Should You Douche?Written by Naweko San-Joyz
The only thing a woman can say for certain about her vagina is that it is drenched in mystery. And with this mystery comes a bounty of myths. One myth marring woman’s body is concept that her vagina is a filthy pit. Frequent marketing of feminine douches does nothing to arrest this myth. But is vagina dirty and should a woman douche?A substantial body of medical evidence makes a clear case that douching is not necessary and in some cases unhealthy. Researchers from University of Pittsburgh led by Dr. Roberta Ness discovered that most women are introduced to concept of douching by their mothers, sisters, or girlfriends. Yet this well-intentioned sisterly advice has left too many women misinformed about their vaginal health. For instance, a study at University of Alabama at Birmingham asked 729 women why they douched. Twenty-one percent of participants said that they believed douching killed infectious germs, while 27% believed that douching prevented pregnancy. Neither assumption is true. As writer Mary Ann Innacchinoe explains in an “American Journal of Nursing” article, vagina contains, lactobacilli, "good", aerobic bacteria that cleanse vagina and protect it from infection. Lactobacilli release hydrogen peroxide, a natural disinfectant. The presence of hydrogen peroxide helps keep potentially harmful anaerobic bacteria in balance. Ironically, some women view menstruation as a time when vagina most needs a douche. After menstruation, vaginal mucus returns to its thicker, characteristically non-fertile state, which makes it more difficult for pathogens to enter and infect vagina. Douching could wash this protective coating away and invite vaginal bacterial imbalances and infections. For example, a 2004 study published in medical journal “Sexually Transmitted Diseases” linked douching after menses with an increased risk of bacterial vaginosis. Bacterial vaginosis, or an excess of harmful bacteria in vagina, is one of most common reasons women visit their gynecologist. Symptoms of bacterial vaginosis include a gray or frothy vaginal discharge, a “fishy” odor after intercourse, vaginal itching and a vaginal pH greater than 4.5. While douching can provoke bacterial vaginosis, it may also encourage herpes virus. In 2003, researchers from Magee-Womens Research Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania questioned why women are more susceptible to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection than men. After examining 1207 women aged 18 to 30 from three Pittsburgh health clinics, investigators noted that women who douche, smoke, have sex with uncircumcised partners, or have bacterial vaginosis are at greater risk for contracting an HSV-2 infection.
| | The Insidiousness of Breast Cancer and its Current TreatmentWritten by Stephen Ayers
In our modern world, benefits that today’s manufacturing and agricultural activities have brought us is more than painfully offset by damage to our personal health and wellness. During course of our daily lives, we are continually exposed to common household products such as detergents, insulation, fabric treatments, flame retardants, cosmetics, paints, upholstery preservatives, and coatings for electronic equipment. When these chemicals accumulate within our bodies, they distribute into body fluids as well. While it is painfully clear that we may find such toxic chemicals as fire retardants in breast milk of Americans who unsuspectingly ingest these and unhealthy levels of many other of toxins form air they breath, water they drink, and food they eat, then it is obvious that our drive for cultural, technological, and scientific advancement has taken a wrong turn somewhere along way. The chemicals we have produced and utilized in modern era have had many negative effects upon various human body organ systems and have caused many health problems that will have serious implications far into future. Data from recent explorations into these issues suggest that all of us are at risk of developing serious diseases from long-term exposure to these chemicals that we had hoped would improve our lives. Our synthetic chemicalization of planet Earth, in past 60 years, is showing up as a body burden that is a physical tragedy and a fiscal catastrophe. Nowhere are these terrifying results more evident than in today’s battles with breast cancer. The link between toxins in our environment and diseases like breast cancer showing up in our populations is one about which there is little debate as to cause and effect relationship. While media, political, and health watch organizations warn of danger associated with large doses of synthetic chemicals within living environments of human populations, it is apparent that even very low doses of certain chemicals can harm a developing fetus or newborn infant. Small amounts of lead, mercury or PCBs in amounts that would not harm adults readily damage developing nervous system, causing defects that appear later on. While general health of an individual is a factor in who is more susceptible to developing diseases from exposure to toxic chemicals in environment, fact that breast cancer is claiming its victims from women both young and old, makes this situation all more deplorable. We need to take a fresh look at not only disease itself, but also at what may be alternatives to current treatment of this abomination. Since it is obvious that government, with its bureaucratic pace of environmental protection reform and industry with its millions of dollars spent lobbying against regulations that would impact manufacture of their toxic products despite obvious health concerns, will not solve this problem in immediate future; we then, must take responsibility for our own health and wellness with education and pro-active prevention and treatment strategies. Since current treatment methods, which have produced little to indicate real progress over past thirty years, are very essence of barbarism, we must seek out alternative ways of prevention and treatment, and help to bring them into accepted mainstream of health care practices. We must also work to help ban dangerous chemicals and take immediate steps to protect ourselves from unnecessary exposure to those chemicals that we know to be harmful and contributory to development of chronic and degenerative diseases. The current medical practices to treat breast cancer seem more like torturous mayhem that therapeutic intervention. And is it any wonder when doctors and medical students alike get most of their primary, secondary, and continuing education funded, to a large degree by megalithic pharmaceutical industry, very authors and purveyors of drastic and toxic medical intervention procedures. This situation is all more dreadful when it is pointed out that these increasingly toxic and experimental measures lead to future complications and susceptibility to premature development of other chronic diseases. This preoccupation with burning with radiation, poisoning with toxins, and slicing and dicing cancer is an appalling state of affairs that must end now. If you believe that current medical interventions do anything but dehumanize cancer victims, then perhaps you will want to go to your local video rental store and check out a movie by name of “WIT”. That our bodies are nothing more than test tubes to those involved in current cancer treatment methodologies is dramatically illustrated by this fine film. And just when current medical practitioners will leave this seemingly medieval torture seen behind is not immediately apparent.
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