Douching With Water Works Device for Perceived Vaginal Odor With or Without Complaints of Discharge in Women With No Infectious Cause of Vaginitis: A Pilot Study (original) (raw)
Related papers
Impact of Vaginal Douching on Women's Health; Benefits and Potential Health Risk
NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MEDICAL SCIENCES, 2024
For decades, vaginal douching, the practice involving the cleansing of the vaginal canal with water or mixture of fluids has ignited controversy, sparking debates about its potential benefits and detrimental impacts on women's health. The risks of vaginal douching far outweigh any unproven benefits as this procedure provides a pressurized fluid vehicle for pathogen transport, helping lower genital tract infections ascend above the cervix, into the uterus, fallopian tubes and abdominal cavity, disrupting natural equilibrium of the vagina and leading to a wide range of adverse outcomes including pelvic inflammatory disease, bacterial vaginosis, cervical cancer, poor pregnancy outcomes, sexually transmitted infections, recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, and infertility. Additionally, douching may interfere with the body's natural defense mechanisms against pathogens, making it easier for infections to take hold. Furthermore, some douching products contain harsh chemicals that can irritate the vaginal tissue and cause discomfort or pain and therefore, a strict reevaluation of the practice's necessity for women's health is recommended as the best way to support vaginal health is to ensure good overall hygiene and let the body's natural processes do their job.
Variation and predictors of vaginal douching behavior
Womens Health Issues, 2006
Methods. We collected data on douching, as well as hypothesized predictors of vaginal douching, as part of a cohort study on preterm birth. African-American women residing in Baltimore City, Maryland, were enrolled if they received prenatal care or delivered at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institution. Interview data were collected on 872 women between March 2001 and July 2004, with a response rate of 68%. Logistic regression analysis was selected to identify factors associated with douching in the 6 months prior to pregnancy.
Tanta Scientific Nursing Journal, 2012
The study was to evaluate the relationship between vaginal douching practices and genitourinary infection in women, aged 18-49, who use an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) or oral contraceptives (OCP). This study was planned and applied as a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at Mother and Child Health and Family Planning Center of El-Basher Hospital Amman Jordon. The study was conducted with 185 consenting women (90 using OCP, 90 using IUCD). Since the number of women using condoms was minimal, these were excluded from the study. 10 months at 2009 over the period of the study. No inclusion criteria were taken into consideration aside from age, having used the same method in the last 4 years, and not menstruating at the time samples were to be taken. It was found that women taking OCP who practiced vaginal douching (VD) had higher ratios of bacteria growth in the urine compared to women with IUCD. While there was a significant relationship seen between the method used and the urine culture results (Χ 2 =5.045 df =1 p=0.01), no relationship was observed in terms of the vaginal culture (Χ 2 =0.631 df=1 p=0.264). The conclusion of the study was that the development of genitourinary infection during the use of OCP or IUCD was associated more with lack of proper hygiene rather than with the practice of vaginal douching.
Vaginal douching practice and related symptoms in a rural area of Turkey
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2011
Purpose To investigate vaginal douching habits and associated factors among women living in rural Turkey. Methods This study was performed in the gynecology department of a government hospital in a rural area of Turkey, from February to March 2010. The study included 393 women admitted to the gynecology clinic. The age, marital status, education, socioeconomic status, reason for vaginal douching, douching frequency, symptoms, and previous treatments were investigated. All of the subjects were asked about the use of, frequency, and reason for vaginal douching. Significant risk factors in the vaginal douching group and odds coefficients were found using binary logistic regression. Results The major symptoms of the subjects were itching and vaginal discharge. Of the 393 women, 317 (80.66%) performed vaginal douching and all of them had recurrent or treatment-resistant mixed agent vulvovaginitis. The majority of the women douched for ritual cleansing or washing before prayer (n = 278; 91.6%). The majority of the cases (n = 354; 90.1%) were of lower socioeconomic and educational status. The odds ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the risk variables vaginal douching frequency, cervical motion tenderness, dyspareunia, and vaginal itching were 9.39 (2.07-42.48), 7.31 (2.08-25.64), 6.52 (2.26-18.78), and 1.46 (1.22-1.74), respectively. Conclusions In our region, vaginal douching is a common practice among women, especially those of lower socioeconomic and educational status. Clinicians should inform patients about the risks of vaginal douching to minimize the risks associated with this behavior.
