How many times have you comfortably had a discussion about your lady bits with your friends or your spouse? Or do you go mute about it like it’s a taboo? Over the years this discussion of vaginal health and intimate care has been swept under the rug. Many feel it is uncultured to speak about their delicate parts, Lack of awareness and availability of accurate information is the biggest problem that we face daily .There is a lot of shame and stigma attached around woman’s anatomy.
Vaginal health has always been an afterthought; something that scientists don’t study properly, women don’t want to talk about and doctors just throw antibiotics at. One of the biggest issues with vaginal health is that it is not acknowledged as a problem. This lack of awareness results in women being unable to differentiate between a normal vs abnormal vagina.
It’s rare for a woman to openly talk about ailments such as yeast infection or certain vaginal discomforts she is experiencing unless they feel it is related to a ‘certified’ condition such as the menopause or pregnancy. There is always that feeling of shame or embarrassment over how they might have caught such a condition.
Let’s be clear from the outset; no-one can ‘catch’ vaginal infections like yeast infection, Bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, cystitis or even minor discomforts – they are part and parcel of having a vagina and all the hormones that comes with it. And, I think I can firmly say, that almost every woman, at some point in their lives, suffered from at least one of these issues. Recently, women are becoming open to discussions about menstruation and witnessing advertisements of sanitary napkins. Even then only about 18 percent women have access to sanitary hygiene in most rural areas.
Changing the way we understand our intimates really changes the way that we care for it ,and the way that we frame feminine wellness and the more women demand this information, the sooner we’ll be able to break the taboos around intimate health and also come up with solutions that actually work.