What happens if there is a foreign object in the vagina?

If there is a foreign body sensation in the vulva, women need to pay attention to the source of the foreign body, such as whether it is inserted by a foreign object. Especially for children, there are many foreign objects that can be accidentally inserted, such as matches, peanuts, corn kernels, etc. Parents also need to pay attention to it.

1. Sources of Vaginal Foreign Bodies

(1) Foreign objects inserted by others: such as cotton balls and gauze left over from surgery or treatment; to enhance sexual stimulation, the sexual partner inserts a glass, gin bottle, beverage bottle, metal jewelry box, etc. into the vagina.

(2) Self-insertion: This is common among infants and young children who insert foreign objects into their vagina out of curiosity or to relieve vaginal itching. Ding Shuzhen reported 9 cases of vaginal foreign bodies in infants and young children, aged 3 to 10 years old, all of whom had normal intelligence. Among them, 3 cases were inserted into the vagina by children of similar age; 2 cases were inserted into the vagina by mentally ill adults; 2 cases were inserted into the vagina by themselves; and 2 cases were of unknown reasons.

2. Classification of foreign objects in the vagina There are many types of foreign objects that accidentally enter the vagina of young girls. The most common ones include: hairpins, matchsticks, peanuts, corn kernels, soybeans, wheat grains, bicycle ball bearings, cigarette filters, small stones, plastic pen caps, hemp stalks, pins, small mother-child buckles, short plastic ropes, glass ampoules, metal perfume bottle caps, etc. Some adults insert cucumbers, oranges, onions, perfume bottles, penis molds, etc. into their vaginas in order to seek sexual stimulation, and eventually cannot remove them, or they forget contraceptive devices in the vagina due to negligence.

Pathophysiology

1. Inserting foreign objects for therapeutic purposes, such as gauze left over after vaginal surgery, for compression or hemostasis; placing a pessary in the vagina to treat uterine prolapse, which, when not removed for a long time, can lead to changes in the vaginal flora and acute inflammatory reactions.

2. Vaginal foreign bodies used for contraception, such as condoms, vaginal diaphragms, cervical caps, etc., are left in the vagina.

3. The folk "sit medicine" used for abortion or induced labor can have a corrosive effect on the vaginal mucosa. Some unmarried pregnant girls have abortions on their own and put various foreign objects into the vagina.

4. Sexual stimulation, insertion of various foreign objects into the vagina by sexual partners or oneself, is more likely to occur when drunk and is more common in women of childbearing age but can also occur in elderly women. Asrtid Novak reported 3 cases of vaginal foreign bodies in elderly women. One of them was an 81-year-old woman who came to the hospital for emergency treatment due to vaginal pain. A plastic penis-like foreign body was removed from her vagina. She admitted that she used the object to masturbate 1 to 2 times a week. Another case was a 69-year-old woman who had a glass wine glass in her vagina. Seven years ago, her husband used a wine glass as a substitute because he could not have sexual intercourse. The couple was unable to remove it afterwards, and her husband forbade her to seek medical treatment. She only came to see a doctor after her husband died. After incision, the glass could not be removed completely, and the only way she could do was to remove the fragments one by one.