Vaginal douching among adolescent and young women: more challenges than progress
Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 2004
The practice of vaginal douching dates back centuries. Numerous studies have shown that douching is quite prevalent and often begins during adolescence. Motivation for the initiation and maintenance of this practice appears complex, and presents challenges to the intervention efforts.
Evaluation of hygienic douching on the vaginal microflora of female sex workers
International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2007
To determine the frequency of abnormal vaginal flora and bacterial vaginosis (BV) in female sex workers (FSW) and the association between douching and vaginal microflora imbalance, a cross-sectional study enrolled 94 users and 61 non-users of vaginal douching. The social-demographic and sexual profile of these women was obtained and their abnormal vaginal flora, BV, vaginal candidiasis, trichomoniasis and cytolitic vaginosis on blinded samples were identified by Gram stain. A stepwise multivariate regression determined the risk of development of vaginal microflora imbalance. Prevalence of abnormal flora, BV, candidiasis, trichomoniasis and cytolytic vaginosis in the entire FSW was 75.5%, 51.0%, 5.1%, 0.64% and 1.9%, respectively. There were no significant differences in these findings between users and non-users of vaginal douching. Regression analysis did not identify any increased risk for altered vaginal flora or BV in vaginal douche users. In conclusion, vaginal douching did not increase the rate of these alterations in FSW.
Activity of a Lactobacillus acidophilus –Based Douche for the Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2007
Objectives: Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by alteration of the normal vaginal microflora, in which a mixed anaerobic bacterial flora becomes prevalent over the population of lacobacilli. Because administration of probiotics might be of some utility in restoring a normal flora, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Lactobacillus acidophilus-strain-based douche on the vaginal environment in bacterial vaginosis.
Acta Medica Philippina
Objective. To determine whether four (4) feminine hygiene wash products maintain normal vaginal pH and are acceptable among reproductive and menopausal age women. Methods. A randomized, double blind, three-period, three-way crossover trial on 90 reproductive age women and 30 menopausal women measuring external and internal vaginal pH levels and product acceptability after using different feminine wash for 3 weeks. Results. There were significant differences in mean change in internal vaginal pH values among the three feminine wash products (p=0.0392) in the reproductive age group. Majority of the subjects expressed ‘extreme satisfaction’ on the different features of the products. In the menopausal age group, there was a statistically significant difference in mean pH change in the external genitalia (p=0.0279). Feminine Wash 4 appeared to be most acceptable. Conclusion. Using feminine wash may help maintain vaginal pH levels within the physiologic range thus prevents vaginal infecti...
Advances in Sexual Medicine, 2013
This study assessed the associations between vaginal douching practice and the adverse reproductive tract outcomes, and the risk modulating factors among young women. The data source was a cross-sectional population based sample of 1488 women aged 18-35 years in a university community. Self-administered socio-demographic and female genital hygiene practices questionnaire were used to survey the participants. The overall prevalence of vaginal douching was 79.8%. Pelvic pain, vaginal itching, and vaginal discharge were significantly associated with higher odds for douching. Moreover, participants with menstrual disorders such as menorrhagia, oligomenorrhea, and inter-menstrual bleeding douche more often than those without these disorders. Early-onset, higher-frequency, and prolonged douching, as well as douching with commercial vaginal deodorant and inserting the nozzle of the douching tube inside the vagina were associated with higher rate of pelvic and menstrual disorders. The present study revealed a paradoxical relation between vaginal douching and adverse reproductive tract disorders, which supports the hypothesis of confounding by indication. The direction of the association is dependent on several modifiable and un-modifiable risk factors.