There should always be good microflora in the vagina of a woman. It is with it that a person's resistance to a different kind of infection is associated. Normally, this organ is a reservoir in which there are two types of microflora. Aerobic formations should be 10 times more than anaerobic. As a rule, the first species is lactobacilli. Thanks to them, harmful bacteria do not multiply. Some factors can lead to the fact that a woman begins to develop vaginal imbalance. It happens that anaerobes replace lactic acid bacteria. The former should be present in small quantities, but due to this process, microflora becomes problematic. From a medical point of view, the described disease is called gardnerellosis. This pathology is quite popular, it is diagnosed in 40% of patients. The risk of catching a pathology is high in those who have urogenital infections.
Pathogen Description
Before you understand what symptoms with gardnerellosis will bother a person, you need to know the process of the pathogen. This disease was first detected in 1955. Then the bacterium was called hemophilic vaginal bacillus. This organism is an ordinary capsule that does not have nuclei. It is motionless, can reach a length of not more than 2 microns. These bacteria look like sticks that have a small wall of cells. Certain representatives of the gardnerella have a homogeneous membrane structure. These pathogens can multiply even in cases where they do not have access to oxygen. This organism is capable of producing acetic acid.
If the gardnerella at some point becomes aggressive, it begins to multiply actively. For a short time, the microflora in the vagina changes, so a disease occurs. In inactive forms, this bacterium is able to live for up to a year, and on open surfaces for up to 6 hours. You can get the described disease in various reservoirs, as well as in public toilets. It should be noted that in some healthy women this bacterium is present in the microflora of the vagina, however, it is inactive, therefore the disease does not appear.
Disease prevalence
Gardnerellosis is one of the most popular diseases that can be contracted sexually. Most often, women suffer from it. This pathology occurs in 80% of cases in patients prone to genital inflammation. Also, this disease is often diagnosed in a quarter of healthy women.
Infection methods
How gardnerellosis develops depends entirely on the nature of sexual activity. In women who do not suffer from vaginitis, often this pathology is not diagnosed. Therefore, the risk factors include the use of medications that violate the hormonal background, stressful situations, problems with the diet, especially if a woman does not use dairy products, does not use chlorine-containing antiseptics, does not wear synthetic underwear, she does not have various infections, and also no menstrual irregularities.
Depending on the cause of the woman's appearance of gardnerellosis, the symptoms and treatment with the drugs will differ. Infection can be transmitted not only through sexual contact, but also from mother to baby if the birth canal is infected. Sometimes intrauterine infection also occurs. Therefore, this disease should be considered quite contagious. Especially it should be noted that often there are symptoms of gardnerellosis in women with ureaplasmosis. Treatment in this case will be aimed at eliminating the primary disease.
Pathogenesis
Only certain representatives of the pathogen are capable of producing acetic acid and amino acids, which greatly change the microflora. Others produce an ant compound. Sometimes doctors say that this pathogen is not as serious as you might think about it. Due to the described factor, before the appointment of therapy, it is necessary to identify the nature of the gardnerella. The arising symptoms and drug treatment depend on it.
Gardnerellosis in men occurs in contact with an infected woman, so you should be as careful as possible. This pathogen can form “key” cells, which are characteristic manifestations. That is why, during treatment, it is necessary to take smears.
It should be noted that at the moment the pathogenesis of this disease is 100% unclear. However, we can say for sure: gardnerella easily dissolve and destroy phagocytes, as well as damage vaginal cells.
Forms of the disease
Symptoms of gardnerellosis in women vary depending on the form of the disease. Distinguish a certain classification, which involves the division into species.
- Pathology caused by bacteria: vaginosis and problems with the upper genital tract.
- A disease that affects pregnant women.
- Two forms of pathology that cause problems with the female and male bile ducts.
Consider individually all types of disease.
Bacterial form of vaginosis
The most common form of the disease should be called bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, the question of what are the symptoms and causes of gardnerellosis in women is quite relevant. Treatment of pathology is completely dependent on them. In this case, it should be noted that other pathogens that are anaerobic can be fixed in the vagina during diagnosis. However, this vaginosis is characterized in that often bacteria that are sexually transmitted are absent.
In half of the patients, the symptomatology is expressed in that discharge appears that has the smell of rotten fish. The second part of the patient has no manifestations - the disease is asymptomatic. Doctors say that bad smell is a reaction to the metabolism of pathogens.
Diseases in pregnant
The causes and symptoms of gardnerellosis in women who bear a child, as a rule, are the same in all cases. It should be noted that this disease is very common. About 20% of pregnant women suffer from it. However, often the infection is not intrauterine, because during this period the immune system works actively. But it happens that local protective functions fail. Therefore, cellular immunity is reduced.
