Counseling Sheet

Agatha M. Thrash, M.D.

Preventive Medicine

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Vaginitis is more common in young girls, diabetics, and post-menopausal women. During the age of childbearing, there is a hormonal hardening of the surfaces, making irritation or infection unlikely. If vaginitis does occur, treat it vigorously, as it can become chronic and more difficult to eradicate. It may be caused by ordinary bacteria, or by a yeast-like organism (monilia), or by a protozoan (trichomonas). Mechanical irritation, as by wearing tampons, can precipitate the disease.

• Go on a low-fat (no free fats such as margarine, cooking and salad oil), sugar- and honey-free diet for one month.
• Take no tub baths. Showers are always better for a woman. Bath water, carrying soap and impurities, enter both the vagina and urethra. No soap should be used—even with showers—during the treatment period.
• Wear no nylon underpanties, pantyhose or pants, only cotton; or open the seam of all synthetic pants from six to eight inches in the crotch. Synthetic fabrics promote the accumulation of both moisture and heat, making better conditions for the growth of microorganisms.
• Take a douche of hot soda water (1-3 teaspoons of soda per quart of water), twice daily for seven days and once daily for 30 days.
• Switch to hot vinegar water, if there is not prompt relief with soda water. Use 1-4 tablespoons per quart of hot water twice daily. Any kind of vinegar is satisfactory.

• Avoid marital relations during the treatment period. Since germs can be transferred between husband and wife, have marriage partner take a 110-degree sitz bath for 20 minutes, cleansing the genitals well with ordinary soap during the hot bath. Rinse off briefly in cold shower, and dry thoroughly. A fine dusting of baking soda should be left on the skin of the genital area. Continue the sitz bath treatment twice daily for three days, and once daily for seven days.
• Follow the menopausal routine (see separate sheet) for women going through menopause or already post-menopausal.

• Do a perineal pour, consisting of one quart of hot or cold (not lukewarm) water poured over the perineum after each use of the bathroom, bladder or bowels.
• Insert a capsule of vitamin E oil high into the vagina each night. That has been found to be helpful to some.