Intimate hygiene in girls

[cleanandfresh]

Yeah I know crap title and I apologise in advance for "twee" terms BUT I am genuinely a bit confused about cleaning my little girl's "bits" (and I am calling them bits for brevity's sake rather than getting into labia major and minoria etc...)

So my girl is nearly 3 and she has a bath before bedtime most nights (except Fridays). I know that soap is not a good thing for the intimate regions so I don't get her to soap there but do remind her to "swish her twinkle" (yeah shoot me!) along with swishing her tummy and legs etc.

I have noticed these past few days that she has white, creamy deposits in the folds and around the top of her clitoral hood and wondered whether I should be trying to wash these away. She's been ferreting around this area occasionally and has said "look it's creamy" but it doesn't seem to bother her. The other day she was pretending to be a baby and have her nappy changed so I took the opportunity to get some cotton wool and try to really clean in this area but she really didn't like me doing it and I must admit it didn't feel right.

I guess I worry about thrush but I don't think it is and then I worry about messing about where I should just leave well alone. But then I worry about being too coy and maybe I should be actively encouraging her to "clean" there a bit more. I know on Mumsnet there is a small sector that think any female scent or secretions should be disinfected away and I don't want to fall into that trap - but I do want to keep my daughter healthy and instill a healthy, positive attitude towards her genitalia. I always use the words beautiful and fresh in relation to her body as in my own childhood I was very much given a negative impression of that area of my body.

Mothers of girls please help me out here

Even though Noel hasn't beeen exactly complimentary up thread about the group of posters in which presumably I was included, I do have to second what she said.

Agree or not, I didn't see anything in her post that would warrant deletion.

Have received email from Rebecca at MN towers. Apparently it's OK to accuse the OP of being a pervert, a troll, a dirty old man getting off on discussing little girl's genitalia but it is a "personal insult" to point out that someone on this thread can be a bully at times.

This thread is so bizarre. I simply cannot believe that not a single apology has been heart-felt...all seem to carry the proviso "yeah, but it was YOUR post that made us react in this manner, so it's obviously not our responsibility, so it's all your fault anyway".

I have been uneasy with the general tone of MN for a good few months now, but this is the last straw. If I have to preview any query/post to see if it fits with MN's approved way of speaking, then I'm buggered if I'm coming here with sensitive issues! People seem to forget there are real people behind the words on the screen, with real feelings.

It's time MN and I went on a break.

I?ve been deliberating whether or not to post all afternoon. It seemed a bit late to make an apology (busy weekend), but I just couldn?t leave things without saying sorry to the OP.

I?d first like to offer my sincere apologies to cleanandfresh for making such a terrible and inaccurate accusation. I made a judgment based on the information I read and I was clearly wrong. At the time, I genuinely thought your post was a fake and therefore posted my suspicion, believing that you (in my mind being an imposter) would simply leave the site (I too left the thread at this point). Of course your post was genuine and your question was completely valid and you were completely right to defend your position as an honest mother with a very real concern. I am sorry if my comments upset you, I will think twice before jumping to any conclusions in the future.

Now, to the name callers that have posted insults; calling someone a pervert for incorrectly thinking the OP was a pervert is a complete paradox. Some of the language and insults that have been thrown about have been totally unnecessary. I made an incorrect judgment and for that I am sorry, however the sanctimonious nonsense and vicious name calling has been taken a step too far by some.

Hi,

It sounds like your girl has a mild thrush. Nothing to worry about just take her to see the GP. And may I add that you should NEVER EVER use soap for this part of the body. Also: please DO NOT clean the the vagina with lots of water. This area has a very fragile flora and its ph-value is between 5 and 4. Water on the other hand has a ph-value of around 7 and would therefore do more harm than good.

Most important is to show her the right way to wipe(from front to back and not the other way).

Everything that can be tendered as advice against douching for adult women can be said about hygiene for little girls.

Hi all,
I think this thread is a good example of why our policy on Trolls is as it is. We do ask that people contact us rather than post their suspicions for the very reason that they could be wrong and because Mumsnet ought to be a place where people can post awkward, embarrassing stuff if they need help.

If folks shout "troll" every time anything looks a bit suspicious then the trolls are achieving exactly what they intended. Far better to contact us and then if your suspicions turn out to be unfounded, no one gets hurt.

Our troll policy is linked to from the Talk home page as well as AIBU but we'll look at putting that link up on more pages.
Cheers to all those who did report their suspicions - we promise always to take them seriously.

Just want to say thank you for your apology walkingonair. I'm glad you decided to post it.