Vaginal Swelling during Pregnancy

Vaginal swelling is indeed an issue that many women may face during some part of their lives. Some women may face it on account of underlying pathology, while others develop only at specific times in life such as after menopause or pregnancy.

However, it is a fact that vaginal swelling in pregnancy can indeed be a nuisance and a sign of some underlying disease that may demand immediate attention. Therefore, it is important for women to educate themselves about all aspects of vaginal swelling to help them in dealing with issues that may complicate pregnancy.

Related Read: Tips & Remedies to Manage Vaginal Swelling During Pregnancy

What Are the Symptoms of Vaginal Swelling in Pregnancy?

Vaginal swelling may indeed include other ailments such as localized or generalized pain, irritation, and the appearance of blisters or sores that may bleed.

Vaginal swelling can also be rather accompanied by vaginal discharge, and this can be consistent or periodic, as the discharge may have a foul odor that may affect personal or genital hygiene.

Most pregnant mommies also do report that vaginal swelling that interferes with urination and is usually followed by the feeling of a sharp stinging sensation while passing urine.

The most common symptom is inflammation around the vaginal region as well as itching in the inflamed areas.

In case one experiences such symptoms one needs to consult one’s doctor as early as possible. These signs, in fact, should not be self-treated, even with milder manifestations such as slight itch, and irregular and scarce bleeding. Many serious diseases can indeed be caught at an early stage with regular checkups and maintenance of good health; therefore, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Suggested Read: Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy Following Successful Fertility Treatment

What Causes Vaginal Swelling in Pregnancy?

There are many reasons why pregnant females may also develop vaginal swelling during pregnancy; some of these are mentioned below:

Causes & Descriptions

Improper hygiene

It can indeed increase microbial content in the vaginal region, facilitating the growth of microbes and resulting in inflammation.

Infections

Bacterial, viral, and fungal infections are rather particularly attractive to this region of the body since it has a lower temperature and also is high in moisture content does offer a favorable environment for the growth of microbial agents.

Sexually transmitted diseases

Sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea are rather caught by direct sexual contact with the partner and can also result in the seeding of bacteria in the vaginal area, resulting in inflammation and associated symptoms of the disease.

Use of products

One can need to ensure not to use products that can react with one’s skin and cause allergy has also been known to cause allergy and irritation in one’s vaginal region. These products can indeed cause extreme itching to one’s skin, resulting in skin reddening and inflammation, resulting in hyper-allergic reactions.

Hormonal changes

Hormonal changes can also result in an increase in vaginal discharge and sloughing off of internal linings. Besides, during pregnancy, hormonal fluctuations can lead to disturbance of the body’s natural flora. As a result, bacterial and fungal infection growth is eased.

Related Read: All You Need to Know About Ovarian Cysts

The presence of cysts

The presence of cysts in the genital region can result in vulvovaginitis. These cysts can be cancerous as well.

Gruff entry

Having sex for a longer time or gruff entry can rather lead to vaginal inflammation or bleeding.

Inflammation

Inflammation of ducts or arteries present in the vaginal region can of course result in edema, which is the accumulation of fluid and results in fluid discharge.

Related Read: Pregnancy Complications to Know About

How to Treat Vaginal Swelling in Pregnancy?

Do not scratch. If one observes oozy lesions or inflammation around one’s vaginal region and has redness, avoid scratching it as scratching can result in the spreading of the infection to the surrounding skin.

Wash it properly. Most importantly, it is rather much recommended not to overwash the genital area, since water spreading to other parts can also seed microbes there. But one can also make sure one does not stop maintaining one’s personal and genital hygiene. since many infections are indeed caused by poor hygienic conditions.

Avoid self-treating.

The next most important thing to do is to avoid self-treating oneself. Never try to self-medicate in case one is pregnant. This is so as many antifungal or antibacterial drugs are contraindicated in pregnancy and lead to toxic interactions if unsupervised.

Medications.

Once one’s doctor completes the physical examination, he will indeed prescribe a course of antibiotics or antifungal drugs as per one’s needs. Oral anti-fungal is not usually prescribed during pregnancy, so one would probably be making use of topical creams in order to resolve the infection; if the infection has spread to other parts of the body, a stronger antibiotic plan will be made use of. These drugs are to be carefully monitored since adverse drug interactions can rather directly harm the fetus.