Vaginal ecology: an owner’s guide to care and maintenance

An elegant system

The vagina is not just a nice place to possess or visit, nor is it simply a passive space waiting to be fulfilled; it is a complex and integrated environment. Your vagina is a dynamic system with inherent safeguards to maintain a healthy balance despite being susceptible to myriad influences that can throw off its state of balance. After all, the vagina is exposed to fluctuating hormones, the consequences of our modern diet, our stress-filled lives, and numerous man-made products that nature never intended our delicate tissues to withstand. And of course, Mother Nature intended our vaginas to have visitors whose presence and debris could stimulate and impact our vaginal ecosystem. The vagina is well designed to handle many of these influences, but sometimes it succumbs and leads to imbalance, infection, and general bad temper when she’s out of commission.

vaginal ecology

Vaginal ecology is the study of the environment and its interactions. By understanding ecology, you can better manage your vagina and keep it happy and healthy by supporting natural systems. When, despite your best efforts, the normal balance is upset and you have a vaginal infection (vaginitis), knowing how your ecosystem works can give you the power to remedy the situation and restore your environment.

nice and normal

A normal vagina is constantly kept moist by its slippery, slippery, tasty natural discharge. The smell and taste of a healthy vagina is mild, earthy, and slightly spicy with a pleasant musky scent. It certainly does not smell fishy or have a strong foul odor. A healthy vagina doesn’t smell or taste bad! In fact, it’s packed with a sexy scent plus fabulous pheromones, the attraction chemicals we don’t consciously smell. Her vaginal juice is a naturally convincing scented treat.

juicy goodness

Vaginal fluid comes mainly from cells lining the walls, which act similar to sweat glands, producing moisture from the inner surfaces of the mucous membrane. The rest of the juice is made up of small inputs from various types of glands, located in the cervix and near the vaginal opening. Normal vaginal fluid ranges in color from clear to white, although when it dries it may appear yellowish.

The amount differs from woman to woman, as well as for the same woman at different times, and ranges from small to moderate. Some women are naturally wetter or drier than others, just as some people have oily skin or dry hair or sweat more or less profusely.

The most important thing for you is to know what is typical for you in quantity, color, texture and smell. Vaginal fluid reflects where you are in your cycle, your age, your sexual arousal, your use of hormonal birth control, even your diet and fluid intake. For women who have normal fertility cycles, the pattern of change should be similar each month. In general, most women are at their juiciest during the week leading up to and including the day of ovulation. Most women are driest the week before their period. Girls before puberty, lactating mothers, and postmenopausal women are drier and less varied.

the vaginal garden

A healthy vagina is full of friendly bacteria, primarily a particular strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus. These good bacteria protect the vagina and keep it healthy in multiple ways. Their job is to control the population of hostile microbes like yeast and “bad” bacteria. They do this by first filling in the space, like a garden that is filled profusely with flowers, leaving no room for weeds. The acidophilus then maintains the proper vaginal environment by producing two important chemicals: lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide, a liquid form of oxygen. Lactic acid maintains an acid-alkaline balance (known as pH) in the vagina which is acidic. Your helpful bacteria also produce hydrogen peroxide to create an aerobic (oxygenated) environment that discourages harmful microbes. Beneficial bacteria are the essential engineers and workers of your vagina’s ecology. When something causes a departure from the ideal, they go to work to realign their ecology.

flow and flow

There are a variety of things that can change the vaginal balance and throw the system out of balance. For starters, there are the regular changes of the fertility cycle. The vaginal environment normally fluctuates slightly throughout the month. Just before menstruation, there is a normal reflux in the population of good bacteria due to hormonal influences that make the vagina less acidic. This premenstrual week is usually a time when the vagina is drier, more sensitive, and more prone to irritation and infection. During your period is another time when the environment is at risk of being thrown out of balance. Blood is alkaline (the opposite of acid) and its presence can promote imbalance. Semen is another alkaline influence that impacts the ecosystem. Ideally, you have a strong population of good bacteria, so your body can easily adapt to these factors and quickly return to an acidic state.

hostile takeover

If your beneficial bacteria die, then your ecosystem becomes fragile and susceptible to being taken over by unfriendly bacteria or yeast. There are many influences that can induce a decrease in the population of good microbes. Sometimes the imbalance seems to occur for no reason, but factors such as high stress, poor diet, the wrong “hygiene” practices, or other factors that affect the vaginal environment are often at play. And when you remove all the flowers from your garden, you can be sure that weeds will take over.

