Personal hygiene: Should you use vaginal washes?

According to Dr Surabhi Siddhartha, consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Motherhood Hospital, Kharghar, the vagina is a self-cleaning organ and doesn’t need special cleaning materials. “It’s important to recognise that the vulvar region, which contains the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, and the vaginal entrance, is the exterior organ of the female reproductive system and that the vagina is its internal organ. In addition to eradicating several hazardous microorganisms, the fluid produced by the vulva and vagina also keeps the vaginal pH stable,” Dr Surabhi added.

Regularly bathing the vagina with abrasive soaps, gel washes, or douches can upset the pH balance of the vagina and increase the likelihood of infections and odour, she added. “Bathing the vagina with abrasive soaps or gel washes can create microscopic cuts and dry up the vaginal mucosa, which is the ideal environment for bacterial or fungal development and can exacerbate an existing vaginal infection,” she told indianexpress.com.

Taking to Instagram, Dr Tanaya Narendra, popularly known as Dr Cuterus on Instagram, also spoke about the do’s and don’ts when it comes to using intimate washes. “Do you actually need an intimate hygiene wash? Well, the answer is simple but not so simple. If you want to use a gentle wash, you use it; but you don’t have to use it. If you are going to use it, you only need to use it on the outside, which is the vulva.”

She further explained that the vulva is the part of your body that touches your clothes and the parts that you see. “The vagina is a canal on the inside. You should not even put water inside the vagina, let alone a vaginal wash. If you want to clean, you can clean the vulva with a wash or with water,” she added.

Defining an ideal intimate wash product, Dr Rajan explained that a vaginal wash should be “soap-free with no irritants and hypoallergic”.

Some of the important components to look out for while selecting an intimate wash are lactic acid, glycerin, sodium hydroxide, Cocamidopropyl betadine, and water.

What can help?

For proper personal hygiene, just bathing your vulva and external genital region every day with warm water is adequate. “We don’t need to clean the vagina since it cleans itself. However, maintaining excellent vaginal and reproductive health necessitates regular cleaning of the external genital region. For personal hygiene, several physicians advise washing the intimate region with warm water. If you use such items temporarily, ensure that the items are gentle, odourless, and chemical-free. The area should then be thoroughly rinsed and dried,” described Dr Surabhi.

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