Vaginal pH - maintaining a healthy pH for your Queen in between

Having a healthy vaginal microbiome and maintaining a healthy Vaginal pH is important for your Sex Wellness. 

So….

What is a Vaginal pH?

Vaginal pH is the chemistry of the vagina. 

Lets nerd out for a moment… pH is a measurement of how acidic or alkalonic (basic) a substance is.  The scale ranges from 0 (acidic) to 14 (alkalonic).  Anything above 7 is considered alkaline (basic) and anything less than 7 is considered acidic.

Lets consider your queen in between - a healthy Vaginal pH ranges from 3.8-4.5 (she aint no basic bitch)

A change in pH either above or below the ‘normal’ range can indicate a problem, eg. Being prone to vaginal infections.       

Why is maintaining your vaginal pH important?

A vaginal pH of between 3.8 and 4.5 creates the perfect vaginal environment for balancing good and bad bacteria. When your vaginal pH falls outside this normal range you may notice symptoms such as, abnormal discharge, itching, burning, foul odour and pain. A higher pH can causes an overgrowth of bacteria or yeast leading to vaginal infections such as Bacterial Vaginosis, Candida (thrush), trichomoniasis (STD).  

A lower pH does not tend to cause infections but can impact of fertility given that sperm need a slightly more alkalotic environment to be viable. 

What impacts your vaginal pH?

There are both internal and external factors that can impact your vaginal pH.  Here are list of the most common

-        Menstrual blood – blood has a pH of 7.35, blood that pools in the vaginal can slightly change vaginal pH

-        Semen – semen is alkalotic therefor semen can change vaginal pH

-        Sexual Lubricants – certaining lubricants especially those with high sugar contents, toxic chemical can impact pH

-        Douching – cleaning of the vagina can disrupt the natural vaginal microbiome

-        Antibiotics – killing off the good bacteria in the vagina (lactobacillus) leads to overgrowth of other bacteria and yeasts

Tips to maintaining your vaginal pH?

Now you know what can impact your vaginal pH what can you do about it…..

-         Take probiotics – probitoics supplements and foods rich in prebiotics such as saukrute, kimchi, yoghurt can improve ‘good’ bacteria levels  

-        Don’t douche – your vaginal is self cleaning there is no need to be cleaning up into the vaginal canal, using harsh chemical and soaps are not needed

-        Yoni steaming – an ancient feminine practice of sitting over herbs and steam promoting blood flow and certain herbs such as motherwort, mugwort, calendula can help with balancing vaginal pH (be sure to consult with a health care professional or trusted practioner before yoni steaming)

-        Use pH balanced intimacy lubricants – not all intimacy lubricants are created equally and a lot of companies will use highly toxic and sugary chemicals, look for a lubricant that is pH balanced (check out my lubricant Untamed, it is pH balanced, low tox, no hidden nasties and uses ancient wisdom of Australian Botanical – Australian Bush Magick for your Bush)

If you are concerned with any vaginal symptoms best to get it check out, make an appointment to see your health care professional, you can also self test vaginal pH using strips from the chemist. 

Heres to a happy healthy pH balanced Queen in between.