What department should I go to for my child's genital itching?

Children's genitals are very susceptible to infection because their genitals are not yet fully developed. Many viruses and bacteria in the external environment can cause inflammation of the genitals. Vulvar itching is one of the typical symptoms of vulvar inflammation. If a child's genitals are itchy, parents must pay attention to it and take the child to the hospital for examination in time. So, what department should children go to if they have genital itching?

1. Environmental factors

Poor local hygiene of the vulva. The mothers and childcare staff of the children do not pay attention to the cleanliness of the children's vulva, improperly handle the bowel movements, or wipe the anus with contaminated paper, allowing intestinal bacteria to invade the vagina and cause vaginitis. HuHiman studied 438 cases of vulvovaginitis in infants and young children and found that 68% were caused by the above causes, of which 80% were found to have E. coli during culture.

2. Foreign body infection

Foreign objects such as peanuts, beans, hairpins, pins, small stones, etc. are inserted into the vagina, which may cause damage to the vaginal epithelium and cause secondary sexual dysfunction.

3. Disease factors

Pinworm vulvovaginitis is not common under normal circumstances. It is caused by intestinal pinworms transmitted into the vagina through feces; or improper feces handling, which allows pinworm eggs to contaminate the vulva of young girls through the hands, clothes, toys, etc. of the mother or childcare staff, causing inflammation.

4. Secondary vulvar infection

Vaginitis: After a young girl has an upper respiratory tract infection or a urinary tract infection, bacteria are directly transmitted into the vagina through dust and cause infection.

5. Specific infection

Specific vaginitis, Trichomonas or candidal vaginitis, is rare in infants and young children. The reason may be that the pH of the vagina of infants and young children is alkaline, which is not suitable for fungal reproduction. Trichomonas feeds on glycogen, and there is very little vaginal glycogen at this age, so it is not suitable for the growth of Trichomonas. Hemophilic vaginitis is extremely rare in infants and young children.

How to prevent vaginitis in infants and young children

1. Clean the vulva after defecation to prevent the feces from not being wiped clean and contaminating the perineum. Be careful to wash from the front to the back! Some mothers sometimes don't pay attention to the folds between the inner thighs and the vagina because they have to hold the baby in one hand and wash with the other hand. Sometimes, there will be a lot of feces left at the root of the thigh! Wait until it is dry before using the diaper. Don't use talcum powder, you can apply some massage oil!

2. When cleaning the vulva of a baby girl, be gentle and do not use cleaning liquid or soap.

3. Please clean your hands before washing your baby and trim your nails regularly. (PS: After my questioning, Aunt Dudu recalled that when she was bathing CC two days ago, her nails accidentally scratched CC. CC started crying at the time, but it healed after a while, so Aunt Dudu didn’t take it seriously.)

4. Don’t wear tight stockings for the sake of appearance, change diapers frequently, deal with poop in a timely manner (to avoid diaper rash and bacterial infection), and try not to let your child wear open-crotch pants.

5. If you take your baby swimming, try to choose a clean and hygienic place to avoid cross-infection of bacteria in some places.

6. If there are elderly people at home, be sure to remember to tell them: children's clothes should not be mixed with adults' underwear, socks, etc. for washing. Sometimes the bacteria on adults' clothes will remain on children's clothes. You must be especially careful with towels and saliva towels. It is recommended to wash children's clothes in a separate basin.

7. If the mother herself has inflammation, she should actively seek treatment to avoid infecting the child. Do not take a bath with your child to prevent cross infection.