From vaginal discharge to period pain and thrush, it’s important for women to understand what their vagina is telling them about their health.
Some of us are attuned to our vaginas and can recognise important changes that help monitor our overall wellness, but for many of us listening to our vagina sounds, umm … unusual!
So, why are we so hesitant to listen to what this part of our body is telling us about our health? Because often conversations on vaginal health are deemed embarrassing or taboo.
At Kolorex we’re here to help start the much-needed dialogue with our vaginas.
We need to start listening to our bodies. Yes, listening – because our vagina talks. It gives us many clues that reveal how our complex body works.
Here are some ways our vagina can reflect our health and wellbeing:
1. Understanding your vaginal discharge
Those stains on your undies? That’s our beautiful discharge – our vagina’s genius self-cleansing routine. That right, vagina’s clean themselves.
Vaginal discharge can vary in texture, colour and smell throughout your menstrual cycle. And just how it changes can vary from one person to another.
Today, it might be white, creamy or milky. But tomorrow, it might be clear, slippery and similar to a raw egg white.
It’s important to keep track of your normal.
But if your discharge is yellow, grey or green, has a curd-like consistency or resembles cottage cheese or has an unusual odour then it’s time to seek advice of a health professional. Common causes could be thrush or bacterial infection so it’s always best to get this checked out.
2. Embrace your smell
Vagina’s naturally emit a musky scent and like our vaginal discharge, our smell can differ every day so embrace your unique smell.
Douching or a scented soaps and washes might sound like a good idea but they can throw our sensitive vaginal ecosystem out of balance – which can make you prone to infection.
If you feel the need to wash use pH balanced washes specifically formulated for the vulva, and no, you don’t need to wash inside the vagina – it will clean itself naturally.
However, if that musky smell starts to smell fishy this could be a sign of bacterial vaginosis so it’s best to talk to your doctor.
3. Don’t ignore vaginal itching
We often ignore itching down there. But if you’ve got an itch that’s disrupting your day or disturbing your rest – maybe there’s an underlying issue. Especially if it’s accompanied by unusual discharge and odour.
In a survey carried out by Kolorex of 819 women who had suffered thrush in the last 5 years, almost 80% experienced vaginal itching and two out three women told us vaginal itching is what caused them the most difficulty.
4. Vaginal discomfort is not ok
For many of us we just put up with period pain but for some women, their period pains are extreme enough to make getting out of bed impossible. If this is impacting on your quality of life, it’s important to get it checked out as it could be a warning of conditions like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
5. Do you know your vulva from your vagina?
That’s right, we need to know the difference.
The vulva is all the external organs found on or around your pubic bone while the vagina is the inner muscular canal that connects the uterus to your vulva and also houses menstrual blood flow.
The skin of the vulva is ultra-sensitive so it’s important to recognise unusual changes to this area.
Heat or moisture triggered redness and inflammation could be an indication of vulva dermatitis.
Our vulva can suffer eczema and psoriasis too, which presents as dry, scaly and cracked skin which is unbearably itchy.
Don’t be shy if you think you are suffering from any of these, again just talk to your GP.
It’s important to love your lady bits
Listen to what your vagina is telling you and treat your vaginal health like any other part of your body.
If you had sore throat, you wouldn’t ignore it or be shy to talk to someone about it.
Kolorex is leading the charge in getting women everywhere to have frank, honest conversations about their vaginal health.
Through communication and destigmatisation, we can tackle the taboo. So, show your lady bits a little love today #LoveYourLadyBits.