I would like to know your take on vaginal showers.
I don’t have an STD, but I met a male gynecologist who recommends vaginal showers on a daily basis (by vaginal showers he means only with lukewarm water, nothing more).
His arguments go around the idea that the way we usually brush our teeth is the same way we should perform vaginal showers.
I’m asking this because I noticed a decreased level of feeling comfortable as a female — compared to before taking vaginal showers and feeling more dry, in a sense, and not moist enough, and therefore comfortable in my own skin.
“Vaginal steams” is the closest thing I have heard to this — they were recently in the news because Gwyneth Paltrow mentioned them — but warm water in the vagina is generally not recommended by most vulvovaginal doctors I know, who have concerns about the warm water causing vaginal dryness (as mentioned).
Most vulvovaginal health experts I know simply recommend regular showering or bathing — NOT vaginal showers or steams, and not even douching.
The vagina and vulva are sensitive and don’t require extra cleaning.
Vaginal discharge helps to clean out the vagina, and I am surprised a gynecologist recommended extra cleaning. I would recommend getting a second opinion from another healthcare provider.
You might try making an appointment with a female gynecologist, as some research suggests that male physicians see some things as more problematic about women’s bodies compared to female physicians, who may often see these same things as “normal” (that’s not to say there aren’t many fantastic male gynecologists — there absolutely are and I have personally had great clinical care from both men and women).
For more information on vulvar and vaginal health, check out “Read My Lips: A Complete Guide to the Vagina and Vulva” or “The V Book.”
Kinsey Confidential is a collaboration of the Kinsey Institute and the IU School of Public Health. Dr. Debby Herbenick is an associate professor at IU and author of six books about sex including “The Coregasm Workout” and “Sex Made Easy.” Find our blog and archived Q&A at kinseyconfidential.org. Follow Dr. Herbenick on Twitter @DebbyHerbenick and Kinsey Confidential at @KinseyCon.
