Patient's question:
What are the symptoms, tests, and treatments for cervical erosion?Doctor's answer:
Hello, cervical erosion is more common in married women. The common symptoms are increased leukorrhea with a yellowish, viscous texture.Since cervical erosion is difficult to distinguish from early cervical cancer visually, if you know you have cervical erosion, the first step should be a cervical smear test. Previously, the traditional Papanicolaou smear test was used, which involved doctors or laboratory technicians observing and analyzing the smears under a microscope. This method was prone to missed diagnoses, with a miss rate of about 30%, often requiring multiple smear tests to avoid missed diagnoses. Currently, most hospitals widely use CT (computed tomography) for smear analysis, which can examine every cell on the slide without missing any, improving accuracy tenfold compared to manual visual examination. However, its cost is several times higher than the traditional method.
A cervical smear test cannot serve as a definitive diagnostic basis. If atypical cells are found, further examinations such as colposcopy and biopsy should be conducted to confirm the diagnosis.
There are many treatment methods for cervical erosion, and appropriate choices can be made based on the severity of the erosion. The main methods include:
(1) Medication Treatment: For small erosion areas with shallow inflammation, the following medications can be used:
① 10–20% silver nitrate: Applied locally once a week, with 2–4 applications constituting one course.
② Potassium permanganate: Applied locally after menstruation, followed by a repeat application after 1–2 months. When using these medications, caution must be exercised to prevent burns to the surrounding vaginal walls. Additionally, sterilization should be ensured during medication to prevent reinfection.
(2) Physical Treatment: Used for larger erosion areas with deeper inflammation.