Douching

Douching is a method of washing or cleaning out the vagina with water or other mixtures of fluids. Most douches are sold in stores as prepackaged mixes of water and vinegar, baking soda, or iodine. The mixtures usually come in a bottle or bag. You squirt the douche upward through a tube or nozzle into your vagina. The water mixture then comes back out through your vagina.

Health effects of douching

Douching can change the necessary balance of vaginal flora (bacteria that live in the vagina) and natural acidity in a healthy vagina. A healthy vagina has good and harmful bacteria. The balance of bacteria helps maintain an acidic environment. The acidic environment protects the vagina from infections or irritation. Douching can cause an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. This can lead to a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis. If you already have a vaginal infection, douching can push the bacteria causing the infection up into the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. This can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, a serious health problem.

Douching and pregnancy

Douching can also increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy by as much as 76%. With an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo implants outside the uterus. The more a woman douches, the greater the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.

Douching and sexually transmitted diseases

Douching may also increase the risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, by altering the natural balance of bacteria and by causing small tears in the vagina.

Alternatives to douching

Most doctors and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) suggest that women steer clear of douching. Washing the outside of your vagina with warm water will not harm your vagina. But, douching can lead to many different health problems, including problems getting pregnant. Douching is not necessary to keep your body clean. Smells you may notice usually come from outside the vagina (vulva). Keeping this area clean with gentle soap and water can prevent smells.

See also

• Vagina
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Yeast infection
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Ectopic pregnancy
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• HIV

Douching Resources
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