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Do your own wet preps at home.
DISCLAIMER: If you're tired of going to the doctor for a "mystery vaginal infection" or pelvic pain and getting no clear answers because all your tests are "negative", you might want to learn how to do your own wet preps at home (examining your own vaginal discharge with a microscope). Doing a wet prep is easy and fun, seriously it is. For the price of one doctor's office visit, you can have your own lab set-up at home. This works best if you have some kind of discharge to examine. You'll be able to see the three basic vaginal infections; yeast, trichomoniasis and BV (clue cells), as well as lactobacillus, WBCs that indicate inflammation, epithelial cells & parabasal cells (immature cells coming from irritated vaginal mucosa).
Here's an excellent short video on how to do a wet mount. She is using cheek cells, but you will use the discharge instead. Exact same procedure. (Note: Use a swab instead of a toothpick and skip the methylene blue)
This is the microscope I have and it's absolutely amazing. You'll be able to do your own wet preps (also called wet mount) at home, which will give you many insights into your underlying cause. It can also give you a feeling of satisfaction and more control over your situation, especially if you have been told over and over that "you're fine", when you know you're clearly not. A wet prep microscopy is crucial in diagnosing chronic vaginal pain or vaginitis. However, unfortunately most doctors these days don't even have a microscope in their office!
Click here to view this microscope on Amazon.
By doing your own wet preps,
you'll be able to instantly see if you have yeast, clue cells (bacterial
vaginosis), trichomoniasis, lactobacillus, excess white bloods cells or epithelial
cells and parabasal cells. These are crucial in making a diagnosis. Many women
think they have chronic yeast infections, but all their cultures come back
negative. Unfortunately, many doctors continue to prescribe antifungals, which
can make matters worse. With a microscope, you'll be able to see yeast on the
slides (pseudohyphae or budding yeast) so that you can make an educated decision
regarding taking yeast medication. This can also help stop the craziness of
thinking you have yeast, when in fact you do not.
You'll be able to see slides
like this:
(Many WBCs, some lactobacillus,
a few epithelial cells
and one parabasal cell)
Here's an excellent "Vaginal Wet
Mount Interpretation" that will show you what to look for on your slide. With a little practice, you'll be able to get a very good idea
about what's going on in your vagina.
You'll need a few other items
to perform your wet preps. Scroll down to view those.
Microscope Slides and Pre-Cleaned
Coverslips.
These are the ones I get. It's a good amount so
you can freely do your wet preps and not have to worry about running out. The
price is good too.
Click here to view these on Amazon.
Cotton-Tip Swabs.
I buy these at my local medical
shop. You may be able to find them there a little cheaper, but if you don't have
time or have a store near you, these seem to be the same. I have actually found
that the wooden part works a little better because the cotton actually absorbs
the discharge to some degree. So I break them in half and use the wood part to
carefully get the specimen from the vaginal entrance. If you need to put
the swab further up, you will need to use the cotton part so you don't injure
yourself.
Click here to view these on Amazon.
Saline Solution.
I bought this one at my local medical supply
store for $2.85. You may be able to find this one or similar one online. You'll
need to put a drop of this with your discharge specimen on the slide. Then
you'll put a slip cover over it before putting on the microscope.
Glass Dropper.
You'll need a dropper to put 1 drop of your
saline solution on the slide. Be careful not to contaminate it between uses, or
contaminate your saline solution. To avoid this, you can put some saline
solution in a separate small dish and take your drop from there.
I had an extra one of these from something
else. You might too. Otherwise you should be able to find one online or in a
local store.
The microscope is
often used to diagnose BV. The
4 Amsel criteria is standard in the industry for the diagnosis of bacterial
vaginosis (BV). Demonstration of clue
cells on a saline smear is the most specific criterion for diagnosing BV.
Clue cells are vaginal epithelial cells that have bacteria adherent to their
surfaces. The edges of the squamous epithelial cells, which normally have a
sharply defined cell border, become studded with bacteria. The epithelial
cells appear to be peppered with coccobacilli. A pH greater than 4.5
indicates infection, and pH may be elevated in up to 90% of patients with
BV. Characteristic discharge
appearance is thin, gray, and homogeneous. The whiff test may be
positive in up to 70% of BV patients. This test is performed by placing a
drop of 10% KOH on the speculum after the vaginal examination or mixing
vaginal fluid with a drop of KOH on a microscope slide. The KOH, by virtue
of its alkaline properties, causes the release of volatile amines from the
vaginal fluid. The amines are products of anaerobic bacterial metabolism. Credit Source: www.medscape.com
Other helpful resources I've discovered along the way ...
How to get lab tests
WITHOUT a doctor's referral.
Depending on your symptoms, you may
suspect that blood tests might reveal the underlying cause of your vulvodynia
and/or other health issues. In
this case, you may want to begin with basic functional medicine testing. Since
some doctors might not believe in functional medicine testing, they will
probably not be willing to give you a referral to a laboratory. But here's the
good news. You can get all the tests you want at a fraction of the cost of
traditional lab testing and without a doctor referral. For example, you may want
to check your vitamin D or hormone levels. I use
Ulta
Lab Tests and if I were to have unlimited funds, I would do every single
panel available on this site. But I'm weird and love this stuff. I personally think it's fascinating and invaluable
to know exactly what is going on inside my body. No guessing games, just real
facts. What an amazingly logical way to find the root cause of our symptoms.
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