Update 2 Feb 2022: Vulva Health: Why women should take care of this most intimate feminine area
You should take care of your vulva as you would any part of your skin – that means keeping it clean and healthy. How often should you wash this intimate area? Can your sanitary pads or underwear affect vulva health? CNA Women asked doctors to shed light on what we need to know about caring for it
It was titled “What Do You Know About The Female Body?” and had the production team hitting the streets to find out how much men knew about the female anatomy, in particular, the female reproductive system. Naturally, my girlfriends and I laughed when we saw the video because the men interviewed had no clue where or what things were. But at the back of my mind, I wondered how much we, as women, even know about our own anatomy, especially the goings-on down south.
How many of us know the difference between the vagina and the vulva, for instance? Or if it’s an area of the body we should give extra care to (or none at all)? And really, what should we be doing?
COVID-19 Vaccines and the Menstrual Cycle
People have reported menstrual cycle changes after COVID-19 vaccines, but more research is needed to understand if they are related, which women may be affected, and the exact mechanisms for why
NICHD recently awarded five institutions one-year supplemental grants totaling $1.67 million to explore potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual changes. Researchers at Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Oregon Health and Science University will investigate whether such changes may be linked to the COVID-19 vaccine itself or if they are coincidental, the mechanism underlying any vaccine-related changes, and how long any changes last.
Several of these studies will use blood, tissue, and saliva samples collected before and after vaccination to analyze any immune or hormone changes. Other studies will use established resources — such as large cohort studies and menstrual cycle tracking apps — to collect and analyze data from racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse populations. Two studies will focus on specific populations, including adolescents and people with endometriosis.
What you need to know - Increased stress, changes in weight and exercise, and other major lifestyle changes can affect menstrual cycles — and all of those changes are common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, studies have shown that some women who had COVID-19 experienced changes in the duration and flow of their menstrual cycles. Some people have reported changes in their menstruation after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, including changes in duration, flow, and accompanying symptoms such as pain.
Vagina leaking clear & stretchy discharge - Here's why!
Vaginal discharge is the fluid that's released by cells present in the vagina and cervix. Its primary job is to remove the old cells and debris, thus keeping the vagina and reproductive tract clean, as well as maintaining a healthy pH balance.
While it is normal to notice chances in the colour or consistency of your vaginal discharge, as it can vary from day to day depending on the stage of your menstrual cycle, it can be worrisome if it is accompanied by discomfort.
Let's take a deeper look into
why that happens and when you should worry:
- Changes in vaginal discharge during the ovulation period
- Changes in vaginal discharge after ovulation
- Changes in vaginal discharge during the menstrual cycle
Why we need to talk about the #PantyChallenge, discharge, and women’s bodies
Twitter brought the internet’s attention to the existence of the #PantyChallenge – a new trend on Snapchat and other social media sites that saw young women and girls sharing photos of their clean underwear, free of any evidence of discharge.
Thankfully, the majority of women on Twitter weren’t joining in on the movement. Instead they were tearing it down.
And that’s important. Because the #PantyChallenge isn’t just another weird thing young people are doing. It’s a deeply damaging reinforcement of negative perceptions of women’s bodies. It’s a sign that girls don’t have an understanding of their own bodies. And it’s a reminder that we need to talk about this stuff.
Vaginal Discharge Is Perfectly Normal. Let’s Talk about It
Jenny Slate's character in 2014's Obvious Child does standup comedy, and one of her sets talks about how at the end of the day, every woman's underwear looks like it fell into a vat of cream cheese. It was a joke all the women laughed at, because they all knew that if they looked in their panties at that very second, they would find some kind of discharge in there. It was a great moment for women, considering someone was talking about vaginal discharge so openly, with no qualms or taboos surrounding it.
Cut to July 2016, and some uninformed challenge is doing the rounds on social media by people who think vaginal discharge is unhealthy, where women are showing off their clean underwear to show they supposedly have no discharge.
Of course, women on Twitter took it upon themselves to educate everyone. While it has been proved that the #PantyChallenge is absolutely rubbish, it did open up the opportunity for us to talk about vaginal discharge.
Keep your vagina healthy by avoiding these mistakes
You can’t care for your lady bits the way you do your face — you’re not supposed to cleanse, scrub, tone or even moisturise your vagina.
