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Cervical Erosion
By peace | May 14, 2007
Cervical erosion occurs when the surface of the cervix is replaced with inflamed tissue from the cervical canal. The condition may be caused by trauma, infection or chemicals.
The lining of the vagina is built up of layers of cells, rather like a wall, is built up of bricks, and the same arrangement of cells covers the cervix where it pokes into the upper part of the vagina. However, a sudden change occurs at the edge of the canal leading through the cervix. The cells which line this are a single layer thick. They are large and very active in secreting mucus so that the woman may complain of a vaginal discharge.
During puberty, and again in a first pregnancy, the exact position of the change from the flat wall-like cells of the vaginal part of the cervix to the tall single mucus-secreting cells of the cervical canal moves, and in many women it moves outward. This means that the tall cells now appear around the entrance to the canal to look like lips. The same effect can be obtained if you close your mouth and draw in your lips. Your mouth now appears as a slit ringed by pink skin. If you now put your lips, your mouth is ringed by red lip mucous membrane.
In the past, the ‘pouting’ of the cells of the cervical canal was called an ‘erosion’ or an ‘ulcer’ because doctors believed it was abnormal. And of course, it is not an ulcer. The treatment of the ‘ulcer’ was to burn it by applying a cautery stick or by using an electric cautery. It is now known that such treatment is usually unnecessary, and indeed is only needed if at childbirth the mouth of the cervical canal is torn or damaged. However, even in these cases, treatment should be withheld for at least six months after childbirth, as the ‘pouting’ often disappears. Only if it persists beyond this time and leads to a marked vaginal discharge, is cautery needed. The stick cautery is quite useless; today the condition is treated by cauterizing it using an electric current, or by freezing it using cryosurgery. The treatment can be given in the doctor’s office, but may be done in hospital under an anaesthetic.
After cautery or cryosurgery of the cervix, the woman will notice that she has an increased quantity of vaginal discharge, often dirty-looking with streaks of blood in the first few days. The discharge is due to the burned area being shed as the cells beneath it make a new lining and push off the old one. The discharge may last for 4 to 6 weeks, but this is normal. At the end of this time, the doctor usually wants to see the patient once again, so that he may inspect the cervix to see how well it has healed.
Cervical erosion occurs when the cervix is scraped, perhaps during intercourse or by an intrauterine device, or IUD. It is common in teenagers and may be seen in pregnancy, and in women on oral contraceptives.
A women with a cervical erosion or eversion may have no symptoms at all, or she may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
- Bleeding during or after sex;
- A whitish or slightly bloody discharge;
- A reddish patch on the cervix, seen during a pelvic examination.
To heal the eroded area, healthcare providers sometimes recommend cauterizing the erosion, using either heat or cryosurgery, a technique involving freezing. If you have symptoms of cervical erosion or ectopy, see your healthcare provider for a Pap test and pelvic exam to check for cancerous cells or an infection.
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