Serious Warning: Ladies, Doing This in the Shower Will Nearly Double Your Risk of Having Cancer
This washing ritual could actually
give you cancer, a new medical study reveals.
Vaginal douching can increase
your risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), which can sometimes lead
to cancer. Douching is the practice of squirting water or fluids into the
vagina in an attempt to rid unwanted odors, but the health implications could
be very serious.
Women’s lady bits contain more
bacteria than any other part of the body apart from the bowel, but for a good
reason. Most medical experts would recommend against the practice because
vaginas are self-cleaning and washing them out in this way can disrupt the
balance.
This can lead to abnormal tissue
growth and other changes to cells within your cervix. Researchers from the
University of Texas studied the relationship between douching and HPV in 1,271
women aged between 20 and 49. The shocking results revealed that douching
nearly doubles a woman’s risk of contracting ovarian cancer.
The nationwide US study, by
the National Institute of Environmental Sciences, is the first to link ovarian
cancer to the washing ritual. The NHS advices women against douching entirely
as it can also make them more susceptible to infections and
inflammations.
Professor Ronnie Lamont,
spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, writes
on the NHS website: "The vagina contains more bacteria than anywhere
else in the body after the bowel, but the bacteria are there for a reason. I
can’t think of any circumstances where douches are helpful, because all they do
is wash out everything that’s in the vagina, including all the healthy
bacteria."
Around 7,300 women are diagnosed
with ovarian cancer every year in the UK but the survival rate is just 35%. Prognosis
is believed to be so bad because women often experience no symptoms until the
disease has progressed to an advanced stage.
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– Via Daily Star