Douching: effective in cleaning the vagina or causing disease?

One way to clean the feminine area, namely douching, turns out to be very risky for vaginal health, you know. You can even get various diseases and dangerous complications if you use a douche. Come on, find out complete information about douching below.

What is vaginal douching?

Douching is a way of washing the vagina by spraying a special solution into the vaginal canal. This is usually done with a special device with a pocket and hose.

The solutions used to clean the vagina are generally made from a mixture of water, vinegar, and baking soda. However, currently there are many solutions douche containing perfume and other chemicals.

This solution will then be put in the douche bag. Then, the solution is sprayed into the vagina through a tube. This method is believed to be able to reach all parts of the vagina to the inside, for example, the vaginal wall.

That's why many people believe that cleaning the vagina in this way can kill bacteria and fungi, prevent venereal disease, and keep the vagina fragrant and fresh.

In fact, there are no studies that have proven that douching can maintain vaginal health and prevent disease. Various studies actually report that this method increases health risks to your reproductive system.

Risk of disease due to vaginal douching

Extracted from a number of studies, here are seven risks that may occur when you do vaginal douching.

1. Bacterial vaginal infection

Vaginal or bacterial infection bacterial vaginosis can occur due to use of vaginal douches. Research in The American Journal of Maternal / Child Nursing states that douching can double your risk of contracting vaginal bacterial infections by up to five times.

The reason is, spraying a douche solution into the vaginal wall can disrupt the balance of the good and bad bacteria colonies in the vagina. As a result, the good bacteria that protect the vagina from infection with bad bacteria actually die. That's why bad bacteria become more virulent to attack and cause this disease .

2. Upper urinary tract infection

Doing douches more than once a month can actually increase your risk of developing upper urinary tract infections by up to 60 percent. This is reported in a 2001 study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

This is because the douche method will kill the good bacteria that protect the vagina. That way, the vagina becomes more susceptible to bacteria that cause urinary tract infections.

3. HPV

HPV or human papillomavirus is a venereal disease that can be transmitted through sexual contact. The cause is a viral infection. If treated late or untreated, HPV can lead to cancer growth in the vaginal area, anus and vulva.

According to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, the risk of cancer caused by the HPV virus even reaches 40 percent in people who like to douche.

4. Cervical cancer

A number of studies have also proven that the use of douches can increase the risk of cervical cancer by up to two times when compared to women who clean their female areas as usual.

Douching does make the vagina more susceptible to viral infections. One type of virus is the same as mentioned above, namely HPV.

5. Pelvic inflammatory disease

Your risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease can reach 73 percent if you douche regularly. This is because the bad bacteria around the lips of the vagina can be pushed into your uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries and cause infection.

Be careful, this disease can make women experience damage to the fallopian tubes and organs in the pelvic area so that it is difficult for you to get pregnant.

6. Transmission of venereal diseases

Instead of protecting against the transmission of venereal diseases, douche will actually increase the risk of contracting the disease through sexual contact. According to experts, because good bacteria are supposed to protect the vagina from foreign organisms that cause dead disease, you are also susceptible to contracting venereal disease from your partner.

Genital diseases that can be transmitted include HIV / AIDS, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and trichomoniasis. This risk will increase if you douche before sex.

7. Complications of pregnancy

Vaginal douching while you are pregnant can also lead to various pregnancy complications. The most commonly reported complication is premature birth.

A 2002 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology even noted that the risk of preterm birth increased by up to four times when pregnant women douche more than once a week.

This method also makes you more susceptible to an ectopic pregnancy (wine pregnancy). This occurs when the fertilization of an egg by a sperm cell occurs outside the uterus, which is in the fallopian tubes.

Then how to clean the vagina properly?

The vagina has its own way of cleaning itself, namely by maintaining a balanced pH level and bacterial colonies. Therefore, you simply wash the vagina with warm water (lukewarm) one to two times a day.

To relieve symptoms or prevent infection in the vaginal area, you can use feminine antiseptic products. Especially when you have your period, which is the time when the vagina is very susceptible to infection. Of course this product is only used on the outside of the vagina and not in the vaginal canal like the process douching .

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