How to clean the Vagina?

Let me start with this, VAGINA is not a dirty word. Repeat after me! Feel free to pronounce it anywhere. Mind you, I won't package it for you till it gets rotten, let's open it wide and wild while I drop the bitter truths to your head so the odour of the vagina won't chase men away and makes your beauty horrible. It’s time we all got comfortable with the term vagina and not behave like junior secondary school students. While we’re at it, vulva, labia and clitoris are the major parts.When women absorb the “ick” factor associated with our vaginas, it puts you at a risk of missing out on essential healthcare.

VAGINA HEALTH: Hygiene

I am a biologist, not a gynaecologist but I love science! Do you really need to wash your vagina? But do you need to wash your vulva? Let us recap some basic anatomy. The vagina is the inner canal inside the female body. The term vulva refers to the outer part around the vagina. These includes; clitoris, clitoral hood, inner and outer labia (vagina lips). Washing the vagina can lead to many problems. You might have heard that the vagina is like a self-cleaning oven. That's a pretty accurate metaphor. The vagina cleans itself and keeps itself healthy by maintaining the correct pH balance and cleaning itself with natural secretions. Vagina contains a lot of “good” bacteria. These bacteria maintain the ideal pH balance which is slightly acidic. The acidic pH makes it hard for “bad” bacteria to infect the vagina. That's why you don't need to clean your vagina? When you use soaps,sprays, or gels and yes, even water to wash inside your vagina, you disrupt the bacterial balance. This can result in bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, and other irritation. Washing your vagina can also affect your vagina’s ability to clean itself. So if you want a clean vagina, leave it alone to clean itself! What do you need to clean? VULVA. Ok! Let's have the vulva. The vulva is the area of female sex organs that lies outside of the vagina. These organs include folds of sensitive tissue called labia (labia means lips). The labia has two parts. The outermost folds are called labia majora. A second set of fold called labia minora is enclosed within the labia majora. The vulva also contain the mounded area made by the pubic bone (Mons pubis), a small round organ clitoris and the opening of the vagina and urinary canal (urethra). The goal of vulva cleaning is to keep the vulva dry and free from irritants. In this way, you can prevent the vulva from been red, swollen and irritated because many infections enter the vagina through the vulva.

How do you wash your vulva?

You should wash the vulva with WARM WATER. If you’d like, you can use a mild soap that won’t irritate the skin, but this isn’t necessary. Spread your lips apart and gently clean around the folds, using a clean washcloth or your hands. Avoid getting water or soap inside your vagina. I REPEAT, AVOID IT, THE SAME WAY YOU CANNOT CLEAN YOUR INTESTINE WITH SOAP, YOU CANNNOT ALSO CLEAN THE VAGINA WITH SOAP. In addition to washing your vulva, it is a good idea to wash the anus and the area between your vulva and anus every day. DID I JUST SAY ANUS? YES ANUS AUNTY don't be shy and stop disturbing my class. It’s best to wash “front to back” in other words, wash your vulva first and then your anus. Otherwise, bacteria from the anus can spread to your vagina, which can cause infections. Wait, do you even need to use soap? Nope! You don’t have to use soap to wash your vulva, it's not compulsory but just a necessity according to researchers. If you want to use soap, choose a soap that’s unscented, mild, and colorless. Fragnance soap can irritate the sensitive skin in and around the vulva.

What about feminine wash or sprays?

Most supermarkets have a range of feminine washes and sprays that are said to reduce odor and clean the vagina. Don’t buy these. Like I said, your vagina doesn’t need any of these items to be clean, and it certainly doesn’t need to smell like a rose garden, everything will result to odour eventually. These products were essentially created to prey on people’s insecurities regarding their bodily odors. In truth, these products are both unnecessary and harmful, as they can irritate vulva and vagina. But there’s an odor! Will everyone be able to smell it?Probably not. Your vagina might smell distinctly like a vagina, and that’s OK.It’s unlikely that someone else will be able to smell it unless they’re very close to your vagina... so your sexual partner will probably smell it. But that’s perfectly normal, and it’s not something to worry about. No vagina is odorless, nor should they be. Vaginas have many possible smells, from coppery to sweet. The smell of your vagina might change depending on your diet and menstrual cycle. If the smell is pungent and unpleasant, contact a doctor or other healthcare provider. Certain conditions, such as bacterial vaginosis, can cause your vagina to smell strongly. Your provider can advise you on any next steps. It might not be cleaning issue.More often than not, clear and white discharge is the natural lubrication that your vagina produces to keep the tissues moist and healthy. When you see it, especially when is playing with your breast, you don't have to clean. Clear discharge could also be a result of ovulation. This is just a sign that your vagina is doing its job. You don't need to wash. Do you understand?Before you ask about cleaning during menstruation. Let's touch it. Menstruation is one of the vital processes of a woman's body which deserves utmost caution and self-care. Ensuring proper hygiene during menses, and eating right is the key to ease the pain you go through. Today, on Menstrual Hygiene Day, promise yourself healthy and happy periods with these my few hygiene tips to clean up. Change your sanitary napkin every 4-6 hours-Changing sanitary napkins or tampons within every 4-6 hours is the cardinal rule to establish vaginal hygiene. Menstrual blood, when released from the body attracts various organisms from our bodies, which multiply in the warmth of the blood, and cause irritation, rashes or urinary tract infections. Changing your sanitary napkin or tampon regularly curbs the growth of these organisms and prevents infections. Wash yourself properly: Washing your vulva regularly is extremely important, because the organisms cling to your body after you have removed your sanitary napkin. Most people wash themselves regularly, but not the right way, which is, using your hands in motion from the vagina to the anus, not vice-versa. Motioning your hand from the anus to the vagina can lead to the transmission of the bacteria from the anus into the vagina or urethra opening leading to infections. Don't use soaps or vagina hygiene products: While using menstrual hygiene products everyday is a good idea, using these products during menses can turn things around. Vaginas have their own cleaning mechanism which comes into play during menstrual cycles too, and these artificial hygiene products can hamper the natural process leading to infections and growth of bacteria.Discard the sanitary napkin properly:Disposing off your tampons and sanitary napkins properly is an important step. Wrap them properly before you throw them away, so the bacteria and infections do not spread. Make sure you don't flush them, since that will block the toilet causing the water to back up, spreading the bacteria all over it. Washing your hands properly is of utmost importance after you have wrapped and discarded the used tampons and sanitary napkins, since you're likely to touch the stained area while wrapping them. Stick to one method of sanitation: Women tend to use tampons and sanitary napkins, or two sanitary napkins simultaneously during heavy flow which is an efficient technique. While it may keep you dry and prevent stained clothes, it can cause infections too. The combination of two techniques absorbs the blood making us oblivious to the need to change our tampons and sanitary napkins. Without frequent change, the accumulated blood invites bacteria and causes infections. So, it is advisable to use one sanitary napkin and change it as frequently as you can during heavy flow. These cardinal rules will help you stay healthy and manage your period better. Now generally:

