A lot of women know the importance of keeping their vagina healthy and infection free but they don’t realize that they put their vagina at risk for infection by their own routine.
In addition some women don’t know what normal is. They assume that all vagina smells and discharges are normal and don’t realize that some of these symptoms can be a sign of an infection.
We are sharing with you simple ways to keep your vagina healthy.
Factors That Can Affect Your Vaginal Health
Pregnancy and childbirth
Once you become pregnant, your menstruation will stop until you deliver your baby. Your vaginal discharges, however, can potentially increase.
During childbirth, it’s possible to experience vaginal tears, particularly if you’ll be delivering a big baby. To minimize the effects, your doctor may create an incision along the tissue of your vaginal opening to accommodate the baby’s size.
Giving birth to a baby vaginally can also decrease the tone of your vaginal muscles.
Sex
Having forceful sex can cause trauma and injury to the vagina and pelvic area. Don’t go so hard and have lubrications available.
Having unprotected sex, on the other hand, can increase your risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection. Yeast infection and BV can spread via sex.
You have been misinformed if you think anal oral sex is safe sex. Herpes simplex can be spread from the mouth to the vagina.
If you are not extremely careful germs from your anus can spread to your vagina. Nothing that goes to your anus, this includes toys, mouth, vibrators, should go to your vagina.
Stress and other psychological issues
Believe it or not, the levels of your stress, anxiety, and depression can affect your level of arousal. They can cause pain and discomfort, making it hard for you to enjoy being intimate with a partner. The same is true with sexual abuse.
Hormones
A decline in your estrogen level right after menopause and while you’re breastfeeding can affect your vagina. It causes vaginal atrophy where the lining of the vagina becomes thinner. Ultimately, this makes sex quite painful.
Health conditions and treatments
There are certain health conditions, like pelvic inflammatory disease and endometriosis, that can make sex painful. Scarring from previous pelvic surgeries can also cause the same thig/
Products for feminine hygiene
The use of sprays and douches can irritate your vaginal area. If you have an existing infection, these products can make your condition a lot worse.
Top Tips On Keeping Your Vagina Healthy
Now that you’re more aware of the things that can affect your vaginal health, it’s time for you to get a much better understanding of what you can do to keep your feminine organ healthy.
Maintain a healthy diet
A nutritious diet is one way to keep your vaginal and reproductive system healthy. Eat more plant fats to promote better circulation in the area and to boost your sex drive. Plant fatty acids can also help ease menstrual cramping and relieve dryness. You can get them from oily fishes, walnuts, eggs, and flaxseed.
You may also want to eat more soy if your estrogen levels are decreasing. For vaginal dryness, eating more leafy greens might help.
Increasing your intake of probiotic-rich foods, like yogurt and kimchi, are great for keeping away infections. They can balance your vagina’s pH level, preventing yeast infections and boosting the number of good bacteria in the area.
Safe sex is the best sex
The use of condoms can protect you from sexually transmitted infections, like chlamydia, genital herpes, HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
You should also remember to change condoms if you’re switching from oral to vaginal sex to avoid introducing bad bacteria to your vagina. Sharing sex toys can also make you prone to STIs.
If you like anal action, make sure it occurs after vagina action .
Avoid using scented feminine products
Fragrances can make your vaginal smell awesome but they can be really harmful to your coochie.
Your vagina isn’t like your skin because it doesn’t have a protective layer. Your feminine products and the chemicals they contain can easily make your vagina dry and irritated.
If you need to wash your vagina, you can just rinse it with warm water. If you’re not comfortable washing without soap, make sure to pick an unscented type.
If you need to freshen, baby wipes are the safest thing you can use . If they are safe for babies then they are safe for your vagina.
Wear cotton underwear
Cotton allows more air in and absorbs way more moisture than other types of fabric. The more moisture it absorbs, the less likely that your vaginal area will attract bacteria.
Another tip you may want to try is to skip wearing any underwear when you’re at home. This is to just allow things to air out.
Now, if you are going to the gym, don’t skip your undies. You’ll need that extra layer of protection not just from your own sweat but also from the germs on your gym equipment.
Treat any infections right away
In general, there are three main types of vaginal infections. The list includes trichomoniasis, bacterial vaginosis, and yeast infection. If you are diagnosed with any of these three infections, make sure to get treated right away.
Untreated vaginal infections can cause serious reproductive issues in the long run. Plus, they can put you at an increased risk of acquiring HIV.
See your gynecologist
You don’t necessarily have to wait for an infection to happen before you go and see your doctor. Having regular gyno exams can prevent several reproductive health issues.
Ideally, if you are 21 years old, you should be seeing your gynecologist for your first gynecologic exam. It’s also the right age to start undergoing Pap smears to detect any changes in your vaginal cells.
Don’t Overuse Antibiotics
The unnecessary use of antibiotics can negatively affect your vaginal health. This is because antibiotics tend to kill not just the bad bacteria but also the good ones. And once that happens, the normal flora in your vaginal area changes, encouraging yeast and other types of infection to grow.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to skip taking antibiotics. The idea is for you to make sure that it’s totally necessary for you to take them. You can talk to your doctor for guidance.
Practice good hygiene
Not all women are aware of this but good hygiene can have a huge impact on your vaginal health.
After a bowel movement, remember to wipe from front to back. This is to prevent bacterial contamination and bladder infection. If you are on your period, change your tampons and sanitary pads regularly. Don’t let those products stay on for a long time.
Wearing panty liners is also a good idea to absorb vaginal discharges. Just make sure that you change them frequently. Otherwise, they may cause more problems.
Your inner thigh, butt crack and the grooves between your labias harbors bacteria. When you take a shower, move aside your vagina lips (labia majora) and give special attention to those crevasses. They are often neglected.
There are other uses for shower heads besides masturbation. If you are unable to reach those crevasses then a shower head will be perfect for you. Shower heads can go places where no hand has gone before.
Go Commando
When possible, especially for bedtime, don’t wear any panties. Furthermore, in the privacy of your own space, be unlady like. Sit with your legs open and let your pum pum get some fresh room air. Or you can lay on your back and open your legs and get some air down there.
Thou shalt not put food in thy vagina
A little whip cream on the outside of your vagina is harmless. But when you insert all kind of food into your vagina you are asking for an infection.
Thou shalt not put food in thy vagina. Small food items can get lost up there and you probably need a visit to the doctor to get it out.
In Summary
In order to have a healthy vagina you need to minimize the over growth of bad bacteria and keep only good bacteria in your vagina. Anything that disrupts the bacteria in your vagina will most like cause an infection.