In fact, very often, the best way to care for it is to leave the self-cleaning organ alone, and unless advised by a doctor, you should keep it away from any sort of feminine hygiene products.
Want to keep it in optimal health? For a start, avoid making the mistakes below:
- Don't douche
- Don't exfoliate
- Don't shave the area bare
- Don't use scent soaps
- Don't steam
- Don't have overly vigorous sex
- Don't wear thongs round the clock
- Don't eat certain veggies
Vaginal tightening: Simple ways to tighten your private parts
Yes, it is uncomfortable and awkward to even say these words. But be honest. Haven't you thought about this at some point? You may have even searched through websites and books to check if it was an option you can try, especially after childbirth.
Even though it shouldn't matter, this "issue" makes many women very anxious. They become less confident, doubt their own sexual prowess and most of all start to feel inadequate.
What are the methods of Vaginal tightening:
- VAGINOPLASTY OR LABIAPLASTY
- EXERCISE YOUR PELVIC FLOOR MUSCLES
- HEALTHY FOOD INTAKE
Indonesian women swear by Madura sticks to please men; doctor warns of infection and cancer risks
Sarifah Nurhayati, who uses a Madura stick, and her husband, Reno Waldi, who sells them.
PHOTO: South China Morning Post
Sarifah Nurhayati is five months' pregnant with her second child. Her post-partum plan, she says, includes getting her vagina "back in good shape to keep my husband happy".
The 27-year-old, who lives in Depok, in greater Jakarta, plans to use a tongkat Madura, or Madura stick - a cigar-shaped product promoted as a sexual-health aid that erodes gradually in the vagina - to achieve that goal. The stick leaves the vagina drier, tighter and stronger, she says. Some experts, on the other hand, warn that it could also cause infection.
Sarifah says she slides the stick into her vagina and leaves it for two to three minutes before taking it out. When finished, "just wash the stick, air dry it, put it back in the box, and you can use it again", she adds. Sarifah can use one 20 times before replacing it.
Feeling 'loose' after childbirth? The truth about postpartum vaginal laxity
Vaginal laxity or vaginal relaxation syndrome occurs when the vagina loses moisture and elasticity – a condition that is aggravated by childbirth and hormonal changes, according to Orchard Clinic, which specialises in postpartum recovery. Co-founder Cheryl Han said hundreds of women visit Orchard Clinic each month with conditions such as urinary incontinence and dissatisfaction with intimacy, with the root cause being vaginal laxity.
How is vaginal laxity treated? First it needs to be determined, experts said. “When women come to me saying ‘oh I’ve just had a baby and now I have laxity in my vagina’, I ask, ‘do you really?’,” said Laura O’Byrne, a specialist senior physiotherapist and co-founder at Health2U. “Because the first thing we need to address is, what is your vagina? Most women refer to everything down there as their vagina when actually that’s not the case,” she added. “Many women will tell you they don’t know what their vulva looks like because they’ve never really properly looked. It’s a part of them they never really see. We should be encouraging a healthy form of self-examination.”
Vaginal warts and all
Nicole Lim during the recording of an episode of her podcast "Something Private" in Singapore on Oct 7, 2020
From vaginal warts to masturbation, taboo-breaking Singaporean podcaster Nicole Lim tackles topics that may make some squirm but has won a following in socially conservative Asian societies.
With her series "Something Private", she has tapped into a growing appetite for more open discussion about sensitive issues affecting women in the city-state and beyond.
It has featured interviews on subjects ranging from domestic violence to disabled women's dating experiences and intimate relationships involving multiple partners.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Vagina Candle Exploded
Gwyneth Paltrow and her This Smells Like My Vagina candle
Gwyneth Paltrow’s vaginal candle was apparently too hot to handle for some folks. Well, at least for one woman in the UK. Jody Thompson of Kilburn, North London, told The Sun said she won the anatomically- inspired candle — called This Smells Like My Vagina — sold by Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop, in an online quiz.
The candle retails for US$75 (S$100) and its aroma is described to contain a “blend of geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed.”
Thompson, 50, a media consultant, said that after she lit the candle, a “50cm flame” leapt from the wick and out of the glass jar. She told the paper, “The candle exploded and emitted huge flames, with bits flying everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it. The whole thing was ablaze and it was too hot to touch. There was an inferno in the room.”
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