Didn’t we have a guy here who told women they should use “apple-scented” feminine hygiene products?
I’ve always known that douching is bad for you, but my doctor also told me not to use harsh anti-bacterial soaps, because they can be irritating. I generally use Caress soap – and no, I don’t notice any smell (other than your normal, healthy vaginal scent – no stench or whatever)
(Unless I’m on my period, naturally)
The only “goop” in your vagina are your natural fluids and lubricants. You don’t want to dry yourself out.
Oh, and to piggyback on what WhyNot was saying earlier, I’m sure we could reduce “mouth odor” and making kissing more pleasant on everyone if we vigorously irrigated our throats with high pressure liquid streams, consisting of whatever mixture of anti-microbial and anti-odor components you choose. However, we don’t, because it’s a health hazard and I’m pretty sure generally liquid isn’t supposed to hit the mucosa of our pharynx, esophagus, etc at that pressure, or at some pH or chemical consistency that, while microbicidal, is damaging to our tissues. So instead we all just wash our mouths out and brush and Listerine. Which is equivalent to washing labia, which all the women in this thread have said they do.
You never have any other goop in your vagina? No semen, no lubricants, no blood and uterine tissue? Nothing else ever?
I’ve had all of them in there, and find the thought of it hanging out to be kinda gross. I’ve never had a problem with dryness.
So, let me get this straight (seriously, not snarky, I’m kinda surprised) - you never slide a finger in there to clean it out? Not after sex or periods or anything?
My normal routine is -
Daily - wash outside bits with bar soap
Every few days - slide a wet finger in there to get in the nooks and make sure nothing is getting stale
Once or twice a month (generally after periods and after sex) - water douche
How do you wash yourself? I can’t imagine going around all day at work with a vagina full of last night’s semen. If for no other reason than I’ve had a couple times when it leaks out - who wants that on their undies?
Also - how heavy and clotty are your periods? I often get a few tissue bits even on days eight and nine hanging around in there!
Same here. I don’t really discuss it all that much, save this thread, and I grew up with the same messages as you. I’ve always thought that the whole “You won’t feel fresh if you don’t douche” is the kind of crap foisted on us by Madison Avenue trying to sell us shit we don’t need and make us feel weird about our bodies. Any time I’ve genuinely felt gross down there it’s been due to an infection. It’s a body part like any other and it seems like for the most part, in terms of cleaning, it’s best left alone.
Really? I could see with condom use the first two may not apply, but it’s unusual to never have had a period at 24.
There are various medical issues that mean you never have a period, so I guess your vagina is different than most. Good for you!
And I might also add that, being young and never having children, you may see your vaginal cleaning habits change as you get older.
I must say, this is turning out to be quite a hot debate. I would have assumed it would be a simple matter or yes or no. I’m surprised at some of the underlying accusations in this thread, about sexism and body image and “all-natural”-ness and things like that.
I um, have actually uh, never had sex. (It’s common knowledge around here, and I’d rather not discuss that, thank you. No, I’m not some kind of hag, or some religious nut – just someone with a LOT of bad luck in the dating pool.)
Now then, duh, I’ve had my period. EVERY woman has her period – and it eventually stops flowing, so obviously there’s no blood splotches sticking “up there”
As for “lubricants”, if you mean artificial, no. The only fluids I’ve had are my own natural ones.
And quite frankly, were I to have sex, I can’t see douching afterwards – semen isn’t “dirty”. I believe douching started out as method of birth control. (A lousy one, but a method none the less).
Again, the vagina is self-cleaning. You cleanse the outside area, but just because you haven’t had an infection doesn’t mean “well, it doesn’t cause one!” And quite frankly, if you’re only douching because your husband thinks vaginas smell bad, that’s kind of messed up.
My husband holds a degree in biology. He spent several years growing all sorts of bacterial cultures, and has a hang-up in this area. Not just vaginas, but all kinds of bacteria. He’s not Howie Mandel, but he cares about it more than I do. That’s fine with me - I get it.
So, I started douching, and I found out that I like the feeling of cleaning it out. Was I supposed to take a stand on this, and potentially ruin a relationship that is otherwise gentle and loving and wonderful?
It’s not that big a deal to me, and has caused me no problems. I am aware of the bacterial flora issue, and make sure that I’m not getting dry or itchy or anything else that may indicate an inbalance.
Seriously, it’s just a vagina. It’s not a symbol of my womenhood, or a way for my husband to control me. I don’t read that much into it - it’s just a happy-fun zone for me, and where my babies came out. It’s just biology.
This isn’t a hot debate, save your sarcasm and rolled eyes for the Pit, alright?
I have a regular period, so yes- once a month for 2 or 3 days, a blood-like substance does seep out of my vagina. I figured as most women have that issue, it really wasn’t something notable. But since you asked: yes, I have a regular period.
But I have never had. . .chunks come careening out of my vagina. I realize that this happens to some women, but it does not happen to me. I’ve certainly never felt compelled to fish my finger up my coochie and go in search of these chunks. Maybe I’ve got 14 years of back chunks stuffed up there, but I’m fairly certain that my regular, healthy period is just different than your regular, healthy period. My vagina and its lack of chunks and foul scent is not somehow unique or freakish, but I do appreciate you suggesting as much.
Like I said, this ultimately really sounds like a generational thing. Us girls in our 20s? We’ve had it repeated over and over to us in everything from health classes at school to the magazines we read as teens: douching is unhealthy. Now, clearly, it works for you- and several other Dopers- so, I’m not knocking it in that sense. But because I was always told it was unhealthy, I never started in the habit.
