If summer is often synonymous with swimming and heat, it is also a period when sweating tends to increase. In the private parts, this excess of perspiration can cause in women certain intimate problems such as yeast infection or vaginosis. What are the right actions to adopt in case of hot weather to avoid these infections?

Candida albicans

High temperatures can have an impact on the physiological environment of the private parts. Indeed, excessive sweating in the crotch will tend to macerate and acidify the pH of the vulva. This can promote yeast infection, a vaginal infection usually caused by a fungus, Candida albicans.

Avoid excessive personal hygiene

In addition, an excess of intimate toilet, to alleviate the discomfort due to sweating or the fear of odors, can cause an imbalance of the vaginal flora and make appear a bacterial infection, the vaginosis. “To prevent vaginosis or vaginal yeast infection, we take care above all to respect the balance of the vaginal flora,” assures Céline Couteau. The vaginal flora is naturally made up of lactic acid bacteria (called lactobacilli). They are found at a rate of 10 to 100 million colony-forming units per gram (CFU / g) of vaginal fluid, in women not suffering from vaginal pathologies. This flora forms a protective barrier at the level of the vaginal wall and prevents the attachment and development of pathogenic microorganisms ”.

Due to the production of lactic acid by the flora in the vagina, the pH of the medium is close to 4 (between 3,8 and 4,4). “If the pH is more acidic than that, we speak of cytolytic vaginosis because the too acidic pH causes necrosis of the cells that make up the vaginal epithelium. Burns and vaginal discharge are the noticeable clinical signs ”.

The use of vaginal probiotics

To prevent infections, there are vaginal probiotics (in capsules or in doses of vaginal cream) which will help maintain the balance of the vaginal flora.

Remember that the vagina is considered “self-cleaning”: personal hygiene should only be external (lips, vulva and clitoris). “It is advisable to wash once a day with water and preferably using an intimate gel. They are generally well formulated and much more suitable than ordinary shower gels which, on the contrary, run the risk of precipitating infections by destroying the flora. The gels dedicated to personal hygiene respect the acidic pH of the private parts or, on the contrary, if the pH of the medium is too acidic, they allow it to be raised ”. In the event of hot weather or heavy sweating, it is possible to use up to two toilets per day.

To limit sweating

In addition, to limit sweating:

• Favor cotton underwear. Synthetics tend to promote maceration and therefore the proliferation of bacteria;
• Avoid clothes that are too tight, especially when they are close to private parts (pants, shorts and coveralls);
• Do not use intimate wipes or panty liners which can be allergenic and increase maceration.

If the swimming pool remains the most pleasant place to cool off when it’s hot, it is also a place that can promote, on already fragile ground, an imbalance of the vaginal flora. And therefore a yeast infection.

“Chlorine is acidifying and can irritate the most sensitive mucous membranes and pool water has its own pH which is not the same as vaginal pH.”

Just like at the beach, the sand can harbor fungi which, on fragile flora, can create a yeast infection.

What to do?

• Shower well after swimming to remove sand or chlorinated water;
• Do not keep your bathing suit wet, which can facilitate the proliferation of fungi and the development of yeast infections;
• Dry well and put on dry panties.

If you can not rinse or change, consider the thermal water spray, to rinse the intimate area.

For women prone to yeast infection and vaginosis

For women prone to yeast infection or repeated vaginosis, use a Florgynal tampon during bathing which provides lactobacilli.

“In the event of yeast infection, we recommend soothing products specially formulated for intimate hygiene, with a gentle cleansing base. Their alkaline pH will thus preserve the vaginal flora. If the itching is severe, there are non-prescription eggs in pharmacies that can provide relief ”.

Only a doctor can prescribe a complete treatment which combines eggs and antifungal creams.