" Today we're kick starting both the audio blog and Ask a Professional series on the Be Well blog. We really hope to be able to grow this series and have more wonderful guests share their wealth of knowledge. Today we have Suzanne Polden, a clinical practice leader and registered nurse at the Student Wellness Clinic here at Queen's to answer some of your questions about vaginal health and STI testing in this two parter blog."
INTRODUCTION
Q: "Thank you for joining me today! Would you be able to give us a quick introduction and share a little bit about your background?"
A: "Hi, thanks. My name is Suzanne. I'm a registered nurse. I work here at Student Wellness at Queens. I've been here for the last few years. I've got lots of past experience in a lot of different populations. I've done quite a bit of work with sexual health, it's an area I really enjoy."
COMMON VAGINAL INFECTIONS + TREATMENT (ON CAMPUS)
Q: "Thank you. We'll get right into some top questions that Queen's students have on this topic. We're going to start with vaginal health and menstruation. Firstly, what are some common vaginal infections and what are the treatment options available for students on campus?"
A: "So there's Many different STIs. The ones that we think of more commonly are things like chlamydia and gonorrhea, but there's also other ones, such as syphilis, HIV, and trichomonas, and bacterial vaginosis. Most of these are bacterial, meaning they're caused by bacteria, which is great because we can easily treat them with antibiotics. We can provide treatment for many of these STIs right in our clinic, which is great and very convenient for students. Sometimes you might need to go to a pharmacy with a prescription. HIV is caused by a virus, so that can't be completely eradicated, but there are some great treatments available these days that can really slow the progression of that disease.
Another common vaginal infection would be HPV, which is another virus. So again, you can't completely get rid of it, but there are many ways to control it. HPV can cause cervical cancer, so it's really important to make sure you're vaccinated and try to prevent transmission through using protection. And if you notice anything like a wart to receive prompt treatment for that.
There's also herpes, which usually shows up like a lesion or a cold sore, and again, is a virus, so can't be completely gotten rid of in your body, but can be controlled with antivirals as well.
And then a few other vaginal infections are ones that aren't necessarily sexually transmitted, but can occur more frequently when you are sexually active. So these would be things like UTIs, which is an infection in your urinary tract and usually causes some pretty unpleasant symptoms, so you would want to seek medical treatment for that. Again, it can be treated with antibiotics.
Yeast infections are another common infection, usually accompanied with a strong odor or a weird vaginal discharge. This is a yeast infection so it can be treated with, a medication that's over the counter. You don't actually need to see a physician for that, but you can go to your pharmacist and ask them for help with that.
So there's lots of infections obviously, but if you're ever concerned, it's really good to seek help and attention from a physician."
lifestyle choices and habits for better vaginal health
Q: "Yes, for sure. Thank you so much for that very thorough breakdown. Next question is what are some specific habits or lifestyle choices that can promote better vaginal health?"
A: "So it's really important to consider that everyone is different. And also to kind of get to know your monthly fluctuations. So as your cycle, your menstrual cycle progresses, you're going to notice that your vaginal health changes.
So you might notice more discharge at certain times of the month, and that's considered completely normal. But if you are noticing fluctuations outside of your normal, that's when it's good to check in with a physician. That being said, there's lots of ways to make sure that your, keeping healthy and keeping your vagina healthy as well.
So staying healthy and keeping hydrated is really important. Eating a balanced diet is really important because there's lots of normal healthy bacteria in our vaginas and sometimes if we're eating differently or maybe not the most healthfully it can cause these bacteria to kind of fall out of balance, which can cause some changes or maybe, some differences in how our vaginas are doing.
It's really important to observe and to keep track of changes, as I mentioned, and also to know your family history. So if, you know, your mother or your grandmother has a history of recurrent vaginal infections, that's something that could affect you as well. So that's really important to keep aware of.
It's also really important to know that our vaginas are really good at keeping themselves healthy and to try to avoid putting things inside of them that aren't normal or natural. So douching, for example, is something that some people will do in effort to try to help their vagina stay healthy, but we actually don't need that at all.
It's perfectly great to just use soap and water on the outside to clean the outsides of our vaginas. Also, practice safe sex to avoid infections, and if you get a sexually transmitted infection to get prompt treatment for that. Another thing that's really important, especially if you're new to being sexually active, is to pee after sex.
That's really, really important to prevent UTIs, because it helps clean out our urinary tract."
menstruation & stress + TIPS
Q: "Yeah, great tips. Thank you. Lastly, we're going to move on to menstruation. There is a well proven link between menstruation and stress. What are some tips for managing menstrual health, especially during stressful academic periods?"
A: "Yeah, so our bodies run on hormones. Some of our hormones regulate our menstrual cycle, and that's what causes the monthly fluctuations and causes us to menstruate. But there's also lots of other hormones in our body that run for different reasons. So, for example, cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone, which obviously is going to increase during a stressful time, during an anxious time. So when cortisol increases, it can kind of throw our menstrual hormones off, which can affect our menstrual cycle. You may notice at very, very stressful times that your period might actually stop for a short period of time, or it might be delayed. That is relatively normal. And once your cortisol decreases, or once you manage that stress, it should go back to normal, but it is really important to check in with a doctor if it hasn't gone back to its normal cycle within a few months.
There are lots of things you can do to manage your stress and hopefully also manage your menstrual cycle. Things like mindfulness, exercise, keeping really hydrated, keeping a good sleep schedule and eating -- a healthy diet -- are really important. Also decreasing your caffeine intake is really important. It is going to be helpful to control the cortisol, which is the reason for the menstrual cycle to be thrown off. Also, seeking regular mental health care if you're having a hard time coping with the stressful changes, that's a really important tool in your toolbox."
"Yeah, thank you so much. I feel like these tips and all of the information that you've given us will be really helpful for a lot of Queen's students."
"Thank you for answering these questions and everybody stay tuned for part two where Suzanne will be answering questions about STI testing."
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