In what is the first known study it was revealed that women who use feminine hygiene products are 3 times more likely to experience some form of vaginal infection, and in certains cases it may even be when purchasing an item to address an existing concern.
This study surveyed 1,500 women about their vaginal health practices, products, and how often problems were experienced, establishing baseline of what women do in regards to vaginal health to identify concerning correlations which can be investigated by researchers.
Research shows that douching can have negative impacts, but there is little known on the dozens of other feminine hygiene products available such as anti-itch creams, lubricants, moisturizers, and feminine wipes.
Certain products were connected to specific infections, findings do not establish whether the products are causing the infections or the products are being used attempting to address an infection. Researchers say that the results provided evidence of strong correlations supporting need for further research.
Women who used gel sanitizers were found to be 20 times more likely to have a bacterial infection, and 8 times more likely to have a yeast infection.
Women who used feminine washes or gels were found to be 2.5 times more likely to have urinary tract infections, and 3.5 times more likely to have bacterial infections.
Women who used feminine wipes were 2 times as likely to have urinary tract infections.
Women using moisturizers or lubricants were 2.5 times more likely to have yeast infections.
Research has linked the disruption of vaginal microbial systems to the health problems, as these products prevent growth of healthy bacteria needed to fight off infection.
Cervical cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, preterm and ectopic pregnancies, reduced fertility, bacterial and sexually transmitted infections are some of the problems that can be related to abnormal vaginal microbiome.
In North America feminine vaginal hygiene products are an estimated $2 billion industry. This study found that women who use these products are not aware of potential health concerns that can be linked to theses products, believing that they will just make them feel clean and fresh. Today’s society is media driven unfortunately, and has unjustly represented female genitalia as unclean, with marketing of these types of products been shown as something that is required to obtain the ideal which is contributing to the problem, as it makes these products appear to be needed rather than a choice. Reality is these products carry potential health risks and are not needed in the vast majority of cases.
