What Is a Natural Douche?

A natural douche is one that uses natural ingredients like water, baking soda, and vinegar to cleanse the vagina of odor and discharge. Synthetic fragrances and chemicals are not used in natural douches, which is sometimes believed to reduce the side effects of douching. While using a natural douche might be safer than using other products, there are still dangers consider, including irritation and infection. To protect one’s sexual health, it is important for women to learn how to douche as safely as possible.

Douches are devices made up of certain douching supplies, typically a bag and thin syringe that is placed inside the vagina. When pressure is applied to the bag, liquid is released inside the vaginal canal. In a natural douche, this liquid will usually be composed of water or a combination of water and vinegar. Baking soda, tea tree oil, yogurt and other natural substances can also be included in the douching solution. Douching with a natural solution will cleanse the vagina of discharge, menstrual blood, and unpleasant odor.

The reason why some women choose to use a natural douche is because these products are believed to be safer. By using a natural product, women are usually hoping to reap the benefits of douching without irritating their vaginal tissue. Using a douche might result in irritation or bacterial infections, and it may make women more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

If used immediately after sexual intercourse, a douche might also push semen further into the vagina. While women often douche to remove semen, doing so after intercourse can actually increase a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant. If the woman does become pregnant, she will also be at a greater risk of ectopic pregnancy and other complications. To avoid these side effects, women are urged to refrain from douching after intercourse.

The safest way to use a natural douche is to use a solution composed of pure water. While vinegar is often believed to restore the pH of the vagina, most healthy women do not need to alter their pH. It is also important to used sterile equipment and refrain from forcefully pushing water into the vagina. Douching should be done as gently as possible to avoid damaging the tissue. If the process feels uncomfortable, women should discontinue using a douche immediately.

Although douching does cleanse the vagina of menstrual blood and mucus, women do not need to douche. The vagina is a self-cleaning organ. While it might produce a slight odor, if a woman is healthy this odor should not be strong or unpleasant enough to warrant frequent douching. Women who still want to douche should practice natural and safe douching in order maintain their vagina’s natural balance.