For those of you who don’t get why other women don’t douche because it’s “dirty” in the vagina…do you douche your rectum? Perform regular cleansing enemas? Does your husband clean up his ass or inside his urethra?
I’m just not getting where the vagina is any dirtier than the rectum or the sinuses or the back of the throat - areas which aren’t regularly cleaned (nor do they need to be). My only guess is that it stems from wayback notions of women as evil and unclean and menstruation as dirty and repulsive.
First. . . I’ve had dudes cum inside of me (well, not dudes, like multiple guys at once, but you know what I mean) and if I go wipe myself down afterwards, I don’t notice anything sliding out of me or stinking up my panties afterward. Yes, I realize there’s stuff still inside of me. . . but I haven’t noticed any oddities from it.
There is no noticeable smell or taste to my crotch, despite the fact that I’ve never hosed my hoot out. I’ve certainly never felt the need to “root around with my finger” (:eek:). I’m cleaning there, I assure you, but douching has never been necessary for me. I think it’s one of those things that once you start, you have to keep doing it regularly or you get gross. Your body has adjusted to douching, so you probably do have to keep doing it. Sort of like how if you wash your hair every day then suddenly switch to twice a week, your hair will be a greasy mess. Whereas lots of folks will only wash their hair once or twice a week without a problem.
I’ve never had any infections, nor have I had any complaints from men. Hell, I’ve even flat out asked men, because I always hear women talking about all the shit they have to do for vaginal upkeep and was wondering if I was doin’ it wrong (back when I was younger).
No, and I don’t see the necessity. It cleans the inside, I clean the outside and as far as I can tell the only thing it smells like is pussy. Isn’t that what it’s supposed to smell like? I’ve certainly never gotten any complaints and have even met plenty of men that LIKE the normal, natural smell of a woman.
I’ve used douches a couple of times. My doctor suggested using the Betadine douche for yeast infections, also back before yeast medicine was available OTC. It helps clear up the yeasties, and it also is pretty effective at relieving the symptoms. I haven’t seen Betadine douche available on the shelf for years, and I’ve looked because Diflucan doesn’t relieve the symptoms immediately.
I just checked at Walgreens, and while they don’t have a Betadine brand douche, they had several povidone-iodine medicated douches. Same thing.
ETA: Name brands: Vagi-Guard, vH essentials and Summer’s Eve Medicated Douche.
ETA again: Or just add 1000 mg Betadine to some 340 mL saline and douche with that.
This made me laugh so loudly it woke the baby so thanks a lot Diosa. Oh well I needed that laugh today and she’s already asleep again. Totally worth it.
I don’t get why it’s so yucky not to douche. Those of us who don’t douche do shower. I wash with soap around my labia and rinse the actual vagina with a bit of water. Sometimes I’ll do a bit more rinsing if it’s around my period but that’s all I do. I don’t notice any odor…except when I’m very aroused, and even then my clothes are usually off already. When my clothes are on, even on the hottest, sweatiest days, I’ve never thought, “Oh, stinky vagina, gotta douche.” And I’m actually probably considered one of the more fastidious people on these boards–I regularly shower twice a day, wash up after bowel movements, etc. And even I have never felt that I needed to root around in my vagina for rotting clots. I think I’d be seeing a gynecologist if I ever had the not so fresh feeling…
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I think my body has gotten used to really regular showers and hair washings, but I’m very grateful that it’s never gotten used to regular douching!
I think it is more you get used to your own scent and those that do douche regularly do not so they get in the habit. Out of curiosity I did ask my husband as he walked by about the issue since I am aware he has many sexual partners in the past. He did say that yes, I am very clean and yes, he could always tell who douched and who did not with his partners. He said he went so far to douche one of his partners in the tub because she had such a strong scent but that was TMI for me. (Probably an infection if it was that bad anyway). Other than that one female he did not complain. So I suspect that your body doesn’t get used to douching but your nose does and that is why it become a necessity to some of our hygiene routine.
