A fertility expert and Head of Clinic, Bridge Clinic Fertility Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, Dr. Babatunde Ogunniran, said the practice can affect the temperature and acidity of the vagina, thereby predisposing the sensitive area to a number of infections and diseases.
The Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician said douching can change the necessary balance of vaginal flora (bacteria that live in the vagina) and natural acidity in a healthy vagina.
According to him, “A healthy vagina has good and harmful bacteria. The balance of bacteria helps to maintain an acidic environment. Douching doesn’t prevent any woman from infections rather, it alters vagina acidity leading to serious health complications.”
Dr. Ogunniran said douching with vaginal wipes, soaps, and perfumes affects the pH level of the vagina, noting that an elevated pH means that the healthy flora of the vagina may struggle to survive, while harmful bacteria can begin to thrive.
“If a woman wants to wash her vulva, the washing has to be from front to back and not with soap or any detergent, liquid other solutions some people usually use. You don’t need to wash the inside of the vagina; only the peripheral region of the vulva is enough,” he added.
Meanwhile, a Consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetricians at the Epe General Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Cynthia OKafor, said while a woman can wash off the surface of the vulva with ordinary clean water, it is wrong for her to use the same clean water or any soap to wash the inside or insert her fingers in the vagina in the spirit of good hygiene.
She also confirmed that douching can impact the acidity level of the vagina, causing immediate health problems that include vaginal dryness as a result of washing off the natural mucous inside the vaginal walls.
Dr. Okafor noted that the practice would lead to vaginosis, a painful inflammation of the vaginal tissue, explaining that the condition occurs when harmful bacteria flourish in the vagina because the natural, healthy ones have been washed away through douching.
She stated that douching can as well lead to yeast infections due to the less acidic environments created by douching.
“A vaginal yeast infection is a fungal infection that causes irritation, discharge and intense itching of the vagina and the vulva – the tissues at the vaginal opening,” she added.
In a study titled, ‘Vaginal Douching: Evidence for Risks or Benefits to Women’s Health,’ published in the National Library of Medicine, a team of researchers led by Jenny Martino, said there have been conflicting views on the benefits or harm of douching.
The authors said though there is a broad consensus that douching should be avoided during pregnancy, there is less agreement regarding douching for hygiene and relief of vaginitis symptoms.
According to the research, “There are several ways by which douching may contribute to disease. Douching may remove normal vaginal flora, permitting the overgrowth of pathogens.
“It may also provide a pressurised fluid vehicle for pathogen transport, helping lower genital tract infections ascend above the cervix into the uterus, fallopian tubes, or abdominal cavity. These microbiologic and physical mechanisms may work in concert.
“It was found that, among a group of women with clinical pelvic inflammatory disease, frequent and recent douching was associated with endometritis and upper genital tract infection in women with normal or intermediate vaginal flora.
“An added concern is that, if douching reduces the density of normal vaginal flora, bacterial vaginosis might develop or there may be a predisposition to colonisation by such sexually transmitted pathogens as Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Chlamydia trachomatis, filling the ecologic niche.”
The authors noted that pathogenic bacteria may then ascend into the upper reproductive tract, leading to inflammatory scarring, which is noted to be the principal cause of ectopic pregnancy, early miscarriage, and infertility.
“Physiologic risk for sexually transmitted diseases is greater among adolescent women since they typically have ectopic columnar epithelial cells in the exocervix with a large transformation zone that is vulnerable to bacterial and viral STIs.
“Some argue that it is especially important to caution adolescents about the potential adverse effects of douching, as they may be even more susceptible to its adverse consequences,” they added.
The researchers, however, found out that douching data in women and adolescents concluded that douching is harmful and should be discouraged because of its association with pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and perhaps, other conditions.
Discouraging douching and proffering solutions on how women could care for their genitals without douching, a Midwife at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Joy Ibegbunam, said women do not need to wash their vagina as it cleanses itself naturally.
She noted that the more a woman interferes with the natural process of vagina cleaning by douching or using soaps with fragrance to manually cleanse, the more likely for such a person to experience irritation.
“The vagina itself is a self-cleaning organ that does not require special cleaning products. Some people may want to clean the vulva, which is the outer portion of the genitals that surrounds the entrance to the vagina and doing this helps many people feel cleaner and as a result, more confident.
“In this case, they should clean the vulva lips gently. Excessive cleaning can have negative effects. Attempts to clean the vagina with douches or similar products may cause inflammation and alter the vaginal pH,” she warned.
source: healthwise
