# Female Dopers, have you ever douched? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700 "2010-08-27T18:13:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/161 "2010-09-01T16:39:12Z")
I think it was originally a form of contraception, but now it’s just a means of hosing out your vagina. Well, I guess some people probably do it for contraception, but I doubt it’s many. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/162 "2010-09-01T16:55:41Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I think it was originally a form of contraception, but now it’s just a means of hosing out your vagina. Well, I guess some people probably do it for contraception, but I doubt it’s many. I can’t imagine it was particularly effective. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/163 "2010-09-01T17:25:10Z")
So…is it safe to say that women who regularly douche simply do not trust their own personal vagina to do the job that it was designed to do? (i.e. self-clean) Or, at least not to do it in a sufficiently acceptable time span? I’m not saying that those who favor douching are necessarily neurotic, self-hating victims of misogynistic propaganda. But there does seem to be an inherent contradiction in the logic presented for douching. Douching implies that you think that your vagina needs some manual assistance or it just won’t ‘clean’ itself properly and in a timely manner. If you don’t trust your vagina, why do you trust your rectum? Unless of course, you don’t and regularly use enemas and get high colonics - which is based on the same principal is it not? (to prevent a build up of waste in the body) Because the contents of your colon and rectum are far more skeevy (I would hope!) than anything liable to come out of your vagina. And yet few us feel the need to root around in our anuses to remove any residual ‘leftovers’ that the body may be retaining. In fact, if we feel that our intestinal tract is not properly discarding our waste, it is cause for immediate alarm and steps are taken medically to remedy the problem. It is not considered ‘normal’ to have to manually ‘clean’ our rectums - the body is pretty good at that on its own and when it fails, it is an obvious sign of malfunction and medical intervention is sought. I think vaginas (vaginae?) deserve a bit more respect than they get… Also, if you’re going to believe that this is a ‘generation gap’ sort of issue, you’re going to have to go farther back than the 60’s and 70’s. That is when I came of age and as I recall that was a time of women’s liberation, flower children and the whole ‘back to nature’ movement, which included bra-burning and armpit hair! Douching was definitely not in favor even then… ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/164 "2010-09-01T17:37:24Z")
My mother vehemently hates douching (born in 1951) so I learned from her to trust my vagina to do it’s own work. Any odor issues were linked to infections or a high sugar diet. Eating yogurt really helps my PH levels down there. I don’t know if my mom’s hatred is generational or some horrible personal experience. I’ll ask! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/165 "2010-09-01T17:41:52Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I think it was originally a form of contraception, but now it’s just a means of hosing out your vagina. Well, I guess some people probably do it for contraception, but I doubt it’s many. Both contraception (no, it wasn’t terribly effective, but perhaps more effective than nothing) and because back before the days of Monistat, vinegar or yogurt douches (or some of WhyNot’s more esoteric recipes) were about the only way to take care of a bacterial infection of the hooha. And for a very long time, these sorts of treatments were the only way to get treated without going in for a doctors appointment and getting a prescription. Seriously, this is one thing where women under - 38 or so? - really don’t have any idea how good they have it that you’ve never had to mess with a vinegar douche because your MD can’t get you in for a week to stick you in stirrups, poke you with a popsicle stick on your cervix, smear it on a slide to tell you that cheesy stuff in your panties that smells like bread is a yeast infection (REALLY? Wow, never would have guessed that!), charge you $75 and hand you a prescription that will set you back another $20 (because it isn’t covered on your insurance) and in the meantime you itch like hell because you let it get out of hand hoping you wouldn’t have to enter the medical system. Now excuse me while I belt on my feminine pads and go get my hair “set” at the salon…I’m feeling old. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/166 "2010-09-01T17:42:28Z")
A high sugar diet can cause odor? I’m not giving up my sugar, dammit. FROM MY STINKY DEAD VAGINA! ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/167 "2010-09-01T17:49:15Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Seriously, this is one thing where women under - 38 or so? - really don’t have any idea how good they have it that you’ve never had to mess with a vinegar douche because your MD can’t get you in for a week to stick you in stirrups, poke you with a popsicle stick on your cervix, smear it on a slide to tell you that cheesy stuff in your panties that smells like bread is a yeast infection (REALLY? Wow, never would have guessed that!), charge you $75 and hand you a prescription that will set you back another $20 (because it isn’t covered on your insurance) and in the meantime you itch like hell because you let it get out of hand hoping you wouldn’t have to enter the medical system. > > Now excuse me while I belt on my feminine pads and go get my hair “set” at the salon…I’m feeling old. Oh, I don’t take these things for granted. I assure you that I also am as equally pleased that I don’t have to go in for leech treatments either. God bless modern medicine! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/168 "2010-09-01T17:49:29Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Seriously, this is one thing where women under - 38 or so? - really don’t have any idea how good they have it that you’ve never had to mess with a vinegar douche because your MD can’t get you in for a week to stick you in stirrups, poke you with a popsicle stick on your cervix, smear it on a slide to tell you that cheesy stuff in your panties that smells like bread is a yeast infection (REALLY? Wow, never would have guessed that!), charge you $75 and hand you a prescription that will set you back another $20 (because it isn’t covered on your insurance) and in the meantime you itch like hell because you let it get out of hand hoping you wouldn’t have to enter the medical system. See, this is where it helped being best mates at school with my MD’s daughter. He was as flustered as I was when I went in with a yeast infection. He hastily scribbled out the prescription and shuffled me out the door faster than you can say ‘vaginal douche’. I was in there two minutes, tops. