Last Sunday, October 4, the Instagram account of an alleged doctor published a very controversial response that has gone viral on social networks. To the question of one of his followers about: “What does a woman have to do so that a man can perform oral sex on her?”, This user responded as follows: “Smell very very clean and perfumed”; and added: “Recommendation, take a shower before if you can. He had an ex-girlfriend who douches with a water expert and Listerine when she bathes. “
The publication was immediately answered by some experts, alarmed by the danger of the alleged doctor’s statements. He himself retracted his words hours later in a later post.
Not only is the idea of applying alcoholic products to the vulva completely inadvisable, but so are douching in general. Very Interesting has contacted the midwife María Simón Rebollo, who explains why vaginal douches are not recommended.
“Hygiene products and perfumes, with or without alcohol, are usually irritating agents for the vulva, since it is a very sensitive area. Occasionally, some daily hygiene products contain chemicals that, in the long term, can cause irritation , and are normally not recommended for application to the genitals ”.
Vaginal washes, in general, are discouraged because they unbalance the pH and vaginal microbiota. As Simón explains: “Vaginal washes tend to unbalance the flora because the vagina ‘cleans itself’ with the fluids it secretes. Therefore, washes inside the vagina are not necessary ”.
“In our vagina there are microorganisms present, what we know as the ‘flora’. Despite being microorganisms, they need to be there; they are good because they protect the vagina. The moment there is an imbalance of that vaginal flora we begin to have an infection such as, for example, fungi (candidiasis) or vaginitis ”, he adds.
Therefore, according to the midwife, the ideal would be to wash the area only with water or, at most, with neutral pH products indicated for this. In fact, the ideal is to apply as few chemicals as possible to the vulva: “There are women who tend to have a lot of discomfort such as itching or dryness, or who are prone to vaginal infections, and these products could aggravate the situation,” he concludes.
