Introduction
A vagina inflammation is called colpitis or also vaginitis. Colpitis can have different causes and is therefore divided into different forms. For example, there is a primary, a secondary and an atrophic colitis, whereby the latter occurs mainly in old age due to a lack of female sex hormones.
Overall, colitis is a common disease. Most women will suffer from colpitis at least once in their lives. Since the acidic vaginal environment is important to keep pathogens away from the uterus and thus also from the rest of the body, it is important to treat colpitis adequately.
In this way, worse complications of a progressing colpitis can be prevented. Colpitis senilis occurs acutely after menopause. Learn more about it under: Kolpitis senilis – What can be done about it?
Forms of Kolpitis
Depending on the cause, different forms of colpitis can be distinguished:
- Primary colpitis: Primary colpitis develops due to a high bacterial load in the vaginal environment. Primary means that the vaginal milieu itself was intact, but is now attacked and damaged by the pathogens and an infection manifests itself on this soil.
- Secondary colpitis: Secondary colpitis develops due to an initial disturbance of the vaginal flora. The vaginal mucosa is already attacked before the infection develops.
Due to the reduced barrier, pathogens can now multiply better and lead to secondary inflammation of the vaginal mucosa. A special form of secondary colitis is atrophic colitis, which manifests itself through a lack of female sex hormones (estrogens). In old age (after menstruation has stopped) there is a reduced production of estrogens.
However, these are essential for the maintenance of the acidic vaginal environment and the barrier function of the vaginal mucosa. Therefore, vaginal infections can develop faster and more easily in older women. The same applies to girls who have not yet started menstruation. They also do not have a sufficiently high estrogen level, which could create an optimal resistance of the vaginal milieu.
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