Everyone knows that the vagina of a healthy woman is dominated by an acidic environment, why and what is caused by this phenomenon - let's try to figure it out.
Acidic vagina
The sour vagina is another vivid confirmation of the fact that the human body is an ideal balanced system, where everything is provided to the smallest detail. From this point of view it is easy to explain why the vagina is an acidic medium, because in conditions of increased acidity, pathogenic microorganisms can not grow and actively multiply.
To date, the qualitative and quantitative composition of the natural microflora of the vagina has been established - mainly lactobacilli (98% of the total number of local inhabitants), as well as bifidumbacteria and representatives of the transient group. For the maintenance of the required level of acidity with normal pH values of 3.5-4.5, it is the acidophilic lactobacilli responsible for the production of lactic acid during the interaction with glycogen. Glycogen is a special substance produced by the action of estrogen on the products of food decay, which enters the body.
In addition to maintaining the acidic environment in the vagina, lactobacilli perform other functions:
- produce hydrogen peroxide , which has an antimicrobial effect;
- stimulate local protective properties;
- produces a quality selection of spermatozoa that carry only the best gene set.
Transit microorganisms enter the vagina from the external environment during sexual intercourse or from other organs and are among the conditionally pathogenic ones. Most of these bacteria immediately die in such unfavorable conditions, the other - can exist for a long time in the vagina, but their activity is strictly controlled by lactobacilli.
Very acidic environment in the vagina
Most often, the imbalance of the natural biocenosis in the vagina leads to bacterial vaginosis, as evidenced by the too acidic environment of the vagina or the alkaline as well as the active growth of the transient group of microorganisms. This state clearly requires treatment.