Vaginal douching: how and when to do it

What is the flora of the genital mucosa

The content of the article

A healthy woman has her own special environment in the vagina that counteracts pathogenic microbes entering from the outside. This environment consists of mucus, particles of exfoliated epithelium of the vaginal mucosa and beneficial microbes, the so-called Dederlein rods, which suppress the growth of other harmful microbes.

The vaginal mucosa, with the participation of Dederlein's bacilli, forms lactic acid, and in the acidic environment of vaginal discharge, most microbes cannot multiply. They are either destroyed or rendered harmless.

It is as if the vagina is self-cleaning. Therefore, a healthy woman always has a small amount of whitish discharge in the vagina that does not cause irritation or itching.

Application

Douching involves irrigating the vagina with certain medical solutions or herbal decoctions. In medical institutions, douching is performed on a gynecological chair. By using gynecological instruments, the vaginal walls are pulled apart, and then a medicinal solution is injected inside.

At home, to carry out this procedure, it is more advisable to use an Esmarch mug or a regular syringe. To perform douching, you should use only clean boiled water at room temperature.

Potassium permanganate is violet crystals that have a metallic luster. To make a medicinal solution, a small amount of potassium permanganate is dissolved in water, after which it acquires a pinkish tint.

To carry out douching, it is necessary to prepare a solution of weak concentration from 0.02 to 0.1%. Otherwise, you can burn the mucous membrane or cause severe irritation.

When preparing the solution, you must be guided by the rule that the water should be pale pink in color, and the potassium permanganate crystals should be completely dissolved in the water. In addition, it should be remembered that during the douching process, the manganese solution must be fresh, since its disinfecting, antimicrobial and antiseptic effects are short-term.

Why douching is harmful?

If a woman douches for “cleanliness,” not only pathogenic, but also beneficial microbes are washed out of the vagina; it becomes as if defenseless.

Disinfectants used for douching at your own discretion can cause desquamation of the surface layer of the vaginal mucosa and disrupt its integrity.

As a result, microbes, having entered the vagina and not meeting resistance, contribute to the development of inflammation of its mucous membrane - colpitis.

Symptoms of colpitis:

swelling of the mucous membrane appears;
redness;
discharge, sometimes copious and purulent;
the woman experiences pain, burning;
general health worsens.

In such cases, you should immediately contact a gynecologist. A timely analysis of discharge will allow you to recognize the disease and prescribe effective treatment.

Douching procedure during menstruation

Menstruation is a monthly bleed that releases unused endometrium. Every month, the functional mucous layer of the uterine wall grows and thickens in a woman’s uterus. Its purpose is to protect the unborn child in case of conception. If fertilization does not occur, the process of endometrial shedding begins and menstruation occurs.

The cervix remains closed for almost the entire cycle. Closer to the critical days, the uterus begins to descend and the cervix opens slightly. Blood clots come out through it. And if something goes out, something can come in. Thus, during menstruation, a woman’s genital organ is vulnerable to various bacteria and infections. For this reason, it is not recommended to swim in open reservoirs or pools; you should avoid unprotected sexual intercourse and insert various objects into the perineum - fingers, a speculum. You shouldn't douche either.

Using the douching procedure, you can introduce pathogenic flora, because not only is the uterus open, but also the blood is a favorable environment for bacteria.

In addition, despite the fact that all solutions have a therapeutic effect, during menstruation they can cause a chemical burn to the delicate mucous membrane. It’s also worth considering that the therapeutic effect will be minimal, since the secreted blood and pieces of the endometrium wash away the substance from the vaginal walls.

However, there are diseases that cannot tolerate delays in treatment. In such cases, irrigation can be continued during menstruation. All this happens under the supervision of a doctor on an inpatient basis in a hospital.

When can you douche?

One of the methods of treating patients with colpitis is douching with special medications. But only an experienced gynecologist can select and prescribe them.

After douching, vaginal suppositories with medicine are used. They are also selected by the doctor.

ONLINE REGISTRATION at the DIANA clinic

You can sign up by calling the toll-free phone number 8-800-707-15-60 or filling out the contact form. In this case, we will contact you ourselves.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl+Enter

douching after childbirth

All my life I had a strange thought in my head that I couldn’t get pregnant. That's what happened. Pda, and sometimes even sex without protection and nothing. Having gotten married, I was already deeply convinced of the idea that there was no way. We tried this way and that, sex became almost the meaning of conception. Then all sorts of stimulation, artificial insemination, pills, douching, 2 diagnostic laparoscopy and at the end 3 IVF. The last IVF was funded by compulsory medical insurance, everything was processed in a long and tedious way and there were hiccups and incidents and unpleasant things. I was already pretty tired by that time, but for some reason I calmed down and became confident in the idea that sooner or later I would become a mother. It really just let me go. And here, for the first time in my life, hCG shows me something more than zero) much more! And then there were 9 months of stress. I was shaking and checked, I was afraid to even admit the thought of simply loving my child. Because it seemed to me that something had happened, I would not have survived the loss of someone I already love and have been waiting for so long. Honestly - IVF pregnancy means hellish months of waiting, worse than waiting for pregnancy! I was afraid of a miscarriage, to being frozen at any stage before the birth of Down. Our daughter was born. Beautiful healthy and wonderful. When She, so warm and unexpectedly heavy, was placed on my stomach in the first seconds, I experienced a feeling that cannot be described! This is probably the most beautiful and powerful feeling in the world! A wave of extraordinary, all-consuming reality overwhelmed me at that moment. I was lying there trying to touch my daughter, but she was so warm, real and incredible, and mine. But love did not come immediately. It took almost a year for me to become a mother. Giving birth and carrying and caring for is one thing. But believe me, becoming a mother is incredible. Loving your child is that unconditional love, that unconditional feeling that can never be changed by anything, that comes, ignites and glows always as long as you breathe and live!

