The surprising way to clean your vagina (and it's not with vaginal wash!)

HERE'S WHY YOU NEED TO STOP USING VAGINAL WASH: To keep matters clean down there, there is a sure shot possibility that you women must have tried or are using one of the commercial intimate washes. Those advertisements where they claim to keep your vagina fresh and bacteria-free have convinced most of the women by now to buy and use them. But much to your surprise, these feminine hygiene products might actually do more harm than good. Read on to know how and why.

THE STUDY: A study published in BMC Women’s Health surveyed around 1500 women about their feminine hygiene habits. More than 95 per cent of these women were using one or the other feminine hygiene product, like anti-itch creams, feminine wipes, washes, powders or sprays.

THE RESULT: These 95 per cent of women had three times higher chances of getting a vaginal health problem, says study.

FINDINGS: Women who used gel sanitizers were eight times more likely to get a yeast infection and 20 times more likely to get a bacterial infection! Those who used feminine wipes were twice more likely to get a UTI. Even moisturizers and lubricants were also linked to yeast infections.

INCREASES PROBLEMS: In order to address a vaginal problem or just make it smell rosy with these intimate washes, we women tend to make the problem more complex.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CLEAN YOUR VAGINA? On a very serious note, you do not need any extra products to keep your vagina clean and healthy, say experts.

Vagina is like a self-cleaning machine. The natural mechanisms of the vagina keep its pH in the acidic range and thus, keep the balance of bacteria and yeast in order.

FANCY PRODUCTS JUST MESS WITH YOUR VAGINA: Your vagina needs to be by itself to keep itself clean and healthy. By that we mean that incorporating feminine hygiene products may mess up with the good bacteria which actually fight the infection.

VERDICT: Rinsing the outer portion of your vagina with warm water using your hands will do the trick. Do not scrub or use loofah and soap. If you do not have any itching, foul odours, redness and the discharge is normal (How much of vaginal discharge is considered normal), it means your vagina is just doing fine.