To not want nor agree with fucking douching or moisturising MY OWN Vag.

[frogslegs35]

I can't go anywhere nor watch TV without being reminded that I 'Should' be doing one of/both and I'm getting slightly pissed off with this severely outdated information.
Dr's recommend it here Half of pharmacies are taken up with feminine products such as Provag gel - moisturiser for your vagina (WTAF?) and floraVag - to purify your vagina I'm getting leaflets in the mailbox and even got given one on a visit to the cinema ffs!
Final straw today was in the pharmacy - the assistant asked if I'd like to buy some on promotion so I told her I didn't use it and didn't want to cause myself thrush and she looked at me like I'd just told her I ate newborn babies
If my translation of language would have allowed I'd have also informed her that my own Gynaecologist and GP both advise against using anything other than gentle soap on the outside - so thank you very much but my vag is capable of cleaning itself, is clean and hygenic, doesn't smell and I manage perfectly well without FloraVag.
Rant over

[KateCroydon]

The NHS recommend femfresh? Really? Find that hard to believe. Evidence?

[boardingschoolbaby]

So shall we set up our own company and start marketing "munchable man" ?
On a more serious note I think that these things can have their place for a minority of people. I've never used them, but I have taken probiotics after antibiotics and some of these products are similar in nature to that aren't they? But yes, if all is well down there then there is absolutely no need to use anything other than water, and to use anything else does put you at risk of upsetting the natural flora and balance. As someone with particularly sensitive skin everywhere on my body the prospect of the "fresheners" has my skin shriveling just thinking about it!

[IAmNotAMindReader]

www.amazon.co.uk/ensuring-hygiene-Unwanted-Lubricants-Condoms/dp/B0063535L2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

It has begun

[curlew]

All the NHS says is to avoid using vaginal deodorants, scented shower gel and so on. I can't find any "science bit" abou pH.

I hate the way things are marketed to women, I really do.

[frogslegs35]

After trying everything to get rid of thrush and after a particular bad episode - I looked to natural sources, after trawling the net for success stories my choices were narrowed down to:

A) Popping a half clove of fresh garlic inside
or
B) A tampon worn overnight soaked in diluted Tea Tree oil. You can also use the mixture to bathe any sore outside area's.
I went for B (I'd never look at garlic again in the same way) and not only was I completely clear in 3 days but the itch stopped almost immediately too.

[TheBigJessie]

I was just pointing out that ordinary shower gel was obviously not guaranteed to cause thrush.

But hey, if you want to get offended and sneer at my "superior biochemistry", sure.

[TheBigJessie]

By the way, in my parallel world, all hormonal contraception so far has caused morning sickness, and I'm now limited to only one type for health reasons, which causes the worst morning nausea of the lot. (I think I may have been on the hyperemesis spectrum while I was actually pregnant, too.)

Does that make it less sickening that I haven't had thrush yet? I also have some weird allergies.

[KirjavaTheCorpse]

Never had thrush. Wash down there with my usual bodywash.

Do I have a super resilient fanjo?

[squoosh]

I've never had thrush and I've never used soap on my fanjo.

Also I've been complimented on its scent and flavour by more than one gentleman caller.

[FrigginRexManningDay]

Again you are being obtuse heart. No where did I say that San pro pushers invented thrush.

So you carry on.

[DuckToWater]

I got thrush from taking the pill and antibiotics.

Extra lubricant for sex can be quite fun, whether you need it or not. But totally agree on vag deodorant.

[TheBigJessie]

Presumably? Just to check, are you allergic to apples, cherries or obstetric cholestasis medication? Sensitivities to hormonal contraception? I'm trying to find the common denominator here.

Oh, I have some neurological quirks/disabilities. I'm fairly certain they're genetic. Could link with genetic resilience to thrush?

[KirjavaTheCorpse]

Nah my mum was constantly clutching a tube of canesten, don't think my resilience is genetic. I'm probably just well 'ard.

[festered]

I moisturise the vulva skin but not my actual vag lol

[TheBigJessie]

I briefly considered asking my mother as part of my investigation, but then I imagined how the conversation would actually go.

I haven't forgotten the talk about how the pill caused [insert here] and sex was disgusting and she wished she'd realised that when she was my age. Etc.

[Minifingers]

"minifingers cngratulations on reaching 47 without getting thrush"

I had thrush in pregnancy. I stopped eating sugar, yeast and refined carbohydrates and it went away.

If it had continued to trouble me I would have consulted a doctor. Who would NOT have advised me to use a commercial fanny wash on my itchy bits.

[hardboiledpossum]

I got bacterial vaginosis from fem fresh. the gynacologist told me to only use water.

[Minifingers]

"femfresh or own brand equivalents are the same ph as vagina and thus clean without disrupting natural ph"

But what exactly is up there that shouldn't be, that needs washing away with some sort of soap? If you have thrush you need to address why that is, not be shoving soap in there to wash away the discharge, no matter how PH neutral the soap is.

[KirjavaTheCorpse]

I'll send you the address to claim your Super Vag Bagde, Pennie.

[FryOneFatManic]

Water is ph neutral, best thing to use. I don't use anything else.

[valiumredhead]

hearts I'm with you I'm a woman of a certain age , ahem, and also use it because it's not harsh and doesn't irritate me.

[SaucyJack]

Mine's a bit whiffy these days. Might get some fragrance for it.

Or I could just stop pissing myself forty times a day