When you think of taking care of your health, your physical and emotional well-being come to mind. While these are essential to your quality of life, they aren’t the only components of women’s health. All too often, women overlook the importance of their vaginal and reproductive health. Responsible for balancing hormones, bearing children, and intimacy, failure to care for these parts of your body negatively impacts various areas of your life. Poor vaginal or reproductive health can lead to everything from foul odors and dryness to infections and cancer. Fortunately, practicing the feminine hygiene tips listed below can prevent many of these adverse effects. Continue reading to learn more.
Visit a Gynecologist
Beyond seeing your primary care physician, every woman should visit the gynecologist. A gynecologist is a medical professional that specializes in the female reproductive system. Annual visits are necessary for routine screenings and preventative care. When you have issues or concerns with your menstrual cycle, fertility, vaginal organs, or sexual health, your GYN can conduct exams, lab work, and other assessments to develop a treatment plan to treat common women’s health problems.
Keep It Clean
Daily showering is not only for cleanliness and flawless skin; it’s also crucial to your vaginal health. While the vagina has its own self-cleaning system, cleansing your intimate areas thoroughly is imperative to eliminating odors and infections while maintaining the proper PH balance.
It is recommended that you take 1-2 showers every day. Be that as it may, there are a few things you should know. Avoid using harsh fragrant soaps with harmful chemicals as they can throw off your PH balance and cause irritations or infections. Washing with mild soap and water is all you need.
Watch What You Wear
From your undergarments to your pants, what you wear can hurt your vaginal health. When your lady parts can’t breathe, it increases the humidity levels down there, leading to odors and infections. Wearing form-fitting clothes and certain materials can increase these risks. That’s why it’s best to opt for breathable fabrics like cotton and loose-fitting clothes.
Properly Wipe
How you wipe when using the restroom is vital to your feminine health. If you’re wiping from the back to the front, you’re spreading bacteria to your most sensitive areas, which can cause nasty, irritating infections. Be sure that you wipe from front to back and avoid using cloths or tissues with fragrances and other harsh chemicals.
Practice Safe Sex
Sex is an instinct and desire that is also an essential part of intimacy, healthy relationships, and reproduction. While it can be fun to connect with someone you care for in this way and experiment with positions, lubes, and adult toys, pleasure should never trump your well-being. Whether you’re in a committed relationship or not, practicing safe sex is vital to your health and wellness.
Believe it or not, safe sex goes beyond making sure that you use adequate protection. Women should be mindful of how many partners they have as it increases the possibility of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. They should also get tested annually (or after each partner)and address any concerns to their GYN. Lastly, ensuring to clean your intimate parts after intercourse reduces your risk of vaginal issues later.
Menstrual Care
You may not be fond of getting your period every 24-30 days; it is a natural and healthy part of the female reproductive system. During this timeframe, you must take extra precautions to care for yourself. Some practices include making sure you avoid scented feminine products, changing your pad or tampon regularly, and cleaning your intimate parts twice a day with warm water and mild soap.
Dieting, exercising, getting enough sleep, keeping stress to a minimum, and indulging in things you enjoy are all ideal for maintaining a healthy life. As important as these practices are, it is equally important to tend to your vaginal and reproductive health to avoid odors, irritation, dryness, infertility, and other conditions and diseases. Essentially, following the feminine hygiene tips listed above will reduce your risks and enhance your quality of life.
