# Advantages of Douching? (TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 15, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739 "2005-09-15T05:55:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/21 "2005-09-16T15:26:51Z")
> [@raz](#): > > Who wants vinegar up their cooter? Hmm. Add a little olive oil, some chopped herbs. Someone would toss that salad. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/22 "2005-09-16T15:58:09Z")
> [@Jenny Haniver](#): > > You know how when in the movies when a guy gets kicked in the balls all the males in the room tend to flinch in sympathy? > > [This scan of an old Lysol ad should have the same effect on females.](http://thewvsr.com/lysol.htm) > Ow! Why did I click the link? I knew it would be bad…and still I went there. :😭: I’ll be sharing this with my co-workers; misery loves company, don’t you know. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/23 "2005-09-16T16:01:09Z")
> [@](#): > > This scan of an old Lysol ad should have the same effect on females. That. Is. HORRIFYING. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/24 "2005-09-16T17:33:42Z")
_Appealing daintiness is assured, because the very source of objectionable odors is eliminated_. WTF? It mechanically removes your vagina? Or your uterus? That’s really, really scary. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/25 "2005-09-16T18:32:44Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > We got them in our dorm welcome packets back in the 80’s. Can you even imagine? Heh! We got microwaveable mashed potatoes in our welcome packets this year. And Post-it notes. How times have changed. I hope. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/26 "2005-09-16T19:45:37Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Does anybody actually use flavored douche or is that just an urban myth? There actually was such a thing, some years back. IIRC, it was called **Cupid’s Quiver.** It came in strawberry and other flavors. Poor sales. Total failure. I worked with a lady who had worked in a drugstore. She told me the only worthwhile use for **Massengill’s Douche Powder** is for soaking one’s feet. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/27 "2005-09-16T19:50:29Z")
A parallel to flavored douches is mint-flavored condoms for oral sex. I haven’t seen them in the stores, but the local Planned Parenthood office gives them to bars for freebies. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/28 "2005-09-16T20:23:41Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > We got them in our dorm welcome packets back in the 80’s. Can you even imagine? Welcome to college you smelly cunt. I’m guessing the Anchovie flavor didnt’ do too well either. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/29 "2005-09-16T20:25:32Z")
Too bad the flavor thing didn’t last. Hot Buffalo Wing flavor would have been a big seller, especially on 25 cent draft night. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/30 "2005-09-16T20:27:20Z")
Yeah, and women would have just been lining up to spray hot pepper sauce up their genitals. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/31 "2005-09-16T20:31:10Z")
I’m liking the idea of ‘four pints & a curry’ flavour. A whole evening in one moment. FWIW, my 90s university induction involved astonishing amounts of condoms, and a few leaflets for extremist Islamic groups. 'Twas very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/32 "2005-09-16T20:40:11Z")
> [@raz](#): > > The grossest part is the fact that they’re called “vinegar douches” or something. Who wants vinegar up their cooter? There’s actually a tiny bit of science in that, because the normal pH of the vagina is slightly acidic, so the thought is that douching with a vinegar solution will restore the proper balance if things are out of whack. Oh, and some think that an acidic douche will kill sperm and prevent pregnancy. Yah. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/33 "2005-09-16T20:52:12Z")
Man, they couldn’t give away the Nacho Cheesier variety. Cool Ranch, on the other hand, did surprisingly well… ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/34 "2005-09-16T20:59:46Z")
Peanut butter did well with test panels, though some though the chunky variety was off-putting ---
**Author:** ![The\_New\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@The\_New\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_New_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/35 "2005-09-16T21:26:30Z")
O.K., this is really TMI, so you’ve been warned: Funny, I actually wanted to start a thread about a similar topic, so I think I’ll just put my question in this thread. I haven’t been with a whole lot of women, but a good percentage of those I’ve been intimate with had what was, to me, a disagreeable odor in that area. I’m getting from this thread that douching isn’t the answer. I once asked a woman friend about that, and she seemed to think it was a matter of washing the labia thoroughly, and that many women don’t do that as well as they should. But then I had a girlfriend at one time who, when we showered together, didn’t seem to like spending too much time washing that area. She seemed to be afraid of getting soap inside her or something - I’m not really sure because she didn’t explain it that well. So what’s the scoop on that? Does washing the labia with soap get rid of that yucky smell, and is there some reason you wouldn’t want to be as thorough as possible in the process? Hope this doesn’t offend anyone - I’m genuinely curious about this. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/36 "2005-09-16T21:32:58Z")
Well, here’s how I wash mine (I am going to go into great detail here, so I’m spoiler-boxing it for those who might not want to read such intimate things): SUCKA!!! And really, even though I end up a little sore, I think it’s all worth it and the effects last for up to a week. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/37 "2005-09-16T21:40:12Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > Yeah, and women would have just been lining up to spray hot pepper sauce up their genitals. 😃 The blue cheese helps cool it down. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/38 "2005-09-16T21:53:08Z")
[Previous thread about Lysol’s “other use.”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=331656&highlight=Lysol) That ad always reminds me of the part in V. C. Andrews’s _Heaven_ when Her new foster mother makes her take a bath in scalding hot water with Lysol. The only reason for a woman to smell bad would be poor hygiene, (not washing your naughty bits, basically), or an infection. (Which can be caused by douching.) So, **The New Guy** , I would imagine your girlfriend’s problem was her fear of washing herself properly. I always wash myself with soap and I’ve NEVER had an odor problem. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/39 "2005-09-16T22:01:15Z")
Mr.Sin just suggested Taco flavor :wally ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739/40 "2005-09-16T23:22:05Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I always wash myself with soap and I’ve NEVER had an odor problem. [old joke]and the next thing we’ll do is test your sense of smell…[/old joke] 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-douching-tmi/321739.md?page=3)