Just like I was my hair twice a week, but have friends who simply must wash their hair one to two times a day. If I tried to wash my hair twice a day, it would break off. If my friends tried to wash their hair once or twice a week, they would be big, filthy grease balls. Am I some weird, dry haired freak? No. My body has just adapted to my hair washing habits and produces less oil than my friend who washes regularly. Your body has also adapted to regular douching and has probably adjusted your vaginal secretions- whatever that might entail- accordingly. Just like my hair.
I’ve never had chunks of anything in my vagina. It’s never even occurred to me to put a finger up there for anything other than pleasure seeking.
When I have sex I typically use condoms so I don’t have a lot of semen sliding around. When I’ve been on the Pill and in a LTR (not used condoms), I’ve just rinsed out with water and been fine. And as for my period, I just find that it comes out on its own without me needing to…uh, do anything with nooks and crannies. And I’ve never heard of uterine tissue just hanging out.
If I was getting chunks of anything in my vagina, I’d get my vagina to the gynecologist fast.
There’s so much about this post that I don’t get. Your husband has a degree in biology and grew cultures. But . . . cultures in lab, for the most part, don’t smell (in the sense you can’t smell them). And, most vaginal infections are not due to bacteria. And, there’s kilograms of bacteria in your gut, and tons in your mouth, that are beneficial to humans. I think some ridiculously large percentage, maybe 20%, of your feces are bacteria. Do you also use a bidet? If not, why not?
Regarding the politics of all this . . . it is a charged issue. Traditionally douching is a practice women have undergone, at the expense of their own health, to make their vaginas more pleasing to men. So of course there are feministic associations with the decline of douching.
This. When necessary. When I had a boyfriend and was sexually active probably once a month or so. Almost always with vinegar and water, very rarely with premixed formula (and even then, selected the vinegar and water).
I just have to repeat what Sateryn says (paraphrased) my definition of clean (and especially of clean SMELLING) is quite different from what my body thinks is perfectly dandy.
I’ve been taught all my life that douching isn’t helpful and can cause more problems than help. I’ve never felt a need to douche and, TMI warning, my current boyfriend says he loves the way I taste (and I have no reason to doubt him). The only time I did have a boyfriend who had a problem with the way I tasted was one who now dates men. :dubious:
I see it as sort of a feminist issue because douching seems to be mainly promoted by the fashion industry and the same people who try to tell us that our bodies need to be brought under control with expensive products. I’m also unwilling to do things that could potentially cause problems with my body for the sake of a man, particularly since no man has had any problem with it thus far.
I’m not sure how ‘generational’ this is. I’m nearing 40 years old. I’ve been menstruating for 29 years, and having sex for 22, and yet never once have I felt the need to dig around in my vagina for gunk. Now, I’ll concede that I’m not a clotter, and as a tampon user, I don’t feel like any menstrual fluid is just hanging out up in there. As for semen, well, I kinda enjoy that faint morning-after scent, and find that a shower takes care of it nicely when it’s time for it to go away. It is, after all, semen, not crazy glue. No need to douche, a little push takes care of that.
Other than that, pretty much daisy fresh. Not entirely scentless, of course. At the end of the day, my panties smell faintly of fresh, clean, human vagina. Personally, I’d be freaked out by someone who was entirely scentless. I *like *the way human flesh smells. It’s part of that whole sensual/intimacy thing that sex is supposed to be about.
I’m with ya’- just wanted to clarify though. What I meant was generational was the acceptance of douching and even social pressure to do it. Obviously it’s not universal (you didn’t do it), but I feel like it was more of a socially pressured beauty routine in years back. I mean, it was important enough that women thought it was ok to douche with Lysol. . . LYSOL! You can just smell freaking Lysol and know that isn’t something to put up your vagina. Goddamn.
The pro douchers were starting to make me a little uncomfortable about my own vagina. I haven’t felt so weird about my body since puberty.
My vagina does have an odor when aroused, but I dunno, I kind of enjoy that, too. It’s not super strong, but it’s there. I’d feel a bit odd if a guy wanted me to douche beforehand just because there might be something that smelled like…well, a human body. Don’t get me wrong–I do shower and use deodorant and all that good stuff. But I don’t freak out if sex smells like sex…
Clotting makes a big difference - there’s has been more than one time that I’ve been able to feel giant clots sliding out when I change my Super Plus tampon. It certainly makes you consider what may not be sliding out
Everyone is different, and certainly sex is one issue where everyone is really different. I don’t enjoy having to worry about odor when I’m getting laid. So what it’s about for you is different than what it’s about for me.
Sex *should *smell like sex. It should also look like sex, sound like sex, taste like sex, and of course most importantly, feel like sex.
Scent is important. I *love *the way my guy smells, and he feels the same. Take that away, and it becomes more, well… anonymous.
ETA that I fully understand that some people smell more strongly than others, both in the sense of having a more sensitive sense of smell, and of giving off a stronger odor. Different strokes and all. I just can’t imagine wanting an odorless sexual experience. Takes some of the fun out of it for me.
No, that’s totally fine. I’m not gonna lie - when I masturbate, I smell my hand afterward because I like the smell. I’ve had my face in other vaginas, and I like the smell. And once things get heated up, I have a sexy smell as well.
What I don’t care for in regard to my vagina is when I have a noticable vagina smell on my panties at the end of the day, unless I’m sweaty or something. For me, it’s very much an issue of feeling clean.
