Female Private Care

What is Female Private Care?

The vagina is designed to keep itself clean with the help of natural secretions (discharge),is a tube of muscle inside a woman's body that runs from the cervix (the opening of the womb) to the vaginal opening.The external sex organs, which are called the vulva, surround the vaginal opening.Looking after your everyday health can help keep your vagina in good shape.

Generally, good vaginal health is maintained by making sure you're in good general health,this includes a healthy diet and exercise.Normal exercise helps maintain good vaginal function, as walking and running helps the pelvic floor to tone up and ensure good general health.

Bacteria in the vagina

There are lots of bacteria inside the vagina, and they're there to protect it.The vagina contains more bacteria than anywhere else in the body after the bowel, but the bacteria are there for a reason.

The good bacteria inside the vagina:

1.Provide "numerical dominance" – they outnumber other potential harmful bacteria that might enter the vagina.

2.Help keep the vagina's pH balance (how acidic the vagina is) at an even level, 3.Which helps keep the balance of bacteria healthy.

4.Can produce bacteriocins (naturally occurring antibiotics) to reduce or kill other bacteria entering the vagina.

5.Produce a substance that stops invading bacteria sticking to the vagina walls, which prevents bacteria invading the tissues.Bacteria called lactobacilli help keep the vagina's pH balance at its normal low level (less than pH 4.5), which also prevents the growth of other organisms.If the pH of the vagina increases (it gets less acidic), the quality or amount of lactobacilli can fall and other bacteria can multiply.This can result in infections such as bacterial vaginosis or thrush, which can cause symptoms including itching, irritation and abnormal discharge.

Cervical screening

All women aged from 25 to 64 are invited for cervical screening.

Being screened regularly means any abnormal changes in the cervix can be identified early on and, if necessary, treated to stop cancer developing.