What is a vaginal infection (vaginitis)?
Vaginitis refers to a few different conditions that can cause infection or inflammation of your vagina. The similar umbrella term vulvovaginitis describes inflammation of both your vagina and your vulva, the external part of your genitals.
Vaginal infections can have plenty of different causes, and they’re fairly common. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says up to a third of people with vaginas will develop vaginitis at some point in life.
These infections can happen at any time, but they’re most common during your reproductive years, or your late teens to early 40s.
You can develop a vaginal infection without having penetrative s€x, or any other type of s€x. In other words, vaginitis is not the same as a s€xually transmitted infection (STI), though certain types of s€xual activity can sometimes factor in.
Read on to learn more about the main types of vaginitis, plus their symptoms, causes, and tips for getting treatment and relief. We will talk about the symptoms in our next post.
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