What is the effect of potassium permanganate washing the vulva?

Potassium permanganate is a small black-purple solid particle that is easily soluble in water. Because it is a strong oxidant, it is very effective in killing bacteria. It can also be used as a medicine for gynecological diseases. Diluted potassium permanganate solution can be used to clean the vulva, which is effective in preventing urinary system diseases and gynecological diseases. Of course, although potassium permanganate has a good antiviral effect, it cannot be used frequently.

Although potassium permanganate is not suitable for disinfection and sterilization

Some women think that potassium permanganate has a strong disinfecting and bactericidal effect, so they often use it to clean the vulva. In fact, doing so is actually bad for your health. Under normal circumstances, there are a large number of beneficial vaginal bacteria living in women's vagina. They can break down the glycogen stored in the epithelial cells in the vagina into lactic acid to maintain the acidity in the vagina, forming a natural barrier that can prevent pathogenic bacteria from multiplying in the vagina.

If potassium permanganate is used to flush the vagina frequently, a large number of vaginal lactobacilli will be killed. As lactic acid production decreases, the acidic environment in the vagina is destroyed, and various pathogenic bacteria take advantage of the situation to enter and multiply in large numbers in the vagina, causing a variety of gynecological diseases. Especially after menopause, due to the decline of ovarian function, the thinning of vaginal mucosa, and the relative reduction of vaginal lactobacilli, the abuse of potassium permanganate is more likely to induce senile vaginitis.

Potassium permanganate aqueous solution sitz bath should be used according to the symptoms

The vaginitis targeted by the "potassium permanganate aqueous solution sitting bath" method mainly refers to vaginitis caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli and Proteus.

The use of potassium permanganate aqueous solution for sitz baths in the treatment of vaginitis should also be treated differently according to different situations. For vaginitis and Trichomonas vaginitis caused by bacterial infections such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli and Proteus, potassium permanganate aqueous solution can be used as an auxiliary treatment for sitz bath. Because these pathogenic microorganisms are not suitable for growing in an acidic environment, they are easily killed by potassium permanganate.

Fungal vaginitis is mainly caused by Candida albicans, which usually parasitizes in the vagina. When the body's resistance is reduced or when broad-spectrum antibiotics and other drugs are used in large quantities for a long time, Candida will multiply rapidly due to bacterial flora disorders, leading to the occurrence of vaginitis. If potassium permanganate is used to treat this type of vaginitis, it will not only fail to inhibit the reproduction of fungi, but may even aggravate the condition. For candidal vaginitis, an alkaline solution with 2-4% sodium bicarbonate can be used to flush the vulva and vagina as an auxiliary treatment to create an alkaline environment that is not conducive to the survival of Candida alba.

Potassium permanganate is generally not suitable for candidal vaginitis. At the same time, patients must ensure that the sitz bath time is more than 10 to 15 minutes when taking the medicine, so as to ensure that the medicine is better absorbed.

The concentration ratio of potassium permanganate aqueous solution should be appropriate

The concentration of potassium permanganate aqueous solution used for vaginal washing should be 0.01%; the concentration of potassium permanganate aqueous solution for sitz bath treatment of vaginitis should be 0.02%; the concentration of potassium permanganate aqueous solution for general prevention of urinary tract infection and cleaning of the vulva should be 0.05%. In fact, these concentrations are very easy to remember. All you have to remember is that if it comes into contact with the skin, the concentration of the aqueous solution must be higher, and if it comes into contact with the mucous membrane, the concentration needs to be slightly lower. Generally speaking, what we call cleaning the vulva is contact with the skin, while vaginal douching is contact with the mucous membrane, and sitz bath treatment is between the skin and the mucous membrane.

Warm water is needed to prepare potassium permanganate water

To prepare potassium permanganate aqueous solution, use warm boiled water at about 30°C. Too high water temperature will cause it to decompose and become ineffective. The prepared aqueous solution can usually only be stored for about two hours. Once the time is exceeded, the solution will turn brown-purple and lose its disinfecting effect.