Douche?

diamonds and dirt asks:

I have a Summer's Eve "Feminine" wash for my vagina. I am just wondering if that is good to use after sex? And also if it's a good idea to bathe after sex with or without a condom.

Susie replies:

Drugstore vaginal douches are BAD for you.

They aggravate infections and, in an absolute worst-case scenario, can even make you infertile in the long run (via pelvic inflammatory disease). The best thing you can do with that douche is toss it in the trash.

Vaginal douches only because popular because generations of women before us were taught that our female parts were dirty and in need of cleaning and deodorizing. Problem is, the artificial washes they devised (did you know Lysol disinfectant spray used to be marketed as a vagina freshener?) did more harm than good -- aggravating infections, messing up women's pH balances and so forth. Nature was way ahead of us in this game.

Nature gave women self-cleansing vaginas. Menstruation and other vaginal discharges help maintain vaginal health by flushing out any debris and pathogens that may be trapped in the vagina. The local flora (various yeasts and bacteria) that live in the vagina maintain a happy ecological balance and keep out invaders. But when you use a vaginal douche like Summer's Eve, you disrupt all these delicate balances in your vagina, making you smell pine fresh, but far more susceptible to infections and vaginitis! By the way, a healthy vagina should not smell like pine -- it should smell like a vagina! So please, for the sake of your vagina's health, do NOT use vaginal douche.

But bathing after sex is fine. Bathe as often as you like. Wash your external genitalia with dye-free, fragrance-free soap, although simply rising well and cleaning with a soft washcloth should suffice.