What your results actually tell you
An honest look at what a Vagilant report includes, how to read it, what it can help you notice over time, and the limits of what it can tell you.
When you finish an assessment, Vagilant produces a written report. This page describes what is in it, how to read it, and what it cannot tell you, so you know what you are getting before you sign up.
What a report contains
1. What was observed
A plain record of the nine pad readings you entered, and the context you gave: where you were in your cycle, symptoms you noted, recent antibiotics, product use. This is the raw material, stated back to you so you can check it is right.
2. What that pattern typically indicates
An interpretation in ordinary language, closer to "this pattern is within the range typically seen outside of menstruation" or "this reading is higher than your previous three, which can happen for several reasons including X, Y and Z." No score to decode.
3. What stands out
Anything that departs from what is typical, or from your own previous results. This is the part that matters most, and it only gets better as you build a history.
4. What might be worth raising
Where relevant, a suggestion that something is worth mentioning to a doctor, along with the specific detail to mention. "See a doctor" on its own is useless; this tells you what to say when you get there.
How to read it well
One reading is a snapshot. The value is in the pattern.
Vaginal chemistry moves constantly: across your cycle, after sex, after antibiotics, and with age. A single result taken out of context is close to meaningless, and reading too much into one is the most common mistake. Three or four results across a few weeks tell you something a single result never can.
A few things worth holding onto:
- Establish your normal first. "Normal" varies enormously between individuals. Your own baseline is a far more useful reference than a population average.
- Timing changes everything. The same reading means different things on day 3 and day 14 of your cycle. See how vaginal health changes across your cycle.
- A change is a prompt. Something shifting is a reason to pay attention, and possibly to book an appointment. It is not a result.
- Symptoms outrank readings. If you feel unwell, that always matters more than a reassuring pad pattern.
What your report will never say
It will not tell you that you have bacterial vaginosis, a yeast infection, trichomoniasis, or any sexually transmitted infection. It will not tell you whether you need antibiotics or antifungals, or which one. It will not rule anything out.
Vagilant is a wellness product, not a diagnostic device. Diagnosis requires a clinician, and usually a swab, microscopy or culture. What Vagilant offers is a structured, dated record of change, which is a genuinely useful thing to walk into an appointment holding and a completely different thing from a test result.
Your history over time
Every report is saved to your account. Over repeat use you build a timeline: what you recorded, when, and what was happening around it.
This is what we think the product is actually for. Most people describing vaginal symptoms to a doctor are working from memory, and memory is poor at exactly this: how long, how often, what changed first. A dated record removes that problem.
You can export your reports as PDFs to bring to an appointment, and you can delete everything permanently at any time.
Privacy
Only you can see your results. They are encrypted, never sold, never shared with advertisers, insurers or employers, and never used to target advertising. Full detail in the privacy policy.
Try it
Creating an account and completing an assessment is free.