I know I’m late but not too late to wish you all my lovely pals a very happy, healthy, and happiness filled New Year 2017. I’m so excited to be spending another year with you and I’m sure with your constant love and support this year is going to be a great one too.

One of my New Year resolutions – talk about issues concerning women that no one likes to speak about such as vaginal health and hygiene. Isn’t it strange we never get tired of discussing various beauty and health issues, celebrate women’s health week every year, campaign for their heart health and breast cancer from time to time each year but one important aspect of women’s health and beauty we often tend to ignore is feminine hygiene.

It is proven that vaginal health and hygiene is as important to a woman’s overall sense of well-being as any other health or beauty concern. Yet we tend to avoid talking about it in our efforts to keep it all ‘hush hush’ mainly due to the stigma and taboo attached.

And in doing so, we forget to take proper care of this organ, which might lead to various diseases and complications. No wonder, many women suffer from one or the other kind of vaginal infection at some point in their lives, the most common being vaginal dryness, excessive discharge, vaginitis, along with yeast, bacterial, and urinary tract infections.

As per a survey of Gynecologists conducted by Women Health Organization, Gynecologists admitted that 8 out of 10 woman patients visiting the OPD are found to be suffering with some kind of vaginal infection. This brings us to the gravity of the matter.

Since vaginal infections not only affect the quality of life of a woman by causing unpleasant odor, irritation, and itching but can also lead to grave complications such as infertility, disease, cancer and other health issues, it is highly important to educate yourself on vaginal health and maintain proper feminine hygiene habits.

Here are nine simple rules concerning your lady parts, which many women do not know about and which you must adopt to keep your vagina healthy and fresh always:

9 Rules to a Healthy and Fresh Vagina

1. Never disturb the natural pH level of vagina:

Vagina is a self cleansing organ that keeps itself safe from bacteria and infections by maintaining an optimum temperature and moisture with a specific pH balance. However, using harsh soaps and chemicals can disturb this natural pH level thereby causing constant irritation and infections.

To maintain this pH level avoid all kinds of soaps and use only plain water or specially formulated feminine hygiene wash like Everteen natural intimate wash to keep your lady parts clean and healthy. Made from all natural ingredients, Everteen Intimate Wash helps in maintaining vaginal pH balance and provides relief from vaginal itching, irritation and unnatural odor.

2. Avoid wearing tight clothes:

Wearing tight inners or those made from synthetic fabrics can reduce air and blood circulation causing sweating and irritation thereby putting you at higher risk for vaginal infection. As far as possible try to wear properly fitting, breathable innerwear made from cotton fabric.

3. Change your sanitary napkin every 5-7 hours:

It is common sense to change your pads regularly during period. Not changing your sanitary pad or tampon for 9 hours would not only lead to rashes and bad odor but can also put you at great risk for infections and other health concerns.

4. Always keep your lady parts clean and dry:

Vaginal discharge is a common problem among women. Wet and sweaty vaginas over a long period of time not only feel uncomfortable and itchy but are also breeding ground for various infections. Make sure to clean and dry your lady parts properly after using washroom and use a good quality panty liner like Everteen daily panty liners for the protection and leakage of vaginal discharge.

5. Avoid tampons and ultra-thin sanitary napkins:

No matter how easy tampons and ultra-thin sanitary pads have made our lives, they have also become a silent threat over the years, which we women often neglect and are ignorant about. Recent studies have shown that Rayon, which is used to increase the absorbing capacity of pads and tampons, contains a chemical called Dioxin that can cause abnormal tissue growth in the reproductive organs.

The best way to avoid all kinds of health risks from menstrual hygiene is to use cotton based sanitary napkins with cotton being the most skin friendly material on earth. Everteen cotton Sanitary Napkins are high quality and premium sanitary napkins that are made of 100% cotton top sheet.

They not only provide instant dryness and soft feel but also contain breathable bottom layer which allows air to circulate, eliminates moisture & heat.

6. Be wary of using public toilets:

One of the major causes of vaginal infections among women is use of public toilets. Whether you are travelling, working in office or shopping in mall, it’s unavoidable to use public washrooms, which are not hygienic enough.

Sitting on a toilet seat where somebody else was sitting just before you create an infection pro environment. And the best way to protect oneself from infection in such a case is to use an anti bacterial wipe after urination.

Everteen intimate hygiene wipes are 100% natural & bio-degradable wipes that are helpful in protecting against vaginal infection and discomforts for women on the go.

7. Keep your pubes clean and hair free:

Remove or trim your pubic hair regularly to avoid unpleasant odors and infection.  To extent possible, avoid using razors and chemical based depilatory creams but if you still need to then always use a new blade or hair remover specially formulated to remove hair around intimate area.

Everteen Bikini Line hair Remover is soft & gentle to skin and it effectively removes bikini line hair without any skin irritation or itching.

8. Practice safe sexual hygiene:

Body fluids and particles from condom and other innate products can cause infection in the vagina. Hence, it’s very important to practice safe sexual hygiene. Wash or wipe your vagina clean before and after every sexual activity to prevent infections and diseases.

9. Rejuvenating the vagina:

The key to a healthy and beautiful vagina is youthful appearance. Vaginal dryness and laxity is a common problem amongst women that affects not only their sexual wellness but also their self esteem. A natural product that supports the biological vagina rejuvenation process is Everteen Vaginal gel. It not only helps in reducing vaginal dryness but also revitalizes vaginal muscles by restoring the health of vaginal tissues.

So girls, there’s much more to being healthy and beautiful than merely looking pretty. And while, we all have our different preferences on how our vaginas look and feel, these nine rules of feminine hygiene would ensure that we always have a healthy and fresh vagina.

Ps: The above post is written in collaboration with Wet and Dry Personal Care group to create awareness about feminine intimate health and hygiene.