A year and 9 months later, I am absolutely happy and have long been ready to become a mother again. I already fell in love with my unborn child, although I wasn’t even pregnant yet. I just realized that there is a place inside me and the strength of my soul to love two people for sure. But I was still sure that our path to pregnancy was the difficult path of IVF. After giving birth, your periods became like clockwork, your cycle became more ideal than ever, ovulation was painful and noticeable. And the confidence that it won’t happen on its own is also very strong) and then there’s a delay of 1 day. Thoughts, thoughts... a strange feeling, like when I was already pregnant with my daughter and, looking into myself, I felt something... or rather not something, but a kind of calmness and as if I could not look into myself as usual. It’s difficult to describe... as if there is some kind of barrier inside that I can’t look behind. And this is the same feeling. I'm doing a test. And not immediately, but it shows the first real 2 stripes in my life. I didn't believe it for 2 weeks. There was stress and an unsuccessful ultrasound, where they said that the fetus was not normal and there was no heart... I cried, but tried to believe. Especially thanks to my beloved husband, he said the strongest and most important phrase: I know better than any ultrasound that everything is fine. And our heart beats! I was calm from the very beginning, it couldn’t be otherwise. I'm happy. And I already love this little shrimp inside me. Thank God! Such natural and simple things, it would seem, but how can they lift a person above the ground! How can a soul fly!

Douching with decoctions and infusions of medicinal herbs

For douching, it is strongly recommended not to use traditional medicine recipes, including decoctions of medicinal herbs. Not a single herbal raw material used for this procedure has been studied to such an extent that safety for fragile women’s health can be guaranteed. The use of medicinal herbal decoctions can mask the symptoms of trouble, but the cost of such an illusion of recovery can be very high. In addition, even the most “harmless” herbal solutions for douching for discharge and other problems in the intimate area can lead to microflora disturbances and, as a result, to the development of diseases.

What are the possible consequences?

The advantages of laser rejuvenation are its safety, the absence of severe pain after manipulation, rapid rehabilitation and recovery after the procedure, and the sufficient duration of the effect obtained.

The anti-aging effect appears after about 1.5 months. After 2–3 weeks, you can resume sexual intercourse.

There are also contraindications to manipulation; laser rejuvenation is not recommended for patients with diabetes, bleeding disorders, oncological processes, pregnancy, or lactation. The procedure is absolutely contraindicated for sexually transmitted diseases until they are completely cured.

Despite the lightness of the name, the manipulation has medical indications and purposes; it relieves a woman of chronic suffering, allowing her to become sexually and physically active. The specialists of the Medicine 24/7 Clinic are ready to return a second youth to the most important female organ, because any kind of youth, first of all, is youth, and therefore health. Sign up for a consultation.

The material was prepared by gynecologist, oncologist at the Medicine 24/7 clinic, candidate of medical sciences Alimardonov Murad Bekmurotovich.

Douching for various diseases

The most common means for douching:

Soda - for thrush (candidiasis) and vaginal dysbiosis. The solution for douching is prepared in the same way as for conception. Course – 5–7 days.
Miramistin is a pharmaceutical drug with antibacterial and antifungal action. Prescribed for thrush.
Chlorhexidine is a pharmaceutical preparation, ready for use. Prescribed for bacterial vaginosis, colpitis, and used in pediatric gynecology.
Hydrogen peroxide is an antibacterial agent that relieves itching and burning due to thrush. The substance decomposes very quickly in light and hot water, so the solution must be used immediately after preparation. Proportions: 30 g of peroxide (3%) per 90 g of water.
Potassium permanganate is an effective antiseptic, but dries out the mucous membrane. For douching, 0.2 g of potassium permanganate is dissolved in 200 g of water (the liquid should be pale pink).
Chamomile – against thrush. A tablespoon of dry herb is brewed in 300 g of water: boiled for 5 minutes or infused in a thermos for 3-4 hours, then filtered.
Oak bark - against thrush. Fill a full teaspoon with 300 g of water and boil for half an hour. Douching with a mixture of chamomile and oak bark decoctions in a 1:1 ratio is allowed.
Celandine is an antibacterial but toxic agent that must be used with extreme caution. Helps with thrush, cervical erosion and fibroids. It is best to add a pinch of dry herb to a decoction of chamomile or nettle.
Nettle is a blood purifier. For cervical erosion, one tablespoon of herb is brewed in 300 g of water.
Honey is a wound healing and regenerating agent. A teaspoon of honey is added to a cooled decoction of herbs for cervical erosion and fibroids.
Aloe juice - used for cervical erosion. A teaspoon of juice is added to the cooled herbal decoction or dissolved in 200 g of warm boiled water.

Douching is not a hygienic, but a medical procedure. If you experience itching, burning, or suspicious vaginal discharge, you should definitely consult a doctor. Self-medication in such cases can seriously harm your health.

Sincerely, Elena Minakova is a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist.

Until recently, douching was used everywhere, but today its popularity has decreased significantly due to the large number of contraindications and side effects of this procedure. In particular, many girls are interested in whether it is possible to douche in various ways during menstruation, or whether this can provoke certain complications.