3 minute read
Not Everything Should Smell Like Roses: Get to know your self-cleaning oven and why you should NEVER douche!
from January 2023
Not Everything Should Smell Like Roses
Get to know your self-cleaning oven and why you should NEVER douche!
By: Angela Stoehr, MD FACOG
This is a question I’ve heard many times, and can guarantee the answer will vary by whom you ask. If you ask a GYN, you’ll always get one answer. DO NOT DOUCHE. Honestly, douches, feminine vaginal washes, sprays, and perfumes should be outlawed, in my opinion. They are only harmful and will NOT make your vajayjay smell good. In fact, they’ll do exactly the opposite, encouraging you to keep using them. Their tricky advertisers lure you into a repeating cycle of use, so you make them money. It’s deplorable. Soap shouldn’t be put in the vagina, either. Keep that stuff to the hair-bearing areas only, don’t spread the lips to wash.
Why are these products so harmful?
The easiest answer is that your vagina is like a self-cleaning oven. If you put the wrong stuff in there, it prevents your body from doing its own thing. The vaginal pH is really picky, and likes to be in a narrow range. Even the “pH balanced" douches are lying and will offset your natural pH, damaging your healthy flora. When the naturally good flora gets disturbed, it lets other bugs thrive. Those other bugs are what is typically causing the odor in the first place! The douche only makes harmful bugs happier, and they will continue causing discharge and odor over time. The only non-play things that should go into a vagina are water, prescribed medications, and something called boric acid- more on that in a minute.
How do I know if my vaginal pH and flora are off?
The most common symptom is excess discharge that has a funny odor. It often smells fishy or like dirty gym socks. For some people, it can smell sour as well.
How do I fix my vagina that has already had its pH altered?
You must stop all douches, sprays, soaps, period, no questions. No soap in the vagina either! Then, start adding the good bacteria back in. This is most often done with oral probiotics. One good one is called Metagenics Ultraflora. It’s been studied in the vagina and does populate well. You can also start eating more yogurt, the “greek" kind is the best, as it contains more of the good flora.
If things are really off, you’ll likely need a GYN to fix things with antibiotics to kill off the excess bad bugs and allow the good flora to recover. A few studies are using plain unsweetened yogurt as a suppository, but it’s super messy and often does not work very well. If you are just barely starting to notice symptoms- excess funny-smelling discharge- then try a vaginal boric acid suppository. Place one tablet in the vagina at night for several nights in a row. It will reset the pH and help your normal healthy flora thrive again.
So, what should I do to make my pussy smell great?
NOTHING! Leave her alone if you haven’t been douching and don’t have symptoms. She is the perfect smell all by herself. If you feel like you must use something, Lume is ok, but keep it to the hair-bearing areas and not inside the inner lips or vagina.
