Self care isn’t limited to your mental health; it’s also important to take care of your body and hygiene. Take a minute to check in with yourself, especially when it comes to your vaginal health.
Here are five ways to make sure your vagina is healthy and happy!
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Check your vaginal discharge
Discharge is important! Discharge is our vagina’s natural way of telling us if everything is good down there. It’s the fluid secreted from glands inside our vaginas, flushing out dead cells and bacteria. More often than not, women ignore their discharge, but here’s a fool proof way to make sure your discharge is normal and healthy. Check out this chart below to learn what normal versus abnormal discharge is.
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Breakup with any toxic products
When it comes to your vagina, the less products the better. Our vaginas are self regulating and balance out their pH on their own. Obviously it’s important to keep it clean, such as rinsing off in the shower, but besides water, it doesn’t need other products. It’s also important to stay away from douching because that can offset your vagina’s pH balance and potentially lead to yeast or bacterial infections. Part of maintaining your pH down there also entails keeping a healthy diet (packed with fruits and vegetables) and staying hydrated everyday.
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Treat yo’self – Try different menstrual products
As women, we don’t exactly get the option of when we want to have our periods or if we want to have them at all. What we do have control over is which menstrual products will work best for us. There are myriads of menstrual products to choose from, so why not explore what works for you and your lifestyle! From diva cups to tampons to pads, we have options and the more you know, the more comfortable you’ll be while menstruating! Check out these eight women-run companies for new menstrual hygiene products.
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Practice safe sex, your vagina will thank you for it
This goes without saying, use a condom as a preventative measure when having sex. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) are common among college students and it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to your health. You should also be using condoms to keep harmful bacteria at bay as well as switching them out when appropriate.
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Make a date with your gynecologist!
As we get older, preventative care becomes our best friend. It may be time to see a gynecologist or check in with your gynecologist. It’s recommended that at age 21, women get their first gynecological screening along with beginning pap smears. As young women in college, it’s important we make sure our bodies are in check and take preventative measures so we can be the best version of ourselves with one less thing to worry about.
Sometimes we don’t pay enough attention to our health with the busy lives we lead, but it’s important to take a second and give yourself some well deserved attention. Your vagina will thank you for it!