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Does Postpartum Vaginitis Keep Recurring? Now Is the Time to Change the Root Cause.

Shortly after giving birth and experiencing the joy, many visitors come to the clinic with an unspeakable concern, saying, "Postpartum vaginitis keeps recurring." Changes in vaginal discharge, unpleasant odors, itching, and stinging that they had never known before place an additional burden on bodies and minds exhausted from childrearing. Every time we hear appeals like, "It's fine when I take medicine, but it recurs," or "I feel like my immunity has dropped," we feel that a fundamental recovery of the body, beyond simple vaginitis treatment, is desperately needed. The weakened physical condition and changed vaginal environment after childbirth often become the main culprits creating a vicious cycle of vaginitis recurrence.

💡 [Key Answer]

3 most common causes of postpartum vaginitis recurrence:

① Vaginal environment imbalance due to rapid hormonal changes ② Decreased systemic immunity due to childbirth and childrearing ③ Decreased lower abdominal circulation and accumulation of damp-heat (濕熱)

Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic restores fundamental immunity and self-healing power through constitutional improvement treatment to break the chain of vaginitis recurrence.

Childbirth brings profound changes to a woman's body. Hormone levels change rapidly, the burden placed on the perineum during childbirth, and round-the-clock childrearing significantly lower systemic immunity. These changes lead to a decrease in beneficial vaginal bacteria (such as Lactobacillus) and the proliferation of harmful bacteria, creating an environment vulnerable to vaginitis.

Generally, vaginitis treats acute symptoms with antibiotics or antifungals, but it often recurs once medication is stopped. Particularly in the case of bacterial vaginosis, it is reported to recur in up to 60% of cases within 12 months after antibiotic treatment. This is because the imbalance in the vaginal beneficial microbiome is not resolved, and the fundamental cause of lowered immune function has not been improved. In Korean medicine, such recurrent vaginitis is not viewed merely as a local problem, but is diagnosed as a state where the immune system has collapsed due to systemic deficiency of qi and blood and the accumulation of damp-heat in the lower abdomen.

Inside the vagina, beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacilli reside, maintaining a healthy acidic environment and inhibiting the proliferation of harmful bacteria. After childbirth, changes occur in this vaginal microbiome composition, leading to a decrease in the number of beneficial bacteria and making it vulnerable to various pathogens. This not only lowers defense against invading bacteria from the outside but also creates an environment where bacteria normally present in the body proliferate actively.

In a study by Min-jung Kim et al. published in the 2022 Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology journal, the vaginal microbiome characteristics of 40 Korean women with recurrent vaginitis (RV) and 100 healthy women were compared. As a result of the study, the proportion of vaginal Lactobacillus bacteria in the recurrent vaginitis patient group was significantly lower than that in healthy women (p < 0.01), and microbial diversity and evenness were significantly higher (p < 0.05). This suggests that the healthy vaginal environment dominated by Lactobacillus has broken down, leading to the excessive proliferation of various types of microorganisms.

Regarding this result, the researchers concluded that the decrease in Lactobacillus dominance and changes in microbial diversity are closely related to recurrent vaginitis, and greater microbial diversity was observed especially in patients accompanied by uterine diseases. These data show the importance of treatment that fundamentally improves the vaginal environment through the recovery of beneficial vaginal bacteria and the enhancement of systemic immunity, beyond merely suppressing symptoms. Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon branch focuses on correcting this broken body balance through constitutional improvement to transform the body into one where vaginitis is difficult to recur.

Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic views the cause of recurrent vaginitis as a state where the overall balance of the body is broken, and aims not just to suppress symptoms, but to make a body where symptoms do not turn back on rather than turning them off. The mother's body, weakened by childbirth and childrearing, experiences significant consumption of qi and blood, which easily lowers immunity and makes her vulnerable to various diseases. In particular, if lower abdominal circulation is not smooth or damp-heat stagnates, an environment where vaginitis occurs more easily and repeats is created.

