Treatment of vaginitis

The physiology and flora of the normal vagina and the more common causes and associated treatments of vaginitis are reviewed. Vaginitis encompasses a group of diseases causing inflammatory changes in the vagina and vulva. Treatment of the various vaginitides requires accurate diagnosis, which is hampered by difficulties in culturing pathogens and in resolving the pathogenicity of various organisms. The ability of the body to withstand vaginitis is affected by physiologic changes within the vagina. The vaginitides and associated treatments reviewed include candidiasis and trichomoniasis; Hemophilus vaginalis and other bacterial vaginitis; and Herpes hominis, chlamydial, and atropic vaginitis.