Patient's question:
Patient gender:Female
Duration of this illness and current status: Four or five days
Current general condition: Vaginal redness
Doctor's answer:
Hello: The human body itself is a carrier of Candida. As a symbiotic bacterium in the human body, Candida can only cause disease under certain conditions. Therefore, as long as the conditions that may lead to candidal vulvovaginitis are eliminated, the purpose of prevention can be achieved.(1) Exercise regularly, maintain a balanced diet, and avoid excessive consumption of high-sugar foods.
(2) Develop good hygiene habits: Wash your hands before using the toilet; do not use unclean toilet paper; when wiping the external genitalia after defecation, wipe from front to back; clean the external genitalia daily, change and wash underwear, and dry them in a well-ventilated area; use your own basin and towels; wash underwear and socks separately.
(3) Dress appropriately: Do not wear synthetic underwear, and do not borrow others' underwear, pants, or swimsuits.
(4) When using public restrooms, avoid sitting on the toilet; prefer showering over tub baths; do not sit directly on bathroom chairs after bathing; do not swim in pools with poor disinfection.
(5) Do not overemphasize hygiene: Some patients claim to be very hygienic during their visits, washing the external genitalia 2–3 times a day, sometimes even using a or hands to clean the vagina. However, this practice is incorrect. The vaginal environment is weakly acidic and contains a diverse microbiota. The mutual restraint between different microbial species helps inhibit the overgrowth of certain bacteria, which is part of the body's natural defense system. Cleaning the vagina disrupts the weakly acidic environment and the mutual restraint among microbial species, weakening the vaginal epithelium's disease resistance and potentially causing vaginal infections caused by Candida or other bacteria.