Are intimate hygiene products good for health? Gynecologist: many women cannot imagine washing with water alone

For women, 40+, 50+, little girls and pregnant. You can buy a variety of intimate hygiene products at every drugstore, pharmacy and supermarket. Are they really necessary for us? And which ones should you choose to be safe for your health?

1. The infamous parabens, dyes and fragrances are everywhere: in soaps, shampoos and other products that we use for daily hygiene. It is inevitable
2. – The skin of the vulva, if it is in a physiologically healthy state, does not require special treatment. Wash these places gently in the shower or bathtub, do not scrub with soap, especially with sponges, washcloths or gloves. Let us treat intimate places with respect – says Dr. Zofia Borowiec, MD
3. Vaginal irrigation is rather inadvisable. Because the irrigator rinses out hyaluronic acid and lactobacillus, i.e. beneficial bacteria that help maintain the proper composition of the vaginal flora
4. – Irrigator? It’s like walking around a flower meadow with a vacuum cleaner and getting rid of plants, butterfly worms, just to keep it clean – compares Dr. Borowiec
5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
6. More information can be found on the Onet homepage.

The use of intimate hygiene fluids is not necessary. However, many women cannot imagine washing their perineum with water only, so they reach for various preparations. And they can make mistakes: they do not pay attention to the composition of such liquids or use it too much. They also unnecessarily use daily vaginal irrigation.

Parabens, dyes and fragrances

As when buying any other product: food or underwear, it is also worth reading the ingredients labels.

For example, parabens, a group of organic chemicals that the industry uses as preservatives in cosmetics, medicines and food, are infamous.

However, what is important, in order for parabens to be a component of a liquid or gel for intimate hygiene and any other cosmetic, they must be there in a small concentration, strictly defined in the restrictive regulations of the European Union.

– Parabens, dyes, fragrances are practically everywhere: in soaps, shampoos and other products that we use for daily hygiene. It is inevitable, but important to use literally one drop of such fluid for intimate hygiene. I also noticed that the so-called bio products based on natural ingredients and plant extracts. These are certainly closer to tradition, explains Dr. Zofia Borowiec, MD, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology.

We recommend BIO intimate hygiene gel with Propolia BeeYes propolis, which is available on Medonet Market at a promotional price.

1. Why you shouldn’t sleep in panties? [WE EXPLAIN]

Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used oak bark extract after giving birth

Natural and ecological intimate hygiene products most often contain, among others, chamomile, which has anti-inflammatory, soothing and antibacterial properties. Plantain extract, in turn, has long been known as a plant that soothes irritation, redness and burning. Calendula is also one of the health-promoting plants.

– And our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used oak bark extract after giving birth, because they knew perfectly well that it had astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. In the history of medicine, it is precisely described how pain and burning were dealt with with the use of sage or linden infusion. However, it is worth remembering that today these herbal extracts and infusions have been replaced with herbal pharmaceutical preparations or completely modern ones, for example based on hyaluronic acid. They effectively help to alleviate various ailments – emphasizes Dr. Borowiec.

1. The problem of many women. What do the discoloration on the panties mean?

Let us treat intimate places with respect

The doctor advises that while caring for the condition of the skin of intimate parts, pay attention to the diet, including providing the body with appropriate probiotics in meals. The skin in these areas of the body should not be dried, for example using a solarium, and after depilation, the skin should not be oiled and cared for.

And most of all, consult a specialist gynecologist for any symptoms of infection, at the earliest, early stages. The itching and burning sensation of the intimate areas, pain, swelling of the skin of the external genitalia, and also when the perineum area is covered with vesicles or pustules, when there is an abnormal – with changed color and smell – discharge may be disturbing.

– Our skin, including the vulva area, if it is in a physiologically healthy condition, does not require special treatment. Just wash these places gently in the shower or bathtub, do not scrub with soap, especially with sponges, washcloths or gloves. Let us treat our intimate places with respect and use gentle measures. Yes, so as not to irritate the skin – says the doctor, who is also the author of the Instagram educational profile for patients @terazokobietach.

Specialized preparations, liquids and gels can be beneficial

However, if a specialist doctor deals with chronic recurrent mycosis, dermatosis or vulvar eczema, he will recommend special hygiene.

– For such people, specialized preparations in the form of gels or liquids are beneficial. Then each of their ingredients is important, because it helps, among other things, to maintain the proper pH of the skin. It will also be important how many times a day we wash the vulva area. Patients after extensive oncological procedures, difficult births, bone marrow transplants with immunosuppression, and gastrointestinal dysfunctions can benefit greatly from the support of enriched intimate hygiene fluids – emphasizes the gynecologist.

1. Order the selected intimate hygiene gel at Medonet Market today. We recommend, for example, Intimate hygiene gel for women and girls Strong Protection DermoXEN PROTETTIVO, which contains hyaluronic acid and vitamin B.

So what about the vaginal irrigation many women use? They do this by adding a variety of fluids and gels to the irrigator. They are convinced that in this way they refresh themselves and get rid of the unpleasant smell, also after sexual intercourse.

1. Are you urinating in the shower? The doctor appeals: it is very bad for your health

Or maybe irrigation?

– I have such patients. They use irrigation and can rinse inside even every day. They claim to use irrigators because they find everything in the vagina disgusting. Paradoxically, it is precisely these ingredients that are washed out of a healthy vagina that should be found in all intimate hygiene liquids. It is about hyaluronic acid and lactobacillus, our beneficial bacteria that help maintain the correct composition of the vaginal flora – explains Dr. Borowiec and adds that irrigation is also inadvisable due to the fact that the vagina cleans itself, and we should not disturb it.

– With the help of the irrigator we get rid of everything that protects us. It’s like walking around a flower meadow with a vacuum cleaner and getting rid of plants, worms, butterflies just to keep it clean. It is different, however, when a woman has had perineal surgery or suffers from chronic, purulent conditions. In such situations, irrigation is indicated. This is why it was invented in ancient Egypt – reminds the doctor.

For everyday care, it is worth using the Green Laboratory intimate cleansing cream, which thanks to natural ingredients such as origanol from tea tree oil or bergamot oil helps to prevent intimate infections and skin irritation. You can also try the VAGOFIX Women’s Rinse, which has an astringent effect and soothes irritations. We also recommend:

1. Intimate hygiene gel with oak bark extract, which cleanses, soothes irritations and regenerates intimate places.
2. Calendula gel for intimate hygiene, which allows for thorough cleansing of intimate areas, giving a feeling of freshness for longer.

Intimate hygiene lotions for girls?

Dr. Borowiec believes that intimate hygiene fluids intended for young, healthy girls are not recommended.

– Their reproductive organs do not yet have the female hormones called estrogens. When mothers come to my office with their daughters, I usually recommend washing them with mild, gray soap, possibly also with oiling preparations with liquid paraffin, which are poured into the bathtub. But this is what happens in the case of, for example, atopic skin. It is a chronic condition characterized by dry, red and itchy skin. There are also soothing gels with probiotics that are effective in treating children with an infection or after a vulval injury, for example as a result of cycling – explains the specialist.

Dr. Zofia Borowiec herself does not use liquids for intimate hygiene.

– It may sound iconoclastic, but I do not think that our intimate areas require dedicated hygiene products. Of course, apart from routine, everyday use with the use of mild soap and water. Let’s give nature a chance. Because it’s a bit like buying a different preparation for the left and another for the right elbow – he jokes.

Read also:

1. What to look for when buying panties? Advice from the gynecologist
2. Menopause – the first teasers. How do you know when it’s coming?
3. In order to maintain hygiene on “these days”, women put their health at risk

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.