American women in the age cap of 15 to 44 years and around 40 % are of the opinion that they are into vaginal douching. The ratio does shoot up when it is the case of African American women. It does not only make the women fresh , it does help them to get rid of the unpleasant odours. The menstrual blood is washed away after the periods, pregnancy after sexual relations is prevented and chances of sexually transmitted diseases decreases. Douche while pregnant does not go on to serve any of the above purposes. It does increase the chances of pregnancy complications, Infections increase along with numerous health problems.
Definition of douching
In French terminology douche means to soak or wash. Here in this method you are washing your vagina and mixture of vinegar and water is being used. The douches that are available in the drugstores do contain various chemicals and their main aim is to enhance the fragrance part. It is available in a bag or bottle and it could be spread with the help of a tube upward into the vagina.
Some women are of the opinion that douching helps them become cleaner. But it has to be stated that there is very less scientific evidence supporting this claim. Can you douche while pregnancy and in the overall context the risks associated with it outnumber the benefits.
The risks
Let us now go through the various risks associated with douching
Vaginal infections- with the help of douching the balance of natural bacteria in the vagina is disturbed and it goes by the name of vaginal flora. What happens is that these changes does enhance for the growth of more bacteria that supports infection. Research does point to the fact that women who douched on a lesser scale has less chances of vaginal infections. This does increase the chances of sexually transmitted disease along with preterm labor.
PID- it is referred to as an infection of your ovaries , fallopian tubes and the uterus. Women who are into douching have a higher chance of contracting PID
Pregnancy complications- Women who go on to douche more than once a week have more difficulty in become pregnant than woman who do not douche. With the help of douching chances of ectopic pregnancy also increase where outside the uterus the embryo is transplanted. It has to be stated that more a woman is into douching the chances of ectopic pregnancy increases. It also has to be estimated that douching once in a week does increase the chances of cervical cancer
Is it safe to douche?
As per research conducted on this subject and on the basis of evidence available till date, medical experts are of the view that one should not douche. It is pretty common to have some smell stemming out from your vagina. You can wash the outside of the vagina with warm water, and let the inside of it clean by the process of mucus.