Korean medical constitutional improvement treatment focuses on healthily readjusting this internal environment of the body. Through customized herbal medicine, qi and blood are supplemented, immunity is enhanced, lower abdominal blood circulation is improved, and damp-heat is removed to increase vaginal self-healing power. This naturally creates an environment where beneficial vaginal bacteria thrive and harmful bacteria find it difficult to proliferate, contributing to lowering the vaginitis recurrence rate. In addition, treatments such as acupuncture, moxibustion, and fumigation are combined to promote blood circulation in the perineum and pelvic cavity, strengthen immunity, and healthy management of the external vaginal environment.

In Korean medicine, vaginitis is classified as 'Daehabyeong (帶下病)' among oriental gynecology diseases, and is explained by pathological factors such as spleen deficiency (脾虛), kidney deficiency (腎虛), and damp-heat (濕熱). Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon branch diagnoses each patient's constitution and current body state in detail, reinforcing these weak parts, communicating stagnant energy, and removing excessive damp-heat through customized prescriptions to break the vicious cycle of vaginitis recurrence. Through this process, we help build the body's self-healing power and enhance immunity so that vaginitis no longer easily visits. If you are suffering from postpartum vaginitis, consider fundamental constitutional improvement by visiting Incheon Vaginitis Korean Medicine Clinic.

If 3 or more of the following apply, active management for postpartum vaginitis recurrence is necessary.

• ◻ The amount of vaginal discharge (leucorrhea) has increased much more than usual, and the color is yellowish or bluish.
• ◻ A sour, fishy, or unpleasant odor persists from the discharge.
• ◻ Itching, burning, or stinging pain is felt in the vulva.
• ◻ Discomfort or pain is experienced when urinating, along with a feeling of residual urine.
• ◻ Pain or discomfort is felt during sexual intercourse.
• ◻ Fatigue is felt more easily than usual, and body recovery after childbirth feels slow.
• ◻ The lower abdomen is cold, or the entire abdomen is uncomfortable and often poorly digested.
• ◻ Vulnerability to stress and emotional swings have worsened.

Judgment:

• If 3 or more apply: Postpartum vaginitis recurrence risk group; it is recommended to consider Korean medical treatment to improve the vaginal environment and immunity.
• If 5 or more apply: The body's immune system is currently weakened, and vaginitis is highly likely to become chronic. Immediate visit for precise diagnosis and customized treatment is important.

Q. Can postpartum vaginitis heal naturally? A. While symptoms may improve as the body's immunity weakened after childbirth recovers on its own, vaginal environment imbalance and lowered immunity usually persist, leading to easy recurrence. Leaving it untreated can lead to chronic vaginitis or other women's diseases, so active treatment and management are important.

Q. It keeps recurring even after antibiotic treatment; will Korean medical treatment help? A. Yes. Antibiotics are effective in treating acute infections, but they also destroy beneficial vaginal bacteria, which can be a cause of recurrence. Korean medical treatment focuses on strengthening immunity and improving the vaginal environment, making it an effective alternative for recurrent vaginitis that cannot be resolved with antibiotics.

Q. How long does vaginitis treatment take? A. The treatment period may vary depending on the type of vaginitis, severity of symptoms, number of recurrences, and individual constitution. Usually, steady treatment for 2 to 3 months or more is required, starting from simple symptom improvement to the constitutional improvement process of restoring the vaginal environment and immunity.

Q. Postpartum vaginitis and postpartum wind (sanhu-pung) came together; can they be treated together? A. Yes. Both postpartum vaginitis and postpartum wind easily occur due to qi and blood damage and lowered immunity from childbirth. Because Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic's constitutional improvement treatment aids systemic recovery, it can simultaneously improve the root causes of postpartum wind and vaginitis to see combined treatment effects.

Postpartum vaginitis is not a problem that can be solved by enduring it. You no longer need to ignore the body's signals sent for a long time. If approached in the right direction, the body reacts faster than you think. Bring the symptoms you are experiencing as they are. Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon branch will find the cause together.

Where life blooms. Herbal medicine is Dalimchae Korean Medicine. Check symptoms similar to yours first through the AI consultation on the Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic website!

This article is health information compiled together by Dalimchae medical staff based on questions frequently received in the consulting room. Medical Supervision | Women & Pregnancy Treatment Standard Dalimchae Korean Medicine Clinic Incheon Branch Korean Doctor Min Ji-hong (Vaginitis Column)