Are you one of the 75% of women who has experienced an irritating yeast infection or annoying bacterial vaginosis (BV) one or more times in her life? Or are you 1 in 5 women who has had one or recurring burning Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) in her existence? Have you ever been embarrassed by ingrown hairs on your bikini line or butt acne? You are NOT alone. Happily there are ways to reduce your susceptibility to what we’ll call the dreaded 4 I’s – itching, irritation, inflammation and infection. Practice Intimate Fitness™ regularly.
I reference Intimate Fitness™ frequently, so let’s dig in to what Intimate Fitness™ is and why adopting a regimen is so important to our relationships and our overall and sexual wellbeing.
Intimate Fitness™ is a holistic approach to intimate care and self-care of mind, body and soul resulting in increased comfort, superior confidence and greater wellbeing.
Sports, diet, sex-friction, hair removal and stress can negatively impact our skin and make us vulnerable to infection and discomfort. So can pregnancy, semen, pH imbalance, menopause, allergies to ingredients and certain medications. Those are a LOT of pitfalls for us ladies – and being intimately fit can help us avoid, rebound faster or counter skin stress.
Many people are uneasy or unaware of how to correctly address their body’s Intimate Fitness™ maintenance needs. To keep the 4 Is at bay, here are a few key recommendations pertaining to cleanliness.
- Use a high quality pH balanced wash on your genitals. Never use an anti-bacterial soap as it will kill off the good bacteria that keeps our vulvovaginal area happy and healthy. Maintaining correct vulvovaginal pH is critical to avoiding vaginitis (overarching term for all vaginal irritation/ infection).
- Do not hyper clean nor scrub your vulva, which can lead to micro-tearing. Micro-tears make us more vulnerable to STD and other pathogen transmission.
- Unless advised by a physician, do not douche. It disrupts the vaginal environment and opens the door for infection to take hold.
- Urinate after sex to flush out the urethra, this will help counter UTIs.
- Wash hands, your own and lover too (w/ a nail brush) before getting sexy. Dirty hands are a great way to introduce pathogens into the body. Do this before inserting a new tampon too.
Clean hands and nails thoroughly before sex - Always wipe front to back. The anus is close to the vagina and urethra and bacteria from the rectum can be transferred forward.
- If you are sensitive to the 4 Is use light absorbency tampons, and only leave in for max 4-8 hours.
- Flossing and good oral hygiene is also intimate fitness™. Oral disease can land you in the hospital.
Some of us may feel that a UTI, yeast infection or BV is just a nuance that can be easily dealt with by throwing medication at it. Please be aware that UTIs can lead to kidney damage if not properly treated and when we have vaginitis once, it is that much easier for it to be recurring as our susceptibility increases.
In part II of this piece, you will learn about other important techniques to adopt pertaining to medication, our fashion choices, pregnancy and menopause as they relate to Intimate Fitness™
In the meantime, you can add to your Intimate Fitness™ arsenal by including a high quality lubrication, well-fitting condoms, doing Kegel exercises and a sex toy or two. Anatomy and sexual education, masturbation, exploration and communication are tools to leverage as well.
Being proactive with our Intimate Fitness™ can enhance our self-assurance, enable greater physical pleasure and lower the risk of infection and STD transmission. Whether or not we are sexually active, Intimate Fitness™ practices are very important to our overall wellbeing and sexual health.
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