Perineal hygiene may be a new term to many of us. The majority of us know well about personal hygiene. Perineal hygiene is a part of personal hygiene. Proper personal hygiene can prevent you from foreign infection. Perineal hygiene is taking care of genital and rectal areas of the body. Proper perineal care is very important in maintaining good reproductive health. Appropriate self-care of private parts is needed to prevent infections and abnormal vaginal discharge.
STEPS TO HAVE A GOOD PERINEAL HYGIENE:
The area between the anus and the vaginal opening is the perineum. There is a high possibility of getting an infection in this area. Taking care of this zone helps us to prevent infection, skin irritation, and unpleasant odor. Primarily, perineal care has to be done at a minimum of once every day. In cases of vaginal discharge, perineal care has to be done more often. Let’s see some tips to have fine perineal hygiene.
- Front-to-back washing techniques during baths are the most preferred and basic perineal hygiene. Wash your vagina and anus separately.
- Use lukewarm water for better cleaning.
- Use mild and non-scented soaps.
- The clothes we wear also help to reduce infection. Wearing loose cotton clothes helps to prevent the growth of microbes.
- Practice safe sex.
- A properly balanced diet maintains the body’s ecosystem. Try to make a habit of eating foods rich in probiotics (like yogurt, cheese, lassi, pickles, etc). These foods help in keeping harmful bacteria from getting out of control thereby protecting you.
- Primarily, anything that comes out of the body is a waste. The contaminated menstrual blood can cause vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, and skin rashes. Thus, change your sanitary napkins every 4 to 6 hours to stay hygienic.
THINGS TO BE AVOIDED:
A small change can give you a better result. Some practices we need to avoid for better perineal hygiene.
- There is a myth among many women that the usage of Dettol can clean our private region better since it can kill microbes. The expert’s advice is to avoid hard soaps and Dettol (all antiseptics) for cleaning since the skin over there will be very sensitive.
- Avoid wearing tight clothes. The tight clothes made up of synthetic fabrics can cause sweating thereby providing less air circulation. Excessive moisture content promotes bacteria and yeast growth thereby causing infection.
- Avoid vaginal douching. The term “douch” derived from French means “wash”.Vaginal douching means washing the vagina with a liquid solution. Vaginal douching troubles the balance of bacteria in the vagina thereby creating a chance of getting an infection.
- A certain level of usage of sanitizing gel can be preferred for cleansing the perineum. Overuse of sanitizing gel can cause skin irritation. Hence it can create a high risk of getting a skin infection.
Proper perineal hygiene helps to maintain the vaginal ecosystem in your body. A minimum amount(say 2 to 5 ml per day)of vaginal discharge is normal. Any increase in the vaginal discharge with pain, offensive smell, or itching is abnormal vaginal discharge(AVD).In such cases, consult your doctor.
In your routine activity allot some time for your personal care. Self-love and Self-care are the primary therapy for most of the complications Hence have proper personal and perineal hygiene and have a happy family.
