Can I wash my vulva during menstruation?

The female vulva and inner vulva are different. The vulva is the area that often comes into contact with the outside air, so if the vulva is infected with bacteria, it can easily affect the female inner vulva. Especially when women are menstruating, I believe many women have heard that they cannot take a bath during menstruation because it can easily cause vaginal infection. However, during menstruation, women feel very uncomfortable due to bleeding from the lower body, so they need to wash it. So, can the vulva be washed during menstruation?

You can wash the vulva during menstruation, but not the vagina. Keep the vulva clean during menstruation and wash it with warm water once a day.

Sexual intercourse is prohibited during menstruation to avoid infection and other adverse consequences; sanitary napkins used during menstruation should be clean and changed frequently to prevent infection; you should not take a bath in a tub during menstruation, but take a shower to avoid unclean water entering the vagina and causing infection; you should avoid strenuous exercise during menstruation, such as long-distance running, swimming, etc., and you should also avoid excessive physical labor.

Precautions during menstruation

1. Do not have sex

During menstruation, the cervix is ​​slightly open. Sexual intercourse during menstruation can easily bring bacteria from the vulva and perineum into the vagina, cervix, and even into the uterus, causing endometritis or acute adnexitis and pelvic peritonitis. In addition, sexual intercourse during menstruation may also cause the shed endometrium to flow back into the pelvic cavity and cause endometriosis. The above symptoms may cause increased menstrual bleeding, prolonged menstrual period, dysmenorrhea and other consequences.

2. Avoid strenuous exercise

It is not absolutely forbidden to exercise during menstruation, but strenuous exercise such as high jumping and running should be avoided as much as possible, otherwise it will aggravate the discomfort during menstruation, such as back pain, and even cause dysmenorrhea and menstrual disorders. Swimming during menstruation should be avoided because the cervix is ​​slightly open during menstruation, making it easy for bacteria to invade the uterine cavity, increasing the chance of infection and causing various gynecological inflammations. Therefore, do not swim during menstruation.

3. Avoid eating raw, cold or overly salty food

Eating raw or cold food or drinking cold drinks during menstruation will affect the contraction of the uterus, causing poor menstrual blood discharge and leading to problems such as dysmenorrhea. In addition, during menstruation, many women tend to become irritable and anxious due to the imbalance of estrogen and progesterone, water and sodium retention, and excessive antidiuretic hormone. Eating too much salty food will aggravate water and sodium retention, leading to problems such as headaches and edema.

4. Avoid drinking alcohol, strong tea or coffee

During menstruation, the proportion of alcohol-degrading enzymes in women's bodies decreases, and their ability to break down alcohol also decreases accordingly. Drinking a lot at this time not only makes you drunk more easily than usual, but the alcohol is also difficult to excrete and stays in the body, causing harm. Strong tea and coffee contain high levels of caffeine, which can easily lead to dysmenorrhea, prolonged menstruation or excessive bleeding. At the same time, the tannic acid in tea combines with the iron in food in the intestines, thereby affecting iron absorption and causing anemia and other problems.

5. It is not advisable to take blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs

During menstruation, you should be careful when using blood-activating and blood-stasis-removing drugs, otherwise it will easily increase the amount of menstrual blood, and in severe cases even cause problems such as heavy menstrual bleeding or anemia.

6. It is not advisable to take a bath or hot spring bath

Because the cervix is ​​slightly open during menstruation, if the lower body is soaked in water, the pathogenic bacteria in the water can enter the uterine cavity through the vagina and cause inflammation. In addition, the cervix is ​​not completely closed within three days after the end of menstruation, so it is not advisable to take a bath during this period.

7. Don’t beat your waist or pull out your teeth

Many women experience back pain during menstruation and often beat their waists out of habit to relieve the symptoms. The vibration stimulation caused by beating the waist during menstruation is not conducive to the repair of the endometrium. It will also cause further congestion and accelerated blood flow in the pelvic cavity, resulting in increased menstrual volume, menorrhagia or prolonged menstruation. If you still have back pain after your period ends, you may have gynecological diseases such as pelvic inflammatory disease and cervicitis. It is recommended that you seek medical diagnosis.

Tooth extraction is not recommended during menstruation. In order to allow menstrual blood to be discharged smoothly, the number of platelets in a woman's body will decrease, so the blood coagulation ability is lower than usual. Tooth extraction at this time will cause more bleeding, easily lead to infection, and make the wound difficult to heal.

8. Don’t wear tight clothes

If you wear tight pants during menstruation, the capillaries in the relevant parts will be compressed, which will affect blood microcirculation and cause local edema. In addition, tight pants will increase perineal friction and easily cause perineal inflammation. It is recommended to wear breathable and moisture-absorbent cotton underwear during menstruation, and to wear loose clothing as much as possible.

9. Don’t sing loudly

Due to endocrine influences, many women will feel bad during their menstrual period, and some women may choose to go to KTV to vent. However, it is often not advisable to sing loudly during menstruation, because singing loudly during menstruation can easily cause congestion and edema of the vocal cord capillaries, make the vocal cords brittle, and easily cause the capillaries of the vocal cords to rupture, thus causing hoarseness or even loss of voice.