Vaginal Health - Keeping Vagina Healthy

Tips for feminine hygiene to help maintain a healthy and clean vagina.

To understand vaginal health, it is important to know what is the normal environment of a woman’s vagina.

Within a woman's vagina, there exist a delicate flora with several types of micro-organisms such as yeast and bacteria like lactobacilli living together. In a healthy vagina, the good bacteria (lactobacilli) helps keep the vagina flora slightly acidic which keeps the quantity of bad bacteria in check.

Under certain circumstances such as poor hygiene, an imbalance of the naturally occurring good bacteria (lactobacilli) can result in an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast, causing foul smelling vaginal odor or vaginal infection such as bacterial vaginosis.

Although there are also a myriad of other psychological and physiological reasons, such as stress and hormonal changes that can lead to the imbalance of the vaginal flora as well, one can maintain a healthy vagina by following some simple steps.

Do’s and Don’t For A Healthy Vagina

Do’s

• Opt for plain or mild, unscented soap to wash your vulva (the entrance leading up to your vagina).
• Wear cotton panties instead of nylon ones, as the latter tends to keep in the warmth and dampness, in which encourage yeast and bacteria to grow.
• If you are not planning for a family, do practice sexual hygiene by encouraging your partner to use condoms to prevent the introduction of semen into the vagina and preserve a healthy vaginal balance.
• Do eat more yogurt since it contains lactobacilli that naturally replenishes the healthy bacteria in the vagina and prevent vaginal infections.

Don’ts

• Do not douche frequently as this can upset the delicate balance of the vagina flora promoting an over-growth of bad bacteria.
• Do not leave tampons or sanitary pads on for more than a few hours. Ensure you change pads/tampons regularly throughout the day. If possible, take showers in between.
• When cleaning up after bowels, do not wipe any bacteria from your anus to vagina – wipe from front to the back.
• Avoid using strong or perfumed soaps, including vaginal deodorants, as these products may contain strong chemicals that irritate your vagina.
• Avoid wearing tight panties or pantyhose for long period of time since this can cause dampness and encourage the growth of yeast and bad bacteria.

Additional Tips To Keep Vagina Healthy and Clean

A vagina that is not well maintained can lead to vaginal infection, which is troublesome and would most likely hurt or cause discomfort. An infection may also produce a vaginal odor of varying intensities – some odors are so pungent that it smells "fishy".

Here are some tips to keep your vagina healthy and clean:

• Maintain proper hygiene – for a healthy vagina, you would need to upkeep your personal hygiene by showering and cleaning yourself regularly.
• Avoid sharing personal items (even if it belongs to family or your best friend!) such as towels or underwear. This is extremely unhygienic and unsanitary because bacteria and germs can be easily spread through linen.
• You may choose to use special vaginal hygiene soaps although a mild soap is sufficient. It is better to choose a soap that has a low pH because this will keep our skin’s pH balance in check.
• Avoid using vaginal cosmetics such as powders, perfumes etc, as perfumery might cause an adverse reaction or even trigger allergies. Some also advice against using perfumed toilet paper because it may cause irritation.
• Avoid taking bubble baths too often as it might cause vagina dryness.
• Always use a condom during sexual intercourse to protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which can possibly leave you with very nasty and painful genital warts.

Warnings and Signs To Watch Out For

As mentioned, a bacterial imbalance within the vaginal flora may cause a vaginal infection. Bacterial vaginosis is the most common type of vaginal infection among females, affecting 1 out of 4 women. Symptoms may include vaginal itching and burning but is most often recognized by a grayish white vaginal discharge with foul, fishy odor.

Vaginal yeast infection are the second most common vaginal infection which is cause by an overgrowth of fungi within the vagina. Symptoms include abnormal thick vaginal discharge with strong odor.

Therefore, when it comes to vaginal health, it is important for all women to always maintain a clean and healthy vagina to help prevent and minimize the risks of infections to their vaginal.

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