Our body is composed of various organs that demand regular cleansing to keep it hygienic. And bathing regularly is considered the ideal way to remove dirt from your body. But is it sufficient for a...
Our body is composed of various organs that demand regular cleansing to keep it hygienic. And bathing regularly is considered the ideal way to remove dirt from your body. But is it sufficient for a woman's intimate hygiene? Is applying soaps all over your body can keep your vagina healthy and happy? Or do you need to take exceptional care of it?
A woman’s body is different in many ways from a man’s body as it undergoes various changes and phases in her entire life. It undergoes various changes during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. And all these phases work in accordance with the functioning of a healthy vagina. Therefore, it is necessary to take exceptional care of such a delicate organ.
Vaginal Health
The intimate part of a woman’s body is known as the ‘vagina.’ It is the inner part of the female genitals and acts as a passage that connects the outer sex organs to the uterus. The external part of the female genitals is the vulva which includes two lips known as labia majora and labia minora, the opening of the vagina, and a tiny pink-like button known as the clitoris. The two lips act as a protective shield of the vagina. The labia majora (outer lips) are covered with pubic hairs. These hairs act as a protective covering that avoids any external infecting agent entering the vulva and protects from unwanted infection. If any harmful particle happens to enter the vagina, it can cause great irritation and infections to the body. The vagina is important for a woman’s body not only because it gives the identity of being a woman but also it allows the body of a woman to perform various essential functions. These functions include menstruation, menopause, intercourse, and giving birth.Vaginal Infections
The vagina is a sensitive area that needs proper care to avoid infections. Improper care can lead to various infections that can cause great irritation in the intimate areas. The other name of vaginal infection is vaginitis which can occur at any stage of developing womanhood. They can get severe if not taken care of at the right time. As soon as puberty hits our body, it undergoes various changes. There are high chances that due to lack of proper knowledge about our body, one may end up having an infection. The researchers also say that one-third of women suffer from vaginal infections that can occur at any stage of womanhood. These infections can be of distinct types:- Bacterial Vaginosis
- Yeast Infections
- Trichomoniasis
- Atrophic Vaginitis
How to know about Unhealthy Vagina?
Although the vagina has self-cleaning properties, it is still important to look after it to avoid irritation. The intimate areas are sensitive and should not be treated with any violent method. If you see any of these mentioned issues happening to your vagina then your vagina is unhappy and needs extra care from you. If you feel any burning sensation or itching around the intimate area then you are suffering from infection and you need to look after it. A woman’s body undergoes monthly menstruation and the skin of the intimate area comes in direct contact with the outer surface of sanitary napkins. These sanitary napkins have the covering of various thin plastic sheets that can affect the skin. From the prolonged usage of these napkins, our intimate area can feel irritated and you can see red patches surrounding the area. These patches can be itchy and sometimes painful. If you feel any swollen or inflamed area around your vagina then it means that a harmful external agent has attacked your body and you need to look after that. If you feel like you are having discharge of an unusual color other than white then it means that you are having an infection and should immediately either consult the doctor or begin to look at what is affecting you. Wearing tight clothes from an intimate area can also cause soreness and discomfort. Intimate areas do not have any fancy smell of their own. Therefore, if any other smell happens to appear can be the reason for vaginal infection.How to have a healthy Vagina?
To avoid infections and other issues related to intimate you can follow these steps:- Avoid wearing extremely tight clothes and switch to cotton clothes. Tight clothes can cause discomfort by restricting air circulation in intimate areas.
- Switch to cotton panties to allow more space for vaginal muscles to breathe. And, the pubic hair can cause sweating and the amount of sweating varies from person to person. The cotton panties can soak the extra moisture and allow our vagina to get happy.
- At some stage of our life, we become cautious about skin color. So is true with the area that surrounds the vagina. The area of few women can get black due to assorted reasons and we might fall for the marketing tricks of various products. These products will win all our trust by stating that they are safe to use. But they are not. Avoid using such products in intimate areas without consulting any doctor.
Alternatives
- Simply avoid using scented products in that area. These scented products can irritate the skin immensely and you should replace them with non-scented products.
- Switch to tampons during periods. Tampon cups can be directly inserted into the vagina during blood flow and are reusable, unlike sanitary napkins. They are even easy to dispose of.
- We think that normal body soap can clean our intimate area too. But we are wrong. Instead, these soaps can alter the vaginal pH if used regularly which is not great for our intimate hygiene. Instead of regular soaps, we can use products that allow our vagina to maintain its pH level.
- Our intimate area is extremely sensitive and we should be careful about stuff that we use there. We should avoid any rigorous activity around our intimate area as it can cause redness and irritation.
