A healthy vagina definitely plays an important role in keeping you healthy all over and the proper pH level determines the health of your vagina. But is the pH level sounding like a chemistry class? Even if it is sounding so, you don’t have to bother and just need to sit back and relax! Because, we are going to describe everything clearly regarding the normal pH level of your vagina and how to improve your vaginal health naturally.
Knowing the details of a healthy vagina
Definitely all women are concerned regarding their vaginal health but before that we need to know what constitutes a healthy vagina. Depending somewhat on the age of women, the vagina generally has an acidic pH which contains high quantities of good bacterias which are beneficial to keep off the imperfections and to keep the region naturally lubricated. The pH scale generally ranges from 0 to 14. The pH level lower than 7 is being considered to be acidic while as higher than 7 is considered to be basic or alkaline. The balanced pH level requires it to stay between the range of 3.8 to 4.5. The natural environment of the vagina acts as its natural defence against the growth of bacteria. When the pH level of vagina becomes alkaline then the chance for bacterial overgrowth gets increased. If you see any of the following changes then your vaginal pH might be too alkaline and you need to maintain a healthy life and visit a doctor.
Identifying the change in your vagina
Usually douching might interfere with the pH levels of vagina thus reducing the acidity and further disrupting the biome of the healthy vagina. Also the bacteria that makes up a woman’s vagina prepares the stage for inviting bacterial infections.
The vaginal discharge texture and colour may change from clear or white to yellow, grey or textured like cottage cheese.
You might feel discomfort and itchiness near the opening of your vagina along with the discomfort or burning feeling while peeing and during intercourse.
A strong or foul smell might come from your vaginal discharge but a healthy discharge is often odour less or might have a faint smell.You can detect the symptoms of the alkaline pH by diagnosing it for bacterial vaginosis or yeast infection.
Time to improve Vaginal health naturally
Apart from any medical conditions, a busy schedule or a stressful life might also disturb the natural pH balance of your vagina and you can proceed with these following natural steps for restoring the balance of your vagina naturally:
- Maintaining good hygiene: It is always better to say the first things first, and that is why having common sense can be beneficial for the long way in order to protect the health of your vagina. Always remember to wipe from the front region to your back portion each time after a bowel movement for avoiding any types of bacterial contamination of the vagina and for lowering down the risk of the bladder infection. 38% of the women lose their life because of not changing sanitary pads regularly during the period. Also 25% of the Indian women feel that it is disturbing to wear panty liners and also majority of the doctor says that panty liners needs to be changed frequently for allowing them to absorb the normal vaginal discharge and 52% of the women can experience vulvar irritation by wearing them all the time. So you also need to pay attention towards your underwear as it can even affect the health of your vagina. To keep it healthy always prefer to wear the underwear’s which are made out of natural absorbent and breathable fabrics like cotton. Also wash your underwear regularly with the help of a hypoallergenic detergent.
- Visiting the gynaecologist time to time : In order to have healthy vaginal health it is important to visit the gynaecologist from time to time. It has been recommended by the American Congress of obstetricians and gynaecologists that women must be having their first screening of gynaecologic exam at the age of 21. Also for screening any changes in the vaginal cells, pap smears need to be started at the age of 21 for indicating the presence of any cancerous cells.
- Practicing safe sex: Using condoms while doing sex is a good option for preventing that take off any sexually transmitted infections like STI. Also if the vagina is exposed to excess semen then also it causes an alkalizing effect which increases the risk of acquiring a BV.
- Having some garlic tablets: Garlic is full of antioxidants along with the bacteria fighting compounds known as Allicin. A study which was conducted in 2014 amongst 120 women found out that garlic tablets may turn out to be as effective as the oral antibiotics for treating the symptoms of the vaginal yeast infection which contains some lesser side effects. The participants of the study consumed 500 milligram garlic tablets twice everyday by keeping a gap of 12 hours for 7 consecutive days.
- Doing some habits for distressing:
- Practice deep breathing for 5 minutes everyday by inhaling slowly through your nose and exhaling the air through your mouth. It helps to oxygenate blood besides clearing out the mind.
- Doing some yoga or exercises will help to increase the production of interference which are the feel good neurotransmitters of your brain and it helps in reducing the stress.
- You can also carry out with your favourite activity or hobby besides listening to music as they help in lighting up the mood.
- Cutting off or quitting smoking: According to the studies carried out in 2014 and it was noticed that the non smokers usually reported to contain a larger proportion of lactobacillus inside their vaginal microbiota rather than the smokers and this is very important for maintaining a good health of your vagina. So if you are a smoker then you can look for some support for cutting back or for quitting smoking.
- Cleaning your vagina and vulva in the correct way: Although the vagina self cleans itself but it is really tempting to reach up to fragrant cleaning products while having symptoms of an Yeast infection. Research shows that it is always good to avoid any fragment vaginal washes along with scented sanitary pads or tampons as they might be upsetting the vaginal pH balance.
- Including more probiotics in your food : Lactobacillus which is known as a good bacteria is abundantly found in a healthy vagina and this bacteria can be found in the probiotic supplements and in some fermented foods where this bacteria naturally occurs. Lactobacilli can be incorporated either intravaginally, as a probiotic supplement or through probiotic food such as kefir, kimchi or yogurt. By consuming more probiotics along with fermented foods, it will be helping you in increasing the lactobacillus of your vaginal microbiota but it won’t be inhibiting the growth of bad bacteria completely.
Lastly, we must say that you don’t have to worry too much ladies. As, your vagina is definitely able to protect and clean itself. But don’t forget to follow the simple steps given in this article for promoting health below the belt, that too naturally! These options are definitely going to work wonders for your vagina.
Reference List:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health-pictures/hygiene-rules-for-a-healthy-vagina.aspx
https://www.healthline.com/health/natural-remedies-to-restore-ph-balance
https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/food-for-vagina