Vaginal health is extremely important, especially to a woman. This will determine how comfortable and healthy their vagina would be. While it might seem like a small factor to consider, neglecting this part of your daily routine might lead to bigger problems.
As you experience menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and sex, you can imagine the exhaustion your vagina must go through. Ignoring taking care of your vagina can lead to infections and diseases that need immediate care. To prevent any issues, listed below are some ways to keep your vagina happy and healthy:
1. Clean Regularly
Of course, cleaning it regularly is the best way to take care of your vagina. As you pee during the day, you can expect that there will be some droplets around your vulva which, if not removed, can turn into bacteria.
It might also leave you with a foul-smelling odor, pulling your confidence down. Ideally, you should clean your lady parts regularly every day after peeing and even while you’re taking a shower. This is just a part of your proper vaginal hygiene practices that allow your vagina to be clean and healthy.
2. Use Only Water
When cleaning your vagina, it’s important to use safe materials or ingredients to avoid causing too much harm. While plenty of commercial products promise to deliver cleanliness for your vagina while also providing amazing scents, gynecologists recommend skipping those. Even if they can offer your vagina a fragrant smell and make you feel you’re thoroughly cleaning it with soap, they might actually do more harm than good.
The vagina is naturally self-cleaning. If you choose to scrub it with soap, you might wash the good and healthy bacteria away. To allow your vagina to work as it should, you should only use water. This should be sufficient to keep your vagina clean and healthy.
3. Use The Right Underwear
Choosing the right underwear is essential in taking care of your vaginal health. Since you’ll be wearing one for the entire day, it’ll only be logical if you can use one that will provide your vagina with maximum comfort and protection. Ideally, you should use cotton panties as they’re breathable. This can prevent trapping moisture and allow your vagina to breathe. Moreover, you should also choose the right size and avoid wearing tight-fitting underwear as it might make your vagina feel uncomfortable.
4. Change Your Underwear Daily
While it’s more of standard practice, it’s highly encouraged that you should change your underwear regularly. Even if your current ones look fresh and have no discharge, you should still replace them daily. You can never know how much invisible dirt and bacteria are lying around your underwear. Choosing to reuse them might put your vaginal health at risk. With that said, you should change your underwear daily, or even more frequently, if you feel they’re getting soiled fast.
5. Visit Your Gynecologist Regularly
As you take care of what you can see from the outside, there might still be many things happening inside your vagina. However, this would be something out of your reach as you’ll need a professional to assess your entire vaginal health for you.
Ideally, you should visit your gynecologist annually. This will allow them to inspect your vagina, run some tests, and see if it’s in good health. Depending on your vaginal health, they might give you medications and tips on how you can keep in good shape.
6. Use Condoms
Even if you’re on a pill or IUD (intrauterine device), it’s best practice to use condoms whenever you have sex with your partner. This way, you can protect yourself from getting sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Ideally, you and your new partner should use a condom each time you have sex, to protect yourselves.
Moreover, you should also be careful about your order of sex. If you’re planning to mix anal and vaginal sex, you should go for vaginal first and keep anal last. This will prevent bacteria from passing through your vagina, which could lead to urinary tract infection (UTI).
7. Check Lube Ingredients
Using lube can help make sex more enjoyable for both parties. However, not all lubricants are made the same. Some are not healthy for your vagina. To ensure maximum vaginal health, you should check for the lube’s ingredients and see if it contains any that can cause harm to your body.
Ideally, you should avoid those with glycerin, parabens, dyes, non-natural oil, flavors, and scents. While scents and flavors can really help to make sex more fun, the additives might attract infection and bacteria, which might require a hospital trip in the long run. With this, it’ll be wise to check the label first.
8. Pee After Sex
It’s vital for you to pee after having sex with your partner. This can help prevent getting UTIs because you can remove bad bacteria from your body. Peeing after sex help to wash out any left-over lubes, too. This can also help you to clean up properly and keep your vaginal health intact.
9. Limit Shaving Down There
Shaving down there might make you feel more confident and cleaner. But even if it makes you feel nice and fresh, it’s actually recommended that you don’t shave them out entirely. Pubic hair is supposed to help prevent bacteria from entering your vagina. If there’s no physical blockage from those, you might just inadvertently invite bacteria to go through quickly.
With that said, it’ll be helpful if you could do just a light trim. But if you need to go to the beach, it’ll be great if you shave along the bikini lines, or use a natural wax to avoid damage.
10. Sleep Without Underwear
Since your vagina needs to breathe by wearing cotton underwear, you might want to consider sleeping without one. This way, you can truly let your vagina be free and avoid any unnecessary restrictions. While it might feel a bit odd at first, it’ll be something that’ll help you make comfortable soon while also providing your vagina with plenty of health benefits and space.
Takeaway
Keeping your vagina happy and healthy is necessary. This will help prevent any problems in your vaginal health and allow you to enjoy everything else. As you take care of your vagina, you’ll need to make some changes, such as changing your underwear, washing your lady parts with water, and using condoms. With a bit of discipline and adjustments, you can do your vagina a favor and keep it healthy and happy all the time.