Diagnosis of a vaginal mycosis during pregnancy | Vaginal mycosis during pregnancy

Diagnosis of a vaginal mycosis during pregnancy

The diagnosis is made by asking the doctor about the different symptoms. These include itching, pain when urinating, pain during sexual intercourse and a whitish, crumbly but odorless discharge. A vaginal examination is also performed.

The vaginal mycosis can be detected visually and, if necessary, confirmed by a smear. The smear can either be evaluated directly under the microscope if the fungi are visible here. Alternatively, the material can be sent to a laboratory.

There, the smear secretion is placed on a culture medium and after a few days it can be evaluated whether and if so, which fungal species grows there. A few weeks before birth, such a smear is also routinely taken from pregnant women, even if they do not have any of the above-mentioned symptoms. The aim is to detect a mere fungal colonization shortly before birth.

Accompanying symptoms of a vaginal mycosis during pregnancy

The characteristic symptoms are severe burning and itching in the area of the vaginal entrance. The skin of the vagina is reddened and covered with whitish, crumbly deposits. The discharge may be increased and is, in contrast to bacterial infection, completely odorless.

In addition, pain during urination, also known as dysuria, and pain during sexual intercourse, dyspareunia, can occur. Accompanying symptoms are also swelling and redness of the outer genital area. In addition, the mucous membrane may be cracked and tense.It is also typical that the symptoms slowly get worse and do not reach their maximum until 3 days after they start.

It is also important to know that the symptoms can be very different from person to person. For one woman, the itching can be unbearable, while for another, the infection goes almost unnoticed. Overall, the symptoms of the infection do not differ between pregnant and non-pregnant women.

It is possible that pregnant women feel weak and affected more quickly. Fever usually does not occur because the fungal infection only affects the vagina locally. Although the fungal infection is very unpleasant, it does not pose a serious danger to the mother or the unborn child. The pregnancy progresses normally even under the infection and the development of the child is not disturbed by the infection, which is limited to the vagina.