Vaginal Health tips
The gut and the vagina share some of the same bacterial organisms, called the estrobolome.
Only 9% of the gut microbiome is also present in the female reproductive tract (estrobolome). When estrogen levels get lower, the estrobolome may become less robust, which can contribute to vaginal health issues.
In order for the vagina to be a healthy and happy place, estrogen needs to stimulate vaginal cells to make glycogen. This glycogen helps the structural integrity and keeps the vagina appropriately acidic. When properly acidic, the critical lactobacillus grows and further potentiates the healthy vaginal pH.
During the menopausal years, many women struggle with vaginal dryness, irritation, dyspareunia and more recurrent vaginal and urinary tract infections.
And when/if alkaline semen (or soaps) enters, that can be very disruptive to the pH balance, further potentiating issues in the vagina.
The all encompassing hetero-male dominating messaging, social media and “feminine health products,” marketed have many women (and teen aged girls) worried that their vagina and vulva is not clean enough.
This is a problem, because #1, vaginas are not supposed to smell like a pina colada or fresh island breeze, and #2, they are harmful physically and mentally.
“Feminine washes” and “intimate wipes” are associated with an increased risk of bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections. These products can damage the acid mantle (see below) and skin of the vulva, altering the estrobolome. The irritation that they cause can be misdiagnosed as yeast, bacterial vaginosis or a urinary tract infection. And very unfortunately, it is the women who tend towards chronic vaginal-vulvar irritation, whom they market these products for!
How to support your vagina and a healthy pH.
- Restore the gut microbiome.
- The vagina is self cleaning, really. It doesn’t need internal soaps, cleansers, douches, water, and definitely don’t reach inside to try to scoop away discharge. Intravaginal cleaning can be harmful and damaging to the vaginal estrobolome, causing irritation and itch, increasing discharge and/or odor or even bacterial vaginosis. This dryness/itch/scratch itch can be mistaken for chronic yeast infections. Probiotic and vitamin E suppositories, yes.
- For a woman who struggles with chronic BV, penetrative sex with semen should be protected with a condom.
- A vaginal probiotic protocol should be initiated before your period, as menstrual blood can also change the vaginal ph.
- For post menopausal women with less elastic vaginal tissue, consider Vitamin E, estriol, DHEA or aloe.
- Accentuate the oral (and even vaginal( beneficial strains of vaginal probiotics that help to shift the vaginal microbiome back to being predominately lactobacilli.
Balance requires multi-organ cooperation and proper function. And for many people, the restoration and function of vaginal health can be improved with dietary changes, and cleaning up the environmental toxicants (that includes personal care products, detergents and alcohol) that are taxing to your liver.
Let’s review some anatomy and learn about the healthy ph.
Your vagina is the part of your vulva that is inside your body. The majority of the lower female genital tract, where your clothes touch your skin, is the vulva (including the labia major and minora). The area where the two overlap is called the vestibule of the vaginal opening.
The vulva has keratinized skin, just like skin on your arm, which provides a physical barrier and waterproofing. Here, the skin also has sweat glands and pubic hair. There is also a layer called the acid mantle, which is a film of sebum and sweat that provides yet another layer of physical protection, waterproofing, providing protection from bacteria and viruses.
The pH of skin in general is 5.5
The vulva pH is between 4.5 and 5.5.
The pH of the vagina should be between 3.5 and 4.5.
Inside the vagina, there is no keratin or acid mantle. It’s a mucus membrane, producing discharge.
Why soaps and personal care products are harmful:
A soap is made by mixing a fat or an oil with an alkali. Soap is alkaline, meaning a pH greater than 7, but often as high as 10. Remember, the vulva and especially the vagina is acidic, and soaps can raise the pH, disrupt the acid mantle and the natural and healthy pH. Ouch!
A cleanser works by using synthetic detergents known as syndets. The advantage of syndets are they can be formulated to a more acidic pH than soap, usually around 5.5 (normal skin). They are also less likely to dry and irritate. Cleansers have additives, such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and ceramides, which act as an emollient or humectant or provide other functions to protect the acid mantle.
Many soaps and cleansers have added fragrances, essential oils and chemicals for color. And some people can’t help but over clean and over scrub. Please try to minimize that.
There are situations where women feel like they really must cleanse their vulva and vagina, like in the cases of urinary or fecal incontinence, or with daily applications of medicated creams. And then there are the types of lubricants, called silicon lubricants[1] , that really need something other than straight water to remove the residue.
If you must cleanse, choose a gentle cleanser with a ph around 5-5.5 with no fragrance, (natural or synthetic). This can be a facial cleanser, but make sure it’s not geared toward acne, as that may have other substances in it like salicylic acid.
For tips on healthy and safe vaginal lubricants, click here![2]
please link to lubricant blog
please link to lubricant blog
