Gynecological health and wellness guide

Regarding gynecological health and wellness, let me give you the most core conclusion first - do not believe in any IQ tax of "detoxification of private parts" and "warm palace maintenance". As long as you stick to the three basics of "bacterial balance, hormone stability, and regular screening", 90% of common gynecological problems can be avoided in advance.

We just received a 22-year-old girl in the clinic last week. She just graduated and rented a house. She was fooled by the anchor on a live broadcast and bought a set of more than 300 personal care gels, which were said to be able to detoxify the uterus and shrink the vagina. After three days of use, she became itchy and couldn't sit still. When she came to check, she found that the vaginal flora was completely disordered. Normal lactobacilli were almost gone, and Candida was everywhere in the field of vision. Don’t you think this is suffering in vain?

Many people don’t know that the vagina itself has a self-purifying function, and the resident lactobacilli are a natural protective shield. If you stuff things in it blindly or flush it with lotion, it is equivalent to driving away your own defenders, and pathogenic bacteria will take advantage of it. For daily cleaning, just rinse the vulva with warm water. Don’t put any scented lotion or shower gel there. Choose pure cotton underwear and change it every day. After washing, hang it in a ventilated place to bask in the sun. Don’t pile it up and throw it in the washing machine. Especially during the rainy season, dry it before wearing it, otherwise mold will easily come to your door.

When it comes to the problem of uterine period, many people will definitely mention "uterine cold". To be objective here, there is actually no diagnosis of "uterine cold" in the Western medicine system. The commonly mentioned dysmenorrhea, blood clots, and cold hands and feet mostly correspond to problems such as poor pelvic blood circulation, excessive prostaglandin secretion, or hormone fluctuations. However, uterine cold in traditional Chinese medicine can also be divided into real cold and cold. Deficiency and coldness are not just a matter of just drinking brown sugar and ginger water and sticking a baby warmer on them - for example, people who are really cold are prone to dry mouth and large amounts, and drinking brown sugar and ginger tea will make them more likely to get angry and cause more bleeding, which is not worth the gain. If you really feel uncomfortable during menstruation, first check whether there are any organic problems. If not, taking ibuprofen will be more effective than anything else, don't force it.

Speaking of hormones, the most frequently asked question is whether soy milk can be drunk? Will estrogen supplementation be used to repair uterine fibroids and breast nodules? There is no absolute unified clinical statement at present. The mainstream view is that the isoflavones in soybeans are two-way regulated. If the estrogen in your body is low, it will help you supplement it. If it is high, it can also help antagonize it. Drinking 300-500ml of pure soy milk every day is completely fine, but there are some Some clinicians will advise patients who already have relatively large fibroids (more than 5cm) or active breast nodules not to drink too much at one time, and not to drink iced soy milk every day to increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Everyone can adjust this according to their own situation. There is no need to kill them all at once.

I had a 32-year-old patient who had a 2cm uterine fibroid during a physical examination. She was so frightened that she stopped eating soy milk, tofu, and bean curd sticks, and even dared not touch honey. After a follow-up examination six months later, it was found that the fibroid was not small at all. Instead, her aunt was in trouble for two months because of daily anxiety. It’s really not necessary. The most important thing for hormone stabilization is not to stay up late, don’t take emergency contraceptive pills blindly, and don’t be too stressed for a long time. If you stay up until two or three o’clock every day, it’s no wonder that your endocrine system is not disrupted. It will have a much greater impact than drinking two sips of soy milk.

Oh, by the way, another thing that is most easily ignored by everyone is regular screening. Many girls think that if I don’t feel uncomfortable, I don’t need to check. This is really not the case. There are basically no symptoms of HPV infection, cervical precancerous lesions, and early ovarian cysts. By the time you feel pain or bleeding, it may be too late. After having sex, do a TCT+HPV joint screening every 1-2 years, and add a gynecological B-ultrasound every year if you are over 25 years old. It really doesn’t cost much, and is much more useful than buying thousands of yuan of health care products. Last time, I had a 45-year-old sister who had never had a gynecological screening. She had been bleeding irregularly for three months when she came in. She was found to have mid-stage cervical cancer. It was really a pity. If she had been checked two or three years earlier, intervention could have been done.

There is also a very detailed point. Many people sit in the office for eight hours without moving. Long-term congestion in the pelvic cavity will not only cause pain in the uterus, but also vaginitis. Get up every hour to get a glass of water and take a few steps. Take 20 minutes a day for a walk or run to promote blood circulation. It is better than any uterine warming device. There is also the issue of hygiene in the same room. Don’t be too troublesome. Both parties must wash before and after. Otherwise, the girl will easily get urinary tract infection and associated gynecological inflammation. I really need to be reminded of this.

In fact, after all, gynecological health is really not that fancy. Don’t mess with your body, don’t seek medical advice on Baidu, and go directly to a regular hospital for gynecology if you feel uncomfortable. It is 10,000 times more reliable than listening to the nonsense of live broadcast anchors and health gurus in your circle of friends. After all, your body is your own, so it’s always good to give it some extra treats~