physical examination, many women may be diagnosed with " cervical erosion ". This word looks very scary and gives people a bad feeling, but it doesn't need to be too nervous, because is not considered a "sick" at all. "erosion" of cervical erosion is just an adjective of a state, not really erosion .
01
What is "cervical erosion"
Two types of cells exist in the cervix at the same time. Near the vagina, squamous epithelial cells , and in the cervical canal near the uterus, columnar epithelial cells . Squamous epithelial cells have several layers, pink, thick and smooth surfaces; while columnar epithelial cells have only one layer, thin, so blood vessel cells will penetrate and appear red, which looks like an erosion state.
Due to physiological factors, columnar epithelial cells will be transferred to the vagina outside the cervix. Moreover, because the cells in are very thin, and red can be seen with the naked eye. This is called cervical erosion .
Cervical erosion has troubled many women, and most women will be found to have this state during gynecological examinations.
But in fact, cervical erosion is not a disease to be precise. It is actually a physiological phenomenon, and is closely related to estrogen in female bodies .
Before puberty, women have incomplete ovarian development, incomplete functions, and low estrogen levels. At this time, columnar epithelial cells are close to the inner side of the cervical canal and are in a smooth state.
After menstruation, columnar epithelial cells will develop outward due to the influence of estrogen and extend into the vagina on the outside of the cervix. Erosy red columnar epithelial tissue can be observed with the naked eye. At this time, a gynecological examination will be performed and cervical erosion will be found.
However, it has been medically clear that this cervical erosion is not the true erosion caused by ulceration and loss of cell tissues, and it is different from the cell infiltration of chronic cervicitis . Therefore, the erosive change of is just a physiological change of , which is just a clinical sign of women. Moreover, this physiological phenomenon has little to do with whether or not has a sexual life history, and it is also possible for unmarried women to occur.
Female Mentermeasures After menopause , as the level of estrogen drops, columnar epithelial cells will automatically retract back into the cervical canal, and the so-called cervical erosion will be "healed without treatment" .
In fact, cervical erosion is a change in the position of the cervical columnar epithelial cells, but because the columnar epithelial cells themselves "are not good-looking" and are as red as a kind of lesion. This is a misinterpretation of normal physiological phenomena by people.
In the medical students' "Observation Science" textbook, the name "cervical erosion" has been cancelled, and instead replaces with "cervical columnar epithelial ectopicity". Even if you find cervical erosion, you don’t need to worry too much.
02
Does "cervical erosion" need treatment?
Although cervical erosion is not a disease, there are some diseases, such as cervicitis , squamous intraepithelial lesions, early cervical cancer , the symptoms of the early onset will be manifested as cervical erosion. Therefore, although cervical erosion is a physiological manifestation, there are also a few cases of that may be pathological changes in , and corresponding treatment should be performed at this time.
Generally speaking, if the area of cervical erosion is relatively small and there are basically no obvious symptoms, there is no need for medication or surgery to treat it. This erosion will disappear with the changes in hormone levels in the body.
However, if leucorrhea occurs and symptoms such as vaginal bleeding are recommended to go to a regular hospital for treatment in time.Of course, the target of treatment is not cervical erosion, but disease that causes cervical erosion.
03
How to deal with "cervical erosion"
When taking measures to deal with cervical erosion, be sure to be careful not to fall into misunderstandings .
1) Do not completely ignore cervical erosion, which may delay the treatment of related diseases.
2) You cannot treat it immediately as soon as it is found that it is cervical erosion, or even use excessive treatment methods. The specific cause should be screened out first, and determines whether treatment is needed for based on the situation.
Therefore, after the examination finds cervical erosion, it is best to first undergo cervical cytology and HPV test , and perform colposcopy and biopsy if necessary to rule out cervical lesions or cervical cancer.
If you still feel discomfort after excluding the relevant diseases, further treatment should be done based on the cause detected by the doctor. In addition, even if there are no symptoms of discomfort, women with a sexual life history are advised to undergo gynecological examination at least once a year, so as to better judge whether there are lesions in the cervix.
Author | Ruan Hongjie Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital Chief Physician
Review | Jia Xuemei Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital Chief Physician/Deputy Dean
Source: Popular Science China