Often, bacterial vaginosis provokes not only problems during pregnancy, but also after it. Most often, women who are diagnosed with this disease give birth prematurely, which entails the development of complications. Often, symptoms of gardnerellosis (photos of women who have encountered this ailment are presented in the article) are combined with manifestations of purulent inflammation. Most often, it is it that allows you to correctly identify the pathology and eliminate it in time. In such cases, postpartum sepsis occurs.
Bacterial upper genital tract
It should be noted that, as a rule, endometritis develops due to this disease, and there are also cases of blood poisoning with these pathogens. This leads to the fact that a person may experience shock.
Often, with the described pathology, surgical intervention is prescribed. Before the operation, it is necessary to identify the causes and symptoms of gardnerellosis in a woman. Because, if there is a chance of developing bacterial vaginosis, then you should first cure it. Otherwise, complications may occur after surgery.
Urinary problems in women
This pathology occurs most often due to the lack of treatment of gardnerellosis. This leads to infection of the urethra. There is evidence that healthy women may also have a pathogen in their urine. However, in order to diagnose the disease, it is necessary to find more than 1 thousand CFU of bacteria in a milliliter of urine.
Problems with the male urinary tract
As already mentioned, this problem in men occurs much less frequently. Most often, they have inflammation of the anterior urethra. Therefore, among all the symptoms of gardnerellosis, urethritis can also occur. Diagnosing it is quite difficult, because the clinical manifestations are minimal.
The patient may complain that he has discharge, but there is no pain or discomfort. There are practically no complications of this disease in men. But cystitis, pyelonephritis or prostatitis can occur. Therefore, if the disease has no manifestations, then, as a rule, it is not serious.
Symptoms in women
As mentioned above, one of the symptoms of gardnerellosis in women is discharge. They have a bad smell, they can foam a little. This is due to the fact that the acidity is reduced in the vagina. Often, women complain of severe itching and burning. Often, along with the above symptoms, there is hyperemia of the vagina, uterus and urethra.
If we are talking about an acute form of the disease, then the discharge will be abundant, dense. They have a gray color.
If the disease is started and caused an infection of the uterus, as well as the fallopian tube, then a pathology called salpingitis can develop.
Symptoms in men
As a rule, in the stronger sex, the disease is manifested only by inflammation of the genitals. If the urinary tract is healthy, then the pathogen will be removed from the body after three days. In the case when a man has reduced immunity or similar pathologies are present, then gardnerella will become aggressive. This will result in inflammation of the urethra. Often in men, the disease takes on a hidden character, that is, it does not appear. In this case, they become carriers of bacteria.
In general, if we talk about the possible symptoms of gardnerellosis, then they are as similar as possible to urethritis. Burning, discomfort during urination, and serous discharge may occur .
Disease treatment
Depending on the causes and symptoms of gardnerellosis in women, the treatment will be strictly individual. Often, therapy is aimed at restoring the vaginal microflora and bringing it to an optimal internal environment. Local treatment does not last more than 10 days. The doctor can prescribe a vaginal treatment using a special tool, and patients are prescribed douching with soda solution. You should drink drugs that stimulate the immune system and restore the amount of vitamins in the body.
If we talk about systemic treatment, then doctors prescribe drugs that contain clindamycin. In the acute form, special therapy is prescribed, aimed at removing bacteria from the body. Moreover, it lasts no more than 2 weeks. For a complete cure, 2-3 courses are required. In the treatment of this disease, the main problem is that microorganisms are considered conditionally pathogenic. This entails the fact that if the pathogen becomes aggressive, it will multiply in huge quantities. Therefore, before starting treatment, it is necessary to do all the examinations and pass the bacteria. This will reveal which antibacterial drugs can be prescribed.
Folk methods
Well-proven folk treatment. In order to get rid of the mild form of this pathology, it is necessary to use various fees from herbs. However, you need to understand that for a complete cure you will have to take such tinctures and decoctions for at least six months (maximum - a year). Often used lemongrass, aralia and some other means. Doctors advise not to neglect treatment, as this may entail the development of not only complications, but also a chronic form.
conclusions
The presented article fully describes the symptoms of gardnerellosis, the causes of its occurrence and treatment. If you neglect therapy, then the woman will develop vaginosis. This is a rather unpleasant disease, which is also difficult to cure. In men, the described infection leads to inflammation of the walls of the urethra. That is why, if the primary symptoms of gardnerellosis arise, you must definitely pay attention to them and go to the doctor. After all, it is easier to prevent the disease or to cure it at the initial stage than to deal with complications later. If you want to use folk remedies, it is advisable to combine them with the main course of therapy, after consulting with your doctor.