, they destroy the vagina's natural defense function and the vagina becomes inflamed. The physiological characteristics of newborns and young girls determine that almost any source of infection or irritant can cause inflammation after entering the vagina. The most common is infection by Escherichia coli, which exists in the intestines and causes disease through fecal contamination.

Disease signs:

There is yellow purulent discharge on the vulva or underwear, and sometimes even bloody discharge. Older children may complain of pain, itching, and discomfort in the vulva, while younger infants may cry or touch and scratch the vulva with their hands. The child's vulva may be red and swollen, and in severe cases, superficial ulcers may form. If it is a long-term foreign body irritation accompanied by E. coli infection, it is often accompanied by a bad odor. If you find the above situation, you should take your child to the hospital in time to ask a doctor to identify the disease and provide symptomatic treatment. If not treated promptly, it may cause adhesion of the labia minora, which is what parents often call the inability to see the vaginal opening.

Doctor's prescription

You can use 1:5000 potassium permanganate solution to wash the vulva. For older female babies, you can let them sit in the bath, 2 to 3 times a day, each time for about 15 minutes. Do not use harsh soaps to scrub. You can also use 1% Cleanse Vagina Liquid, which is gently delivered to the top of the vagina through a thin and soft rubber catheter for flushing. Keep your vulva clean and dry.

If it is a common bacterial infection, erythromycin ointment can be applied locally. Whether oral medication is needed should be done according to the doctor's advice. Special attention should be paid to stubborn and long-lasting vaginitis in young girls, as the possibility of foreign matter in the vagina should be considered.

It is reasonable to take precautions

1. Clean the vulva. During infancy, the child should be washed and dried after each bowel movement. The vulva should be cleaned every night. The bathtub and towel should be dedicated, the water should be clean, and do not use dirty water for washing your face or wiping your body. The most important thing is to wash the baby's buttocks. Use warm water to wash from front to back, and it is best to wash it once a day. Some parents often don't care and often don't wash their children's clothes, while some parents care a lot and wash their children several times a day. Both practices are not advisable.

2. Do not let girls wear open-crotch pants. Underwear should be changed and washed frequently, and kept separate from adult underwear when washing to prevent contamination.

3. When a mother suffers from urogenital diseases such as trichomoniasis and gonorrhea, she should not sleep in the same bed with her child, let alone take a bath together to avoid cross infection.

4. When wiping your child's butt, you should wipe from front to back, not in the opposite direction, to prevent feces from contaminating the urethral and vaginal openings.

5. Let your child wear light-colored underwear for easy observation. If there are yellow scabs or dry pieces on the underwear, there is definitely an infection. The remains of urine are often a uniform yellow color.

6. Do not abuse antibiotics on your own. Use them according to the doctor's orders and do not use them for too long to avoid candidal vaginitis.

7. If you find that a girl's vulva is red, swollen, or injured, or she has vaginal discharge, or that she has urgency, frequency, or pain when urinating, or that she suddenly wets the bed, you should take her to a gynecologist for treatment immediately.

Kind tips

The treatment of vulvar infection in babies is relatively simple. You can take a medicated sitz bath, and for more serious cases, you can take some antibiotics in a targeted manner. However, this type of infection tends to recur, so parents should pay attention to hygiene and observe carefully.