Experts urge women not to apply vinegar to their vaginas

Experts are urging women not to use trendy apple cider vinegar to ‘tighten’ their vaginas.

Online blogs and forums are encouraging women to carry out this bizarre douching technique with the promise of making vaginas tighter, as well as cleaning excess menstrual residue.

Aside from vinegar being completely ineffective at tightening the vagina, Professor Linda Cardozo from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London warns it could disrupt the organ’s delicate ‘good’ bacteria, putting women at risk of irritation and infections.

To maintain the vagina’s strength and tone, women should perform pelvic floor exercises regularly, Professor Cardozo recommends.

Vagina’s are also self cleaning, with additional ‘menstrual residue removal’ being unnecessary.

Experts are urging women not to use trendy apple cider vinegar to ‘tighten’ their vaginas

EXPERTS WARN WOMEN NOT TO USE VICKS’ VAPORUB TO ‘TINGLE AND CLEANSE’ THEIR VAGINAS DUE TO ITS INFECTION RISK

Experts are urging women not to clean their vaginas with Vicks’ Vaporub after a bizarre internet trend has spurred many to experience tingling in their genitalia.

Online forums and blogs claim the ointment, intended to soothe an irritating cough, can boost women’s sex lives, clean the intimate area, cure thrush and even maintain a pleasant odour on the vagina.

VapoRub, which gives users a tingling sensation when applied on the chest, apparently elicits the same gentle tickling feeling when put on intimate areas, leading blogs to suggest women smear it on their clitoris or men’s penises.

Some forums also claim the ointment could cure vaginal thrush, however, experts argue applying such products may introduce infections or make them worse by disrupting the intimate area’s bacteria.

The need to apply VapoRub as a fragrance to the vagina, which is self-cleaning, is also concerning, as genitalia should not have a strong odour.

Vinegar does not tighten vaginas

Countless forums suggest mixing the health-food staple apple cider vinegar with water before soaking a tampon in the solution or creating a diluted vinegar bath.

Promises of tightened vaginas are unfounded as vinegar does not stiffen skin in other parts of the body, with the female genitalia being no exception.

In addition, the vagina self cleans its menstrual residue naturally.

This residue also does not play a role in the organ’s looseness.

Women risking irritation and infection

Professor Cardozo told metro.co.uk: ‘Putting cider vinegar in your vagina would not only be uncomfortable but it also has the potential to cause damage and disrupt the natural flora of the vagina.’

This is due to the vagina being made up of ‘good’ bacteria, which is disrupted by any type of douching, putting women at risk of irritation and infections.

Apple cider vinegar is strongly acidic, which will further interfere with the vagina’s micro-organisms.

Pelvic floor exercises are recommended

There is no health need for vaginas to be overly tight, however, women should maintain the organ’s muscle strength by carrying out pelvic floor exercises.

Professor Cardozo said: ‘There are various different ways in which women can carry out pelvic floor exercises but the easiest is to sit or stand comfortably with knees slightly apart and then draw up the pelvic floor muscles as if trying to avoid passing urine or flatus.’

She recommends doing these three-to-four times a day, with each contraction lasting around 10 seconds to maintain vagina strength and tone. If looseness is due to pelvic organ prolapse, women should visit their GP.

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