What Is Vulvovaginal Atrophy?

Atrophic vulvar leukoplakia is a type of vulvar with large changes in the shape of the vulva, which has a greater impact on patients. The vulvar skin is dry and thin, the elasticity is reduced, the clitoris, the labia majora, atrophy, and the vagina will shrink. Sexual intercourse is painful or even difficult, which is extremely harmful to women's body and mind. So, what about female vulvar atrophy ?

Vulvar atrophy

Atrophic vulvar leukoplakia is a type of vulvar with large changes in the shape of the vulva, which has a greater impact on patients. The vulvar skin is dry and thin, the elasticity is reduced, the clitoris, the labia majora, atrophy, and the vagina will shrink. Sexual intercourse is painful or even difficult, which is extremely harmful to women's body and mind. So, what about female vulvar atrophy ?

Causes of Vulvar Atrophy

Female vulva atrophy usually has two factors:

1. Normal physiological atrophy . In postmenopausal middle-aged and elderly women, ovarian function declines, estrogen secretion levels decrease, and their target organs also shrink. Vulvar atrophy caused by this condition will not affect the shape of the vulva.

2. Atrophic vulvar leukoplakia . The disease is caused by impaired subcutaneous microcirculation of the vulva, metabolic dysfunction, itching of the vulva skin, tissues and mucous membranes to varying degrees, itching, thickening or thinning of the epidermis, dryness, and atrophy. The initial vulvar atrophy is not obvious. Timely treatment and attention to care, gynecological inflammation, trauma and birth trauma, allergies and other factors will aggravate the symptoms of vulvar leukoplakia.

1. Endocrine disorders: When endocrine glands and tissues undergo pathological abnormalities or problems with immune function, they will easily cause endocrine disorders, which will lead to endocrine diseases. There is a kind of tissue-specific protein hormone called "statin" that can inhibit epidermal cell division and growth in the dermis and only affects the epidermis. Endocrine disorders cause it to cause local connective tissue hyperplasia and stimulate epidermal metabolism. Imbalances cause white spots in the vulva.

Vulvar infection and inflammatory spurs: There are many factors that cause vulvar infection and inflammatory stimuli, such as poor sanitary habits, unclean sex life, wearing chemical fiber underwear, unclean sanitary products, bathing in baths, swimming in baths, etc., causing vaginal inflammation, such as It cannot be treated in time. Inflammatory secretion infiltrates the perineum. Long-term infection and irritation will damage the skin and mucous membranes, cause redness, ulcers and lesions, and form vulvar white spots.

3. Familial heredity: Approximately 10% to 30% of patients with vulvar leukoplakia due to hereditary or intergenerational inheritance, and genetically caused vulvar leukoplakia are mainly atrophic vulvar leukoplakia, and patients are more common in young girls. Therefore, clinically, for patients with leukoplakia under 15 years of age, doctors should first take family genetic factors into consideration, check whether there are patients with genital leukoplakia in the patient's parents' family, and then conduct specific treatment after confirming the cause of the diagnosis.

4. Inflammation and stimulation: Inflammation will cause local neurovascular damage to the genitals. A small number of women will cause trichomonas vaginitis, fungal vaginitis, cervical erosion and other inflammations, which will cause increased vaginal secretions and leucorrhea abnormalities, which will stimulate the vulva and cause vulva White spot disease.

V. Perineal trauma: Female perineal trauma due to certain factors, such as pregnant women during vaginal delivery may cause perineal laceration, damage to local nerve blood vessels in the genitals, and may cause leukoplakia. However, this phenomenon is relatively rare clinically, so female friends can rest assured.

Vulvar atrophy symptoms

What are the symptoms of atrophic vulvar leukoplakia?

Stage atrophy : the main symptoms are not obvious, some patients have mild itching, no white lesions appear, and the vulva has atrophy that is not easily detected by the naked eye.

Stage atrophy : The typical symptoms are mild atrophy of the vulva, which usually starts from the labia majora and the clitoris. The elasticity of the labia majora and labia minora is reduced, the surface wrinkles are reduced or no wrinkles, and the vulva itching is slight. Due to atrophy, there may be feelings such as dryness of the vulva and discomfort in sexual life. Vulvar skin appears locally hypopigmented, spotting multiple or flaky.

Stage III atrophy : The labia majora is flat, the labia minora disappears, and the clitoris atrophies becomes smaller or sticks. Urethral atrophy, severe incontinence, vaginal opening atrophy, and difficult sexual life. Some patients spread to the white spots and atrophy of the anus, causing no wrinkles around the anal skin, reduced elasticity, and causing anal fissures during stool. About 50% of patients have extensive hypopigmentation of the vulvar skin.