douching is washing or cleaning out the vagina with water or other mixtures of fluids. Usually douches are prepackaged mixes of water and vinegar, baking soda, or iodine
the mixtures usually come in a bottle and can be squirted into the vagina through a tube or nozzle
vaginal douching has been practiced by women for many years as a means of 'cleansing' the vagina (1)
women in different parts of the world gave similar reasons for their varied douching practices. The most common reasons are:
to enhance sexual experience through sensations of vaginal dryness, tightness, or warmth;
to cleanse the vagina before, after, or between acts of intercourse;
to treat gynecologic diseases;
to prevent sexually transmitted infections;
and to restore and tighten the vagina after delivery (2)
vaginal douching and a woman's gynecological health
douching has been shown to increase risk of cervicitis, and endometritis, upper genital tract infection, ectopic pregnancy and premature or low-birth weight delivery, and infertility (3)
douching also may increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus, and pelvic inflammatory disease and bacterial vaginosis (3)
in spite of these negative consequences, women continue to douche. Some studies have found that 15.5% of 15-19-year-olds and 28% of 20-24-year-olds douche (4)
overall, the evidence suggests that douching should be discouraged as there are no proven health benefits (5)
Reference:
1) Kirchner JT. Prevalence of vaginal douching despite its adverse effects. Am Family Physician 2000; 61: 849-851
2) Brown JE, Brown RC. Traditional intravaginal practices and the heterosexual transmission of disease. Sex Trasm Dis 2000; 27: 183-187
3) Short MB et al. Discussions of Vaginal Douching with Family Members Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology 2009.
4) Abma JC et al. Fertility, family planning, and women's health: New data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Vital Health Stat 1997;19 (23): 1
5) FSRH and BASHH Guidance (February 2012) Management of Vaginal Discharge in Non-Genitourinary Medicine Settings.
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