Do you know what a vaginal pessary is? You may come across it when buying some feminine treatment; or your doctor prescribes it for a condition affecting your vagina. In this article, we explain what it is, when you can use it and how.

What is a Vaginal Pessary?

Simply put, its a method of introducing medication into the vagina.

The biggest benefit for using a vaginal pessary is that it allows the medicine or drug to easily penetrate the vaginal tissue and treat conditions affecting the vagina.

The vagina tissue has a rich supply of blood vessels.

This means that medicines applied in the vagina can be quickly spread through the rich blood supply.

Conditions for Using a Vaginal Pessary

Here are some conditions affecting the vagina that will be satisfactorily treated with a vaginal pessary.

• Vaginal thrush or candida.
  • Caused by a fungal infection of the vagina with the fungus Candida albicans
  • Can occur commonly in pregnancy, Diabetes or from poor personal hygiene.
  • Antifungal drugs treat fungal infections – by applications to the vaginal area with cream or inside the vagina using pessary; they are also taken by mouth.
• Dryness in the vagina from loss of Oestrogen
  • This happens from menopause as a woman grows older and the level of oestrogen falls.
  • It can also happen in younger women – this is ‘premature’ menopause.
  • Dryness can be treated with Oestrogen cream or gel applied through a vaginal pessary.
• Induction of labour
  • If a pregnant woman is past her due date; or there is a risk to mum or baby, the next step would be to artificially ‘provoke’ or stimulate labour.
  • This is called induction of labour.
    • Briefly, it includes the process of ripening (softening) the cervix (neck of the womb) for delivery of the baby.
    • Your doctor or nurse will perform an internal examination where they will sweep their fingers across the cervix to try and release some hormones which stimulate labour.
    • If labour does not result, they will insert medication to the vagina – usually in the form of a pessary/capsule that works locally around the cervix to provoke labour.

Is Using a Vaginal Pessary Painful?

No – vaginal pessaries either come in the form of small capsules or are a cream/suspension which you can apply with a specially designed applicator.

How can I use a vaginal pessary?

For treating conditions like vaginal candidiasis or dryness, ladies can self administer the pessary.

• Most times it is best to remain in a lying position for a prolonged period after applying the pessary.
• Wash your hands.
• Lying on your back, open the lips of the vagina and gently push the pessary into the vagina as far up as you can.
• If using an applicator, follow the directions, gently inserting the applicator and releasing the dose of medicine.
• In many cases, it is similar to inserting a tampon.
• Always follow the dosing and application instructions to ensure proper treatment.

Help with Using Pessaries

Most women will use a vaginal pessary at some time in their lives – knowing why and how to do so properly will improve your condition quickly.

If you would like to know more about vaginal pessaries, email us, or drop a comment below.

More Reading

• Preventing Ladies’ “Toilet Infections”.
• 5 Reasons You Didn’t Know For Vaginal Bleeding After Sex
• Causes of Vaginal Discharge
• Keeping New Mothers Safe Postpartum Haemorrhage Symptoms – Part 3
• Keeping New Mothers Safe fron Postpartum Haemorrhage – Part 1

Editing by AskAwayHealth Team

Disclaimer

All AskAwayHealth articles are written by practising Medical Practitioners on a wide range of health care conditions to provide evidence-based guidance and to help promote quality health care. The advice in our material is not meant to replace the management of your specific condition by a qualified health care practitioner.
To discuss your condition, please contact a health practitioner or reach us directly through info@askawayhealth.org