What Causes Winter Vagina and Does it Affect Your Sexual Life?
Have you heard about ‘winter vagina’? Yes, there is something known as the winter vagina that can lead to vaginal dryness. It can further affect your sex life. How? Well, vaginal dryness can make sex intolerably painful for many women.
As the temperature starts to drop during the winter months, it often affects your skin and lips by making them chapped and dry. Several women also face the issue of winter vaginas due to cold air instigating their private areas to experience drought mode. Cold weather can worsen the issue of vaginal dryness. In simple words, a lack of moisture in the air during cold weather can lead to vaginal dryness.
What causes vaginal dryness?
The vagina has a gentle microbial ecosystem, called a microbiome. In winters, we usually adopt various habits like wearing warm heavy clothing, taking hot baths, activating the central heating system, and many others to keep ourselves warm and cozy. However, all these can increase the chances of winter vaginas. Some of the key symptoms of vaginal dryness include:
> Uneasiness, irritation, or a burning sensation
> Pale and thin vaginal surface
> Going off sex
> Discomfort or pain during sex
> Hard to get aroused or reach orgasm
> Contraction or shortening of the vagina
> Wanting to urinate more than usual
> Recurrent urinary tract infections
Though vaginal dryness is a very common problem, it’s most likely to affect women who are going through or have already experienced menopause. Other factors that are responsible for vaginal dryness include breastfeeding, childbirth, certain medications, diabetes, lack of arousal before sex, cancer treatments, etc.
How to prevent the chances of vaginal dryness?
> Take a shower instead of hot baths: Taking baths during winters can greatly disturb the vagina’s natural pH balance. However, if you still prefer taking baths, make sure to use unscented natural bath products. You can also use a few drops of anti-bacterial organic lavender essential oil. Also, don’t apply anything directly to your vaginal area. It is vital to note that the vagina has a naturally self-cleaning system. Therefore, you must avoid applying any product directly in that area. Applying products directly down there will not only affect the pH balance but may also lead to extreme dryness and irritation. By avoiding such products, you may start experiencing a great improvement in vaginal dryness.
> Avoid using synthetic and nonbreathable fabrics: It is advisable to limit the usage of heavy, synthetic, and unbreathable fabrics. Though it is important to wrap yourself up warm in the winter months, it is equally important to wear breathable clothes, especially undergarments to prevent the chances of vaginal dryness. Wearing tight, heavy clothing or synthetic clothes in winters can create a warm and moist environment which becomes the breeding ground for yeasts and bad bacteria. It further increases the chances of vaginal infections. Therefore, you must switch to cotton clothing, especially when it comes to choosing undergarments. Also, make sure to give your vagina some breathing time by wearing loose clothing, especially while sleeping.
> Avoid fatty and sugary foods: Your diet can also have a great impact on your vaginal health. Always be mindful of over-eating on fatty and sugary food items. Also, if you like to drink, have control over the consumption of alcohol. Overeating can be bad for your vaginal health. The reason why you must avoid or limit the consumption of sugary food is that the sugary foods can attract bacteria or yeast, thereby increasing the chances of UTIs, bacterial vaginosis, and thrush.
> Maintain a healthy diet: It is important to maintain a healthy diet to keep your overall health in good condition including the health of your vagina. Many experts recommend that women must keep their vagina moist and healthy during the winter months by adopting a good diet. Women must include green vegetables in their diets such as spinach, broccoli, kale, and others. These kinds of food items are rich in nutrients that help in preventing dryness and promoting blood circulation. Besides, one must include sweet potato and watermelon in their diet as these contain a compound known as citrulline which helps in relaxing the body’s blood vessels to boost circulation and blood flow to the genitals. Even drinking apple juice is also very good for your vaginal health as it contains phytoestrogens that can reverse the hormonal imbalance that causes vaginal dryness.
All in all: According to some experts, a vagina functions quite well in all seasons. If you are facing the issue of vaginal dryness or winter vagina, you must follow all the above-mentioned best practices to keep your vagina as well as sexual life healthy and good. Other than following all the good vaginal health practices, it is advisable to use good quality intimate hygiene products from a good brand. Wonderize is one such brand that offers different types of good quality intimate hygiene products that are made to protect women from different vaginal infections. For more information about Wonderize’s products, you can visit https://www.wonderize.in/
