Gynecology Basics
What is a "gynecologist"?
A gynecologist is a physician who has gone through 4 years of college, obviously, 4 years of medical school, and then has specialized in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. That's a 4-year degree. Usually most gynecologists these days are board certified. That means that they've taken the required tests to become accepted by the board of gynecology and obstetrics as a specialist in their field. However, there are still obstetricians and gynecologists who practice without this board certification. There is subspecialty training in infertility, urogynecology, oncology and maternal-fetal medicine, and so, depending on what the patient is looking for, they should consider all of these components in their own physician.
What's the difference between certified and non-certified gynecologists?
A board certified gynecologist is someone who has finished the 4 years of residency and then collected a certain number of cases and has gone through an oral and a written exam. This person, once he or she passes the requisite tests, which are sometimes very rigorous, gets board certification, proof that now they are a board certified physician who knows what they're doing. It takes maybe 3 or 4 years for doctors to become board certified to practice gynecology. However, some physicians never become board certified. They are still allowed to practice gynecology. However, they may not be accepted as attending physicians in certain hospitals, where some insurance groups may not accept them in their list of physicians.
When should I start seeing a gynecologist?
A woman should start her visit to the gynecologist at eighteen. The college of OB-GYN recomends a first pap-smear to be done at eighteen or when a person becomes sexually active. That may be as early as thirteen. Also there are women that I see, or girls that I see at the age of thirteen for different problems. So if a woman has a problem, or a girl has a problem, it does'nt really matter what age they have and sometimes I see young girls three, four years old with vaginal infections that are recomended to see me by their pediatricians, and they really don't know what is going on. We take care of those problems to. But just for routine if someone has never had sexual intercourse and they just want to start seeing a physician, eighteen is a good time to start. It's a good time because at this age you get educated about your organs, how they work, how to examine yourself, what to expect. For example breast exam, someone will show you how to do it, a good breast exam, when to do it, what to look for. The same thing with their periods, what's normal, what's not normal. Also a lot of hormonal changes may be going on at this age or even earlier. For example I have a lot of patients that have hormonal problems where they have irreregular mensis, increased hair growth, acne, they gain a lot of weight very quickly. These are things that we can adjust and take care of very early on if we know early on that this problem is going on. So the answer is if you notice anything that you think is not normal or is not usual and should not be there.
What are the most common symptoms of a vaginal infection?
Sometimes there are no symptoms of vaginal infection at all. Sometimes a symptom of vaginal infection is an overgrowth of a bacteria or yeast, which doesn't even bother the person that this vaginal infection is happening in. But usually the vaginal infection is causing abnormal smell, abnormal discharge, burning or itching. It could even cause urinary tract infection, pain with intercourse, discomfort in the vulva or vaginal area. These are all potential signs and symptoms of vaginal infection.
What is "vaginal discharge"?
Vaginal discharge is the fluid that comes out of the vagina, and everybody has it. All woman have vaginal discharge. There's no way that a healthy person can have a dry, vaginal environment. That's just a function of the vaginal area. At different times of the month, especially around the time of ovulation, the cervix produces this clear, thick white discharge that is then like mucus. That's normal, it's normal to have that vaginal discharge.
