Cleaning vagina with soap may cause infectious diseases, experts warn

Gynecologists have warned women against using soaps to clean their vaginas, noting that using soap to wash it can elevate the pH level and encourage the growth of infectious diseases.

A pH level is a measure of how acidic or basic a substance or solution is.

The gynaecologists stressed that the vagina is capable of cleaning itself with the aid of natural body secretions and thus should not be cleansed with soap.

According to the experts, the vagina has an acidic environment inside which helps to maintain a microbiome of good bacteria in the body, stressing that using soap to wash it can encourage the growth of infectious diseases and other health problems.

Infectious diseases, experts say, are disorders caused by organisms — such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites.

While noting that the skin around the vagina is more sensitive and different from the rest of the body, the experts added that soaps can be too harsh for the region, and eventually cause irritation.

The experts, a professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Prof. Olwarotimi Akinola, and another gynecologist, Dr. Akinsola Akinde, said using fragrant chemical products can aggravate vaginal odour and trigger infections.

Prof. Akinola explained that using soap to wash the vagina would neutralise the acid and germs meant to protect the vagina’s environment.

He said, “The vagina could sanitise itself. It has chemicals that it secretes which will give it an acid environment that discourages some germs from ascending through the vagina. So, when you use soap to wash it, you might be neutralising that acid, and when you do that, you expose that person to injury, and frequent infection and the place can dry up and there can be injuries.

“Just clean it with water and without soap. It is when you use soap to clean it over some time that you will know that there can be a colonisation of the vagina with different germs.”

Women, Dr. Akinde stressed, should use only water to wash the vagina to avoid bruises and infections.

He explained, “What do they want to achieve by washing with soap? Just wash with water. That’s all because there is bacterial floral in the vagina. It is a normal bacteria present in the vagina of most women, and it helps to maintain the acidity of the vagina. It’s that acidity that prevents women from having infections.

“Just wash with ordinary water, and you don’t need to bathe it with any solution. But if a patient discovers she has a problem with the vagina, such a person will need to consult a doctor who will make sure all the necessary diagnosis and treatments are done to treat whatever infection that is there.”