Herballove - Too Hot To Handle: Water Temperature Can Chafe the Vagina

Too Hot To Handle: Water Temperature Can Chafe the Vagina

Marie works as a waitress for a popular steakhouse. On any given night, she serves as many as 50 people. After taking orders, delivering food, clearing plates and stacking clean dishes, she goes home and takes a hot shower. The scalding water clears her head and relaxes tired muscles, but the water also dries her vagina, an issue that causes stinging abrasions. “The abrasions make sex impossible,” Marie explains. “But even when they’re not present, the skin around my vagina remains chaffed. When I’m at work, it hurts to walk.”

Hurting the Skin Without Knowing The Damage

Few people realize that water acts as a drying agent for the skin. Skin consists of epidermal lipids that form a barrier to contain moisture and to protect against damage. But lipids are fragile and can be lost during routine activities like bathing and scratching. Women often take careful steps to tend the skin on their arms, legs and faces, but they tend to forget the fragile nature of the vagina.

The opening of the vagina is protected by two lips of fatty tissues. During hot showers, these lips lose their lipid barriers, which maintain moisture. This loss of moisture gives way to abrasions that can bleed and cause skin infections. Abrasions also preclude a woman from comfortably enjoying sex, walking, exercising and sitting – like Marie.

Meanwhile, a loss of moisture causes the vaginal canal to undergo changes to its natural environment. The vagina relies on moisture not only for its overall health, but also for its tissue strength. Moisture eliminates harmful toxins and keeps beneficial and unbeneficial bacteria balanced within the vagina. The absence of moisture can therefore lead to infection and brittle tissues.

Characterizing Vaginal Dryness

A woman knows when she has vaginal dryness. The vagina feels not only dehydrated both internally and externally, but the skin becomes tender and itchy. Dryness interferes with vaginal lubrication, which leaves a woman vulnerable to skin tears and inflammation of vaginal walls.

A healthy vagina contains mucous membranes that keep it plump and moist. Estrogen helps prompt these membranes to produce lubrication and to combat dryness. It is therefore safe to say that bathing with hot water interferes with the vagina’s natural ability to maintain itself.

Be Mindful of Other Habits

But water temperature is only one facet to consider. Long showers also break down the lipid barrier of the skin. Water quality can be equally damaging; sink water is rich in minerals that can be found in most houses throughout the United States. Minerals can sound beneficial, but they have an alkaline pH level that harms skin. Alkalinity creates a film on the skin that causes dryness.

Because the vagina is self-sustaining, it does not need to be washed—at least internally. For external cleansing, use only warm water and gentle soap on the vaginal lips. Drink six to 10 glasses of water each day to improve natural lubrication, and eat foods with high phytoestrogen contents – for instance, lentils, flaxseed and chickpeas. A botanical formula can also correct vaginal dryness and improve tissue elasticity.

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GuideID: 61989

Guide Type: Conocimiento

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