Maintaining and caring for vaginal health is important and should not be done haphazardly. If you want to do some vaginal treatments, you must first know the benefits and risks. Douching is one way to clean the vagina with water or a mixture of other fluids. Have you ever done vaginal douching? One of these vaginal treatment methods turns out to be dangerous for your health, Ladies. Previously, Ladies, you should know more clearly what vaginal douching is.
Get to know what vaginal douching is?
Douching is taken from the word "douche," which means washing or soaking. Whereas douching, referred to here, is a method of cleaning the vagina with water or other mixtures such as vinegar, baking soda, or iodine, some products also contain antiseptics and fragrances. The liquid is packaged in a douche, which is a bag with a hose or spray that functions to spray fluid into the vagina. The liquid will enter for a few moments and will come back out. This douching method is different from cleaning the outside of the vagina when bathing. Cleaning the outside area will not harm the vagina. According to Whipple and his experts, douching can cause various health problems in women.
The risks of douching
Here are some bad things that can happen after douching
1. Pregnancy problems
Women who douche regularly are at greater risk of experiencing early childbirth, miscarriage, and other pregnancy complications. Even this method can cause ectopic pregnancies and make it difficult for women to get pregnant.
2. Infection
The balance of good bacteria in the vagina can prevent vaginal yeast from growing faster, whereas if the good bacteria are disturbed, the balance will make yeast develop and will create a yeast infection in the vagina. Some women who have a vaginal infection douche in the hope that the infection will go away, but the fact is that this method can spread the infection to other parts of the female reproductive system.
3. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)
Pelvic inflammation is an infection that develops in the reproductive organs. Most of these cases are caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Douching can increase a woman's risk of developing the pelvic inflammatory disease by 73%, and 1 in 8 women with a history of pelvic inflammation will have difficulty getting pregnant.
4. Cervicitis
Cervicitis is inflammation that occurs in the cervix. Like PID, cervicitis is also the result of a sexually transmitted infection, and women who have douched are at higher risk of developing this condition.
The fact is that the vagina can clean itself. Ladies, it's enough to clean the outside of the vagina with water. Don't forget, after washing the vagina with water, make sure the vaginal area is dry again so that moisture does not occur, which causes the yeast to grow in the vagina. So, there's no need to douche your vagina, Ladies, because it will trigger some health problems.
Sources:
Healthline. (2017). What is a douche [Online] https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/what-is-a-douche
Office on Women’s Health. (2021). Douching [Online] https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/douching#:~:text=Doctors%20recommend%20that%20you%20do,sexually%20transmitted%20infections%20(STIs)
Everyday Health. (2009) Women and douching [Online] https://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/women-and-douching.aspx