“This healthy bacteria helps to keep the vagina clean inside your body and it does this with natural vaginal secretions, or discharge.”
If you do fancy perusing some top tips for maintaining vaginal health, Canasten‘s Gynaecologist, Anne Henderson, has kindly prepared some advice for taking care of your bits in the winter. But rest assured, your vagina probably already knows what its doing…
Don’t go OTT with cleaning it
According to Anne, “Being overly hygienic such as showering twice a day can completely disrupt the natural bacterial all over the body, but particularly on the vulva and in the vagina. Being too hygienic is not good.
“Showering is probably much more hygienic than having a bath because you’re not sitting in your own bacteria, there’s no chance of the water being flushed up the bath into the vagina, which can cause irritation.”
Don’t be embarrassed by discharge
Discharge is a totally normal part of having a vagina – and honestly? We should talk about it more. Anne even explained that, “It’s quite abnormal for [people with vaginas] to have no discharge at all.”
She adds, “The difference is when the discharge steps across the boundary from being a healthy physiological discharge which has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, to when the discharge becomes more harmful. It sweeps bacteria away from the vagina and keeps it healthy, but problems can start when you have an overgrowth of certain bacteria or pathogens.”
So err, how do you know if your discharge is healthy or not? Well, according to the NHS, you should see your GP or visit a sexual health clinic if your vaginal discharge changes colour, smell or texture, and/or you start producing more discharge than usual.
Don’t ignore that itch…
Vaginas are pretty amazing but the chances are if they’re feeling itchy, they might be trying to tell you something. And it’s probably best you listen.
Anne explains, “Ignoring and not treating vaginal infections and conditions can be harmful. However, one of the main reasons people don’t treat infections or don’t treat them properly, is because they don’t know what they’re treating.
“If you don’t have a diagnosis then it can become a serious infection. You could be missing something that’s much more serious, such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea, because these are potentially life changing infections and can result in serious uterine and tubal damage with problems such as secondary or primary infertility.”
Claire Foss, a Nutritional Therapist at Optibac Probiotics, also shared her expertise, saying, “Wearing tights, heavy clothing and synthetic underwear in winter can increase the likelihood of vaginal infections as they encourage a warm, moist environment which yeasts and bad bacteria love.”
Claire recommends swapping “heavy, synthetic and unbreathable fabrics for cotton and even consider giving your vagina some ‘time off’ by scheduling in some underwear-free time (perhaps overnight).”
I mean, underwear-free time is something we can all get behind, right?
If you are concerned about vaginal discharge or dryness, it’s recommended to book an appointment with your GP to discuss diagnosis and treatment. You can find your local GP here.
For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.