How to Protect Your Vaginal Health

For women, focusing on vaginal health is an important part of maintaining your overall wellbeing. The vagina is very sensitive, so adhering to certain rules about care can help you avoid irrigation and infection. Start by having regular appointments at your women’s health clinic and reporting any unusual symptoms to your doctor right away. These tips with also help your protect your vaginal health.

Avoid Douching

A healthy pH balance is central to vaginal health , and douching can throw that balance off. Douching reduces the acidity of the vagina, which creates the perfect environment for bacterial infection. If you’re douching because of vaginal odor, see your gynecologist instead. The odor may be the sign of an infection, and douching will only mask the symptom, not cure the cause.

Practice Safe Sex

Protect yourself from the transmission of diseases that impact your vaginal health by using a barrier protection, like a condom, when you are sexually active. Condoms reduce the risk of contracting many STDs, including HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. If you have symptoms of an STD, see your doctor right away, regardless of whether or not you used a condom. Some STDs are easier to treat in their early stages. Plus, when left untreated, some STDs can cause long-term complications, including fertility issues and even cancer.

Have Check-Ups

Women should begin having regular gynecological exams within three years of becoming sexually active or no later than age 21. During these exams, your doctor can diagnose problems with your vaginal health and detect cancer in its early stages. Most women should have a gynecological exam every one to three years, depending on the doctor’s recommendations.

At Washington Surgi-Clinic , our doctors offer gynecological care to help you maintain your vaginal health. We also provide abortion services for patients in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. If you have questions about women’s health issues or abortion, make an appointment today. You can call our women’s clinic at (202) 683-7336.