What about douching?

Vaginal douching involves squirting a solution into the vagina, usually with the intention of cleaning the vagina. This doesn’t work and isn’t safe. Remember the “good” bacteria mentioned earlier? Douches, like soaps, can irritate and kill off that good bacteria, leaving your vagina more vulnerable to infection. There are a number of complications related to douches, from STI susceptibility to problems with pregnancy. In short, douching doesn’t make for a healthy cleaning. Like fragranced feminine washes, they’re unnecessary and harmful

Shaving as cleaning.

If you decide to shave, no matter which body part it is that you're shaving, 99% of times, the process is pretty intuitive. But that 1% comes into play when we're talking pubic hair. If you're wondering how to shave pubic hair, you're not alone. There's noticeably less info out there for shaving down there than there is about shaving other body hair.

When shaving pubic hair, you're dealing with a sensitive area so you'd definitely want to keep a few tips in mind. In the interest of making sure you're shaving safely and effectively, here's a step-by-step guide for how to shave pubic hair from start to finish. Plus, advice from doctors on what to do if something goes wrong (from nicks and cuts to pesky ingrown hairs).

1. Trim Your Pubic Hair

Shaving your pubic area is easier when you've already trimmed off any excess hair. Grab a pair of small scissors or a hair trimmer and cut your pubic hair so it's only a few centimeters long.

2. Exfoliate the Skin

Use a loofah, washcloth, or exfoliating sponge to gently exfoliate your skin before shaving. Exfoliating will remove any dead skin and allow you to shave the hair as near to the root as possible. Harsh exfoliants aren't necessary and can actually do more harm than good in your pubic area. A simple scrub-down is all you need.

3. Apply Shaving Cream

Apply a generous amount of shaving cream to the areas you want to shave. It's best to use fragrance-free shaving cream on the area, as creams with fragrance can irritate the delicate skin.

4. Shave in the Direction of Hair Growth

Pull the skin taut and shave in the direction of your hair growth to avoid irritating the hair follicle.

5. Rinse Away the Cream

Rinse away any excess shaving cream with warm water and gently dry off.

6. Moisturize with a Fragrance-Free Lotion

Follow up shaving by moisturizing with a fragrance-free lotion. If you're about to get dressed and go out, you can also put on a powder-like Gold Bond Powder to prevent rubbing or chafing (talc-based powders or baby powder are not recommended).

Let me give some few tips for vulva cleaning as I relax my fingers:Use warm water to wash the vulva like I said. Dry thoroughly with a clean towel. (If the vulva is very irritated, you can try drying it with a blow dryer set on cool.) The vagina cleanses itself naturally in the form of normal, vaginal discharge. Avoid using douches unless prescribed by your physician. These products can upset the natural balance of organisms. Like I said. Wear only white, 100 percent cotton underwear. Avoid wearing nylon, acetate, or other manmade fibers if you have delicate skin or are prone to vulvar irritation.Avoid wearing thongs.Rinse underclothes carefully after washing or double-rinse. Avoid using too much laundry detergent.Wash new underclothes before wearing.Use a mild soap (such as Woolite®) for washing underclothes. Avoid fabric softeners (including dryer sheets) and detergents with enzymes (amylase, lipase, protease and cellulose). Use soft toilet tissue (white only).Use tampons instead of sanitary napkins to control menstrual bleeding. (Do not use deodorant tampons.) Do not leave tampons in for a long period, due to toxic shock syndrome. Do not leave tampons in all night.

Conclusion

Don't scratch. Avoid wearing nylon pantyhose or panty girdles. They trap heat and moisture, providing an ideal breeding environment for organisms. When nylons or leggings are required, wear cotton or nylons with a cotton panty.Avoid these feminine hygiene products, which can irritate the vulva: sanitary pads, feminine spray and deodorants, scented oils, bubble baths, bath oils, talc or powder.