Most of us are aware of personal care but perineal care may be a new term for us. An aspect of personal care is perineal care. Taking care of the vaginal and rectal regions of the body is known as perineal care. To avoid infections and abnormal vaginal discharge, proper self-care of the intimate areas is required. Let’s look in detail at the perineal care procedures to follow and certain things to avoid in this blog.
Why perineal care is needed?
Maintaining your body’s vaginal ecosystem through good perineal care is important. To have good reproductive health, proper perineal care is necessary. The perineum is the region that lies between the anus and the opening of the vagina. By taking care of this area, we can avoid infection, skin irritability, and bad odor.
Action steps for good perineal hygiene
It is mandatory to perform perineal care at least once everyday. It should be performed more often in cases of vaginal discharge. Here are some guidelines for keeping your perineum clean.
*The most common and basic perineal care practices involve front-to-back washing during baths. Separately, wash your anus and vagina.
*Use lukewarm water to get a better clean.
*Use gentle, unscented soaps.
*Another factor in preventing infection is the clothing we wear. Microbe growth can be prevented by wearing loose cotton clothing.
*Practice safe sex.
*The ecosystem of the body is preserved by a well-balanced diet. Try creating a routine of eating probiotic-rich foods (such as yoghurt, cheese, lassi, pickles, etc.). These foods safeguard you by preventing dangerous microorganisms from getting out of control.
*Skin rashes, urinary tract infections, and vaginal infections can all be brought on by contaminated menstrual blood. Therefore, to maintain good hygiene, change your sanitary napkins every 4 to 6 hours.
Things to be avoided:
You may get a better outcome with just a small change. For better perineal care,there are certain actions we should avoid.
Avoid using Dettols
There is a common misconception among women that using Dettol will clean our intimate areas effectively since it helps to destroy bacteria. The expert’s recommendation is to stay away from using Dettol and hard soaps because the skin over there will be extremely sensitive.
Avoid wearing tight clothes
Synthetic fabric tight clothing might make you sweat, which reduces airflow. The growth of bacteria and yeast is favored by an excessive moisture content, which leads to infection.
Avoid vaginal douching
The word “douch” means “wash” in French. Washing the vagina with a liquid solution is known as vaginal douching. This process disturbs the balance of bacteria in the vagina thereby increasing the risk of infection.
Usage level of sanitizing gel
For cleaning the perineum, sanitizing gel can be used to a certain level. The overuse of sanitizing gel may irritate the skin. Consequently, there is a good chance of developing a skin infection.
To sum up
Make time to take care of yourself in your busy life. Most of the complications are treated with self-love and self-care. Therefore, practice good personal and perineal care to have a healthy lifestyle.