douching for feminine cleansing?

A question I ask each client is whether or not she practices douching. If you don't know what that means, then continue on with your current "down there" cleansing routine! But if this is a habit you practice, let's have a little chat. 

Let's start with this amazing truth: your vagina actually keeps itself clean. Isn't that wild? Your body knows exactly what it needs to do to keep important factors like pH and bacteria balanced. When you introduce foreign chemicals, cleaners, or even too much water, you throw off this delicate balance. It then begins working overtime to correct the problem, which could lead to additional discharge, change in smell, and discomfort. Women don't like these symptoms (who would?) and so they "cleanse" again, continuing the damaging cycle. 

If you're in this category, try these helpful steps: 

• Stop douching immediately. Go ahead and toss it out. You won't ever need that again. Even if you only use water, douching is unnecessary and detrimental to pH and (good) bacteria balance. 
• Take a look at your soap. Now that you know not to "clean" the internal area known as the vagina, you can make sure you're using a natural, gentle soap to wash your external area, the vulva. Some recommend washing with water only, but as long as you're cleaning externally only, it's up to you. 
• Consider using a probiotic. Since your bacterial health will be weak, this probiotic may help you balance out a little quicker.* 
• Identify the issues you were trying to resolve with douching. If you have unusual discharge or a change in smell, it may be good to meet with your OBGYN to rule out Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) or a yeast infection. These are common problems that can actually be caused or made worse by douching. 

If you aren't sure whether the discharge you're seeing is good or bad, talk with me, your FertilityCare Practitioner. Not only will I talk with you about what you're experiencing, I'll educate you on knowing the difference between healthy and unhealthy discharge and set you up for long term confidence related to identifying these common infections. 

Here's to great vaginal health! 

*There's been minimal scientific research to support probiotic supplementation, but doctors and wholistic medicine professionals continue to recommend it. Although there hasn't yet been a lot to prove it, there's been no research that says it's unhealthy. Try looking for a probiotic with Lactobacillus.  (I receive no financial benefit from purchases.)