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/169 "2010-09-01T17:51:56Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > A high sugar diet can cause odor? I’m not giving up my sugar, dammit. FROM MY STINKY DEAD VAGINA! Well, my high sugar diet can lead me to the edge of scurvy/diabetes. Have you eaten nothing but ice cream or chocolate for days for every meal? If you haven’t, your vag is safe. If you have, get ready for some foulness! ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/170 "2010-09-01T17:53:17Z")
> [@wolf-alice](#): > > I’m late for this, but there’s no way no how you’re going to stop me from pontificating about my vagina. > > Right. I’m _down_ with my vagina. Menstrual cup, squat on a mirror, paint the skirting boards with my moon-emulsion. Fight the power, look at my labia. I don’t douche, I think the idea of commercial, soapy\* douches to make your vagina “clean” is vile and misogynist, but I’m not freaked out by the idea of rinsing out semen with a little water if you feel you need to, or if you’re at the end of your period and want to sit on someone’s face, etc. > > Listen, I don’t know if I’ve got Hampton Court Maze in there or he’s launching pints of manfat or what, but if we have sex late at night, gentleman gravy can be sliding out of me the following lunchtime, _which is freaking gross_. No, semen isn’t inherently dirty, but leave a cup in the aring cupboard for an afternoon and see how you like it then. Good for you if you don’t have this issue; I do, and a little rinse seems sensible. > > The vagina is a self-cleaning organ, yeah, so’s the eyeball - there’s nothing wrong with giving either a quick swish with something non-irritant if you happen to have filled it with a gallon of jizz. > > \*What’s even in a commercial douche? I’m in Britain and I’ve never seen one advertised. Are douche adverts common in the US? Because I do think that’s fucked up, and I’m not surprised this is an emotive issue if you’re constantly being told your vag needs a soaping. Sheesh. I love this post. Rock on, sister. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/171 "2010-09-01T17:54:23Z")
Nah, I tossed in a few vitamin C pills in lieu of sprinkles this time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/172 "2010-09-01T18:03:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Nah, I tossed in a few vitamin C pills in lieu of sprinkles this time. 🙂 See? And that’s called being responsible for your health. Who said us young ladies don’t know nothing about nothing? Sometimes I just stick a vitamin c pill right up my hooter if I feel a cold coming on\*. \*I do not do this. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/173 "2010-09-01T18:28:48Z")
Last night I saw a really cute video. It was a miniature potbellied pig, in a pet bed that was much too big for it, with high walls. The piggie was ‘rooting’ around in the sides. Like, rubbing her nose against the sides, roughly. Every time she did it, the whole thing would lift around her feet and thump back down. Root, lift, thump. Root, lift, thump. It was really cute, but I couldn’t appreciate it properly because I kept being reminded of this thread and ‘rooting’ around in one’s vagina for…leftovers. Ugh. And now **LilyoftheField** is talking about rooting around in our rectums and colons! YUM! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/174 "2010-09-01T18:31:35Z")
It’s worse than that for me. When the word “rooting” appears in my head, I can’t help but imagine the feeling of reaching into my vagina and scraping my finger against my vagina walls to get rid of things. And I have pretty long fingernails. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/175 "2010-09-01T19:10:41Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > It’s worse than that for me. When the word “rooting” appears in my head, I can’t help but imagine the feeling of reaching into my vagina and scraping my finger against my vagina walls to get rid of things. And I have pretty long fingernails. Thank you, my legs just slammed shut, possibly permanently. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/176 "2010-09-01T19:25:23Z")
[quote=“lorene, post:129, topic:551700”] > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > OK, so I initially clicked from p1 to p3, and I really, really did not know what we were talking about curling and hanging. :eek::eek: Glad it’s hair on one’s head and not douche-related. So your pussy doesn’t look like a Hasidic rabbi’s face? Oooh another TMI gal topic “If Your Pussy Was a Person, Who Would it Look Like”? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/177 "2010-09-01T19:31:53Z")
> [@AmericanMaid](#): > > So your pussy doesn’t look like a Hasidic rabbi’s face? Oooh another TMI gal topic “If Your Pussy Was a Person, Who Would it Look Like”? Mr. T. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/178 "2010-09-01T19:42:31Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Mr. T. 😕 :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/179 "2010-09-01T19:52:27Z")
This thread has been hilarious, thanks ladies! I’m 27, never douched, always been told it’s a huge no-no. And I’m one of the unfortunates mentioned up-thread who has to wear panty liners every day. My gyno has assured me that the PH of my hoot is totally normal, and her advice has always been water ONLY on the entire vulva and vag so as not to upset the balance. I do use those flushable wet-wipes after number 2 or sex, as I find it helps to ensure things aren’t hanging around. But I have never rinsed the inside out with anything in either chute, it never occurred to me to do so! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700/180 "2010-09-01T19:56:03Z")
What I want to know is, how did a 4-page treatise on douching, of all things, wind up being so friggin’ funny that I simply _cannot_ read it anymore at work, because I don’t feel like explaining to my co-workers a) that I’m not doing my job and b) just what the hell is so damn funny? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-have-you-ever-douched-why/551700.md?page=10)