Vagina: 5 things you should STOP doing to your intimate area

Vagina is low maintenance so douching, washing with scented soaps or even spraying cologne over and over are no-nos if you don't want to disrupt the intimate area.

While a great sense of hygiene is key for the area (and all the other parts of the body), the vagina is known to be self cleaning and restores its own PH balance.

This essentially means using douches/washes, soaps, perfumes etc down there is absolutely unnecessary.

There are common things ladies do to the vagina that disrupts its state, sometimes come off counter productive as well leaving it very dry thereby causing itching or giving off funky smells. For the most part, the vagina is fine on its own until you disrupt its composition (with douches, perfumes, petroleum jelly etc).

See these five things you've been doing that 'disturbs' the intimate area.

1. You wear pant liners everyday!

While wearing pant liners to absorb vaginal discharge immediately after your period is not a bad idea, wearing it everyday is! Wearing this everyday creates a warm area for bacteria to thrive. So if you have to use pant liners, change them at least every 4 hours to avoid the risk of getting bacterial infection.

2. Steaming the vagina isn't good afterall

Steaming the vagina with hot water and other home remedies can cause more harm than good. Though there are lots of arguments about it helping with menstrual pain, cleansing the area inside out, it can cause severe burns/scalding to the intimate area.

3. Wiping the wrong way

A lot of ladies wipe wrongly after using the bathroom; its common for ladies to wipe from back to front which is a fast way to get bacteria from the anus to the vagina which can cause severe infections.

Instead wipe from front to back to keep bacteria from the anus away from the vagina.

4. Wearing panties to bed

When going to sleep and not on your period, ditch the panties or wear something airy to allow your intimate area breathe. Wearing tight undies/panties to sleep is a way to breed bacteria which ends up causing infections.

5. Using perfumes (or douches and creams)

Spraying perfumes directly or even close to the vagina (even on the panties) is harmful to it. Spraying cologne on the area can cause adverse reactions, so keep perfumes totally away from the pubic area, do not douche or use scented creams on the area as well.