To not wash the inside of my vagina?

[Secretname123]

First AIBU so please be nice! There is a huge debate going on on twitter where people are horrified that some women wear tampons in the shower (it seems to be the majority of the many women responding to the tweets who are horrified). They claim it’s unsanitary because then you can’t wash inside your vagina. I thought we weren’t supposed to do this? I’m sure I had this drummed into me as a child. I never have and have never had an infection. Have I been doing it wrong all these years?!

Genuine sincerity on my part! 🤣

Um, I certainly DON'T introduce water that's run from my bum crack into my vagina! How on earth do you think I'm built??

Ok, I do see I'm flying in the face of most good MNers. I'm not aware of any problems and I do like to gently swill round (tiny bits of loo paper, clots or stringy bits from my period if that's what's happening, etc) but will bear this in mind.

I use warm water and Simple (unperfumed) soap on my vulva though and I am NOT going to stop!

If you’re getting loo roll inside your vagina, please see a doctor immediately.

I literally power wash mine. I use nothing but soap on it, industrial strength stuff. I swill a bit of soap about in there, crank up the shower and rinse.

Then I repeat.

No problems.

Everything down there needs a good scrub.

Obviously men who suggested this.

Wow. No OP, you are exactly right to leave your vage alone for cleaning purposes. It is self cleaning and the introduction of soap etc would disruptive the delicate microbiome and likely cause problems. Of course washing the external, surrounding areas is desirable.
If people are stupid enough to start cleaning up there, good luck to them but my internal lady bits are in excellent shape just left alone.

But why do you feel you need to wash that orifice but not others? Why in particular do you feel your vagina is dirty enough to need swilling around with water, but not your rectum?

Yes this! Am worried where she is putting her tampon now as its clearly not the vagina! Unless of course you jet wash then the tampon might get a little damp...🙄

I use Sanex shower gel externally which is unscented and safe. I would not just wash with water as I think that's pretty unhygienic!

Me too!

My oven contains several roasting trays and a huge cast iron casserole dish. I'd never get that lot up my foof.

If you’re getting loo roll inside your vagina, please see a doctor immediately.

It's not such a wild/dangerous thing to happen.
Bit of tissue gets caught during regular loo trip, travels into vagina. Then (as per the very topic under discussion) it'll just get ejected. Bits of stuff get up there all the time (stray bit of cotton from your pants, a bit of a tampon applicator, bit of finger nail/skin). A bit like our nose.

nb please erase the mental image of my vagina being one step away from the municipal recycling centre!

Speechless. Are these people total strangers to their very own bodies ? Or maybe confused between vulva and vagina ?

I guess we're all different... I've definitely had waterlogged tampons after a bath or swim.

Eh I had no idea this was a thing! Eyes opened!

This is what happens when we teach our daughters about their flower or their mini or their mary or whatever the fuck we're going with these days.
Grown women who don't know the difference between the vulva and the vagina when it comes to what needs washing.

If you can strip naked and see it in the mirror - wash it with soap. If it grows hair - wash it with soap. If you can pierce it - wash it with soap. If you can pull it open and closed and pretend it's a mouth and it's singing you a song - wash it with soap (and maybe book yourself in somewhere). If you need to shine a torch up it to see what's at the end - don't wash it with soap.

Kinda worried about what all these women are doing to think their fanny needs swilling out every day 😂 it's not a washing up bowl 🤦

Well that's an unnecessarily defeatist attitude.

Ok, you know what? please sod off. You cannot possibly know the toilet habits of every woman on MN. I may wipe slightly differently than you. I might have (entirely normal to me) a lot of discharge fluid at certain times of my cycle that I prefer to swab away before I get a damp gusset. I also have relatively low-pressure peeing (I'm sure I'm not the only one) so unless I'm desperate for a pee, it does sometimes dribble out sideways a bit and flows through my labia. GP, last time I had a smear and was therefore discussing my fanny topography, was all very 'meh' about that. WOMEN ARE NOT ALL THE SAME. I happen to be a 50 year old and very tired woman on HRT with slightly saggy bits and a partial prolapse. Have you considered that wiping and washing might be a bit different for me than for your own fragrant bits?

There is a fuck of a LOT of sneery, goady bullying on this thread in the guise of 'educating' women about their own bodies. Stop. It.

Respectfully, I'm not getting into a dispute with someone over the ins and outs (excuse the pun!) of washing down there.

People can do what they like. I personally cannot imagine having a bath or shower wearing a tampon. As a bare minimum, I'd want some water to get there.

I've never had thrush, BV or anything else for that matter.

I have just pee'd myself laughing at this!!! Need a foof jet wash now!!! But you're spot on with that! Bloody brilliant!!! 🤣🤣🤣👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

100%

I can see that you’re upset but I can’t let that go. I’m a few years older than you and otherwise in exactly the same position you’ve described, but I haven’t entirely lost my sense of humour.

What I and others have been trying to do here is dispel some clear misconceptions and stop women feeling they have to wash bits of themselves which shouldn’t be washed simply because misogyny has told them to be ashamed and afraid. The number of ill informed replies here shows how necessary it is. If you’re happy with what you do to keep clean, carry on! I’ve never changed anything about myself simply because there was a disagreement about how it should be done on an anonymous forum, so don’t feel you have to.

Yes, douching is completely unnecessary.

There are many, many women who believe the lies of purveyors of douch products and are vulnerable to the general misogyny of the surrounding culture that tells them female reproductive organs and genitalia are disgusting and unclean.

In many cases, the practice of douching is passed down through generations from the time of the dawn of advertising, when the misogyny was unabashed. Look up some old ads aimed at women. They're shocking.

Was the "advice" to see a doctor genuinely helpful in the spirit of education or just being sarky? I can see why it upset that poster as it seemed sneery or sarky to me.