Like I said, I’ve asked several men this (and I’m not the kind of girl to dance around shit and I don’t fuck men who are too delicate to discuss these things, too nice to say it, etc.). So, I’ve flat out asked. I promise, my vagina isn’t stinky and unless your nose is literally buried in it, I doubt there is much of a scent (btw, I asked some of the guys who were in that situation, too).
That’s cool that your husband requires the women he fucks to douche before he’ll touch their vaginas, but the fact of the matter is that a healthy, generally clean (ie: regular showers) vagina should not really smell of much at all. And if there is a scent, it should never naturally be overpowering or even really all that shockingly noticeable.
I have a feeling this is a generational thing. My friends and I have discussed this and none of us have ever even thought to douche. Of those of you saying yes in this thread and that are horrified at the thought of folks not. . . how old are you? I’m not saying that in an accusatory manner, just it seems this was an ideal that was pressed upon women in generations before mine.
I am 40ish and as I said, it is about your vagina having ANY scent vs none. The scent of your body is perfectly healthy and you’re used to it. Because I have always been extremely aware of that area (and yes, probably because I was taught to clean myself out after my periods) I do not like my privates to have any scent at all. Even as you say, if someone’s nose is buried in it. My husband never required any woman to douche. He could tell the difference was his point. He’s a man and he certainly had no complaints. (except for the one I mentioned) I didn’t even know he preferred a clean vagina until we had this conversation although I did suspect many men would but few of those would dare say a word about it unless you were extremely clean and they were previously with someone that was not. Since many of my lovers have mentioned how clean I am and smell, yes, I do think it makes a difference.
Well, there ya go. I’d say older women (not that you’re old, I mean older than me) who sleep with older men, just have a different standard than most women in my generation. Maybe the guys I sleep with don’t notice or care because they don’t usually encounter douched vaginas, whereas your husband (who I might wrongly be assuming is about your age) probably primarily dealt with douched vaginas and not…not. That’d be an interesting poll for someone to start.
I also want to add that I think unless your cleanliness is something your lovers have offered without being asked, their answers are not quiet as reliable. But that is just my opinion of that nature of the male mind when it is getting laid regularly. Most men don’t mind the scent of a woman at all and most women don’t mind their own scent. There is nothing WRONG with that. I suspect there is more something off about those of us that do not like the smell of our own natural secretions but there it is. To each her own. However, thinking your body has the same scent of one that douches regularly seems very unlikely.
I had kinda the same situation when I met my husband 14 years ago - once we got close enough to discuss it, he said he likes smell-less vaginas. I told him that vaginas have a smell, but it wasn’t his thing. No biggie.
So, now I have a smell-less vagina, and he has freshly washed balls, and we have a great relationship. I like vagina smell, mine own and others, but I’m totally cool with not having a smell.
I don’t think there’s anything bad about not douching, I just prefer to douche a couple times a month. Just thinking about stuff hanging around in there totally weirds me out.
And I can tell you that we’ve discussed this on numerous “girls nights” (usually when a commercial comes on for Summer’s Eve) and not a single person said they’ve ever douched. Like I said, I think it’s an age thing. I always grew up being told in health class that it was unhealthy to douche, doctors on tv saying it was unhealthy to douche, “Seventeen” magazine saying it was unhealthy to douche, etc. It as been drilled into my head since puberty.
I really doubt your vagina/labia have no scent at all. I mean, skin, esp. hands, are washed much more frequently than your vagina is, and between washings (unless the soap is scented), they still have a detectable odor. And while there are skin secretions, they are much less in volume and potential odiferousness than vaginal secretions.
So, I wasn’t quoting Diosa in that last post but rather Notchimine, but the point still stands, and applies to Sateryn76, I really doubt your vaginas and labias don’t smell.
That’d be an interesting poll for someone to start.