Care of “down there” is essential to leading a healthy lifestyle. Your vulva has its own ecosystem with beneficial bacteria to keep it clean.
Use of harsh soaps, perfumed products or douches can disturb this balance and lead to infections such as yeast infections or bacterial vaginosis. By developing healthy habits regularly throughout your daily life, you can keep the vulva healthy and happy.
Daily Hygiene
Women often underestimate the significance of vaginal hygiene. Maintaining a healthy vulva is essential to reproductive and urinary health, so it is crucial that daily washing with warm water and mild soap takes place – avoid douching or antiseptic soaps which could disturb the natural balance of bacteria in this area; use your hands rather than a washcloth when cleansing your external genitalia; wear cotton underwear as this allows airflow between layers for maximum comfort.
Vaginal lubricants can make external sexual contact more comfortable by relieving friction and discomfort, and are especially useful during periods to alleviate cramping and reduce pain.
Maintaining good vaginal hygiene can help protect against many common gynecological conditions, including bacterial vaginosis (BV) with its symptoms of thin gray discharge with fishy odor and yeast infections caused by an overgrowth of Candida yeast; urinary tract infections (UTIs); itching, burning, abnormal discharge or pelvic pain should all be evaluated by your gynecologist, since any persistent issues could indicate hormonal imbalance or serious disease conditions that require treatment.
Avoiding Harsh Soaps
Soaps and detergents used on the genital area can irritate sensitive skin, particularly scented products. It’s important to use mild soaps or an emollient such as cocoa butter or double base to gently cleanse this area, before showering or bathing to create a protective barrier against soaps that might irritate it further.
As well as using gentle soaps to wash their vulvae, women should avoid harsh soaps when cleansing their vaginal area, as this can disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in their vagina and cause irritation. Instead, women should use an external wash specifically formulated and tested clinically that offers targeted antimicrobial benefits without negatively affecting natural vaginal microflora.
Healthy vaginas produce natural discharge that is either clear and slippery when wet, yellowish when needed and with minimal to no odor. A musky scent could indicate something is amiss such as yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis.
Avoiding Douching
Douching can disturb the natural pH balance of your vulva and lead to irritation and dryness, interfering with healthy bacteria found within, leading to infections, as well as increasing risk. When coupled with feminine hygiene products that use scents or wipes specifically designed to clean, more problems may occur.
Women who regularly douche may be at increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and bacterial vaginosis; it’s hard to know whether these associations are caused by douching itself, or whether other factors like lower educational levels and multiple sexual partners could also play a part.
If you want a clean vagina, avoid wiping or using soap with fragranced wipes as this could alter the natural balance of bacterial in your vulva and lead to infections, specifically yeast ones. Douching also spreads bacteria to other parts of the body which may result in urinary tract infections.
Taking Care of Your Foreskin
The vagina is a closed muscular canal running from outside your genitals (known as the vulva) to the neck of your uterus ( known as the cervix) through which good bacteria inhabit, helping keep it clean while providing its natural pH of slightly acidic nature. When this balance is altered, infections such as thrush and bacterial vaginosis occur.
Everyday it’s essential to use lukewarm water and neutral-pH soap without scent to clean your vulva and avoid products which could potentially irritate such as wipes, douches or harsh soaps that might lead to irritations such as wipes.
Everyday use of vaginal moisturizer and lubricant will help your vulva and labia (LIE-bah) remain moist. Some vaginal moisturizers come with disposable applicators shaped like tampons to apply the moisturizer into the vulva and labia for maximum effectiveness.
Limit your consumption of alcohol and nicotine as these substances can reduce sexual arousal and make orgasms harder to achieve. Beware that stress and depression may also impede sexual satisfaction.