Effects of antibiotics

One of the most common causes of the death of your normal flora is taking antibiotics, which can kill the “good guys” while doing their job of killing the bad guys that were causing the infection elsewhere. Any time you take antibiotics, you run the risk of developing yeast overgrowth, which can lead to yeast infection (a yeast infection) and gastrointestinal problems like indigestion and diarrhea. This is one of the many reasons to be careful when taking antibiotics and only use them when you really need them.

sweets for my sweet

Normal vaginal discharge also contains a very small amount of natural sugars. The usual low level of sugar helps discourage yeast overgrowth, while a high level promotes it. The level of sugar in the vaginal fluid increases in diabetics and in pregnancy. Some women are sensitive to a high sugar diet and may need to be careful about their intake.

keep it cool

Although the vagina is usually quite steamy, at or slightly above normal body temperature (which is pretty toasty at almost 100º), it’s best if it doesn’t get much hotter than that. Anything that creates and holds heat can contribute to yeast overgrowth and lead to a vaginal infection. A wet bathing suit on a hot day, pantyhose, lycra or spandex workout clothes, synthetic pantyhose or leggings, plastic-backed pantyhose, even skinny jeans can create an overheated crack, with the risk of disruption. Wear cotton underwear, natural fiber leggings or leggings, cotton sanitary pads, and nothing at all at night (or whenever you can!) Keep your crotch cool and you’ll be glad you did.

Contraceptive Concerns

Certain forms of contraception can affect the vaginal system, directly or indirectly. Any product that contains Nonoxynol 9, the chemical found in all spermicides, can be problematic. Many women are very sensitive to this chemical and will experience inflammation as a result of its use. This includes condoms with spermicide, the jelly used with diaphragms, and all other types of spermicidal creams and suppositories. It is best to avoid this irritating chemical that kills sperm in all its forms.

Hormonal methods of birth control (birth control pills, depo shot, implants, IUDs that contain progesterone, the ‘patch’, the ‘ring’) all work by tricking your body into thinking you are already pregnant and therefore don’t need to ovulate. So, just like in actual pregnancy, there may be slightly higher amounts of natural sugars in your vaginal discharge, hormonal changes, and changes in pH that can promote vaginal imbalance and infection.

Feminine Hygiene Shit

Exposure to synthetic chemicals and cleaning products can also change the balance and lead to a reduction in supportive bacteria. Vaginal infections are commonly associated with what can be called “excessive American hygiene,” which includes the use of douches, deodorants, sprays, wipes, washes, powders, antibacterial soaps, deodorants, body washes, bubble baths, and all the the rest. of so-called feminine hygiene products. These products are the main culprits for vaginal infections! Avoid them all. You don’t need them! Don’t be fooled by the mass marketing lies that tell you that you need to be “fresh” by using their chemical concoctions. You’re fresh and delicious without that synthetic crap.

keep it clean

Your healthy vagina doesn’t smell bad and doesn’t need artificial hygiene products to irritate it and kill off your normal flora. Clean with clear, clean water. That’s all you need. You can use your fingers to help rinse out the crevices. A hand shower is great for cleaning your crotch (and it’s also useful for pleasure). A mild soap can be used on external areas, such as the outside of the outer labia, but should be avoided on the inner labia and around the vaginal opening. Never, ever, is it necessary to clean the inside of the vaginal canal. You have a self-cleaning vagina!

signs of trouble

By knowing what is normal, you can often catch a problem before it becomes a full-blown infection. The imbalance exists before an infection fully manifests itself. By understanding the early signs and symptoms of a change, you then have the power to turn the ecology back in a healthy direction and prevent most problems. If there is a heavy or profuse discharge, if it smells, tastes, or looks strange, that is abnormal and is usually a sign of imbalance or infection. Watch for any changes, including an odd color, thicker or thinner than usual, lumpy or milky. Your vaginal juice should never sting or burn, and swelling and irritation are also warning signs of a problem. Therefore, be sure to check your own vaginal fluid regularly, so that you can recognize any changes early.

Happy Healthy Haven

Now that you understand the basics of your vaginal ecology, you have the means to make good decisions to protect and care for your delicate environment. You can support your healthy system and avoid things that could disrupt your natural defenses. By knowing what’s normal for you and paying close attention, you can spot the early signs of a problem and often fix it before it becomes a full-blown infection. When signs of imbalance appear, you can take steps to correct the system yourself, or ask your health care provider for help, before things get really bad.

Essentially, your genitals are a self-regulating, self-cleaning ecosystem, and the less you disrupt the natural balance, the better off you’ll be. Don’t mess with a good thing. Appreciate your elegant system with its natural resistance and ability to maintain itself. Respect and support your vaginal ecology, and you’ll have a happy, healthy, feel-good haven for you, your vagina, and your friends to have lots of delicious fun.