I get a lot of complaints from men and even women about their partner’s lack of personal hygiene and how this affects their sexual life. I’ve had some men tell me that the reason they cannot perform oral sex on their partner is because their partner gives off a foul odour down there.
Someone once told me that he found faeces entangled in his partner’s butt hair during oral sex.
Imagine how disgusting and embarrassing that must have been. This is why I have decided to address this topic of sexual hygiene.
Sexual hygiene is the practice of cleanliness before, during, and after sex. Your sexual health is an integral part of your overall health. It reduces the chances of getting infections and other health issues such as infertility. It also diminishes the possibility of contracting all types of sexually transmitted diseases.
Condoms can’t prevent all sexual problems. Yes, they may be able to prevent unwanted pregnancies and most types of STDs, but you do have to think of how clean you are as well because it can cost you your health.
Good sexual hygiene can also improve your sex life. It enhance oral sex and helps you to relax with your partner.
The skin in the genital area is similar to other areas of the body, so cleaning once a day is adequate. Men should ensure they dry off well after bathing, swimming and sweating to avoid itch.
It’s important to take a shower before any intercourse where penile penetration is involved. Not that it prevents the spread of infections but it may cut back the chances of transmission to an extent. For uncircumcised male, it is important to clean under the foreskin, making sure to wipe away any residue that has built up there. This is mostly a cleanliness issue but it can be more serious.
Below are sexual hygiene tips:
CHANGE OF UNDERWEAR
This can’t be overemphasised. Men and women should change their underwear daily. This can help avoid infections, irritation and odour. If you’ve engaged in a particularly sweaty activity, a midday change may even be warranted.
REGULAR CHECKS
Men should make it a regular habit to check their penis and testicles for any irregularities. Things to look for include bumps, redness, sores, blisters and warts. Changes down there can indicate STDs, cancer and other problems. Many lumps that men find are not serious, but they should always discuss them with a medical professional to make sure.
COMMUNICATION
As always, communication between sexual partners is a big part of sexual hygiene. It may be uncomfortable but talking about STDs and sexual health issues from the start can make a big difference down the road. Ideally, partners should use protection until they can both get tested and discuss the exclusivity level of their relationship. Even if this isn’t possible, using protection is a huge first step in the right direction.
REGULAR CHECKUP
It’s recommended that everyone gets a routine physical exam once a year. For people who are sexually active, requesting STD tests at this time is a good call too, regardless of if they’ve been using protection. It’s important to note that a woman’s pap smear is not the same as a full STD test, so just because she got a pap, doesn’t mean you’ve both been tested.
BODY HAIR
In the last couple of decades, body hair for both men and women has become a grooming battleground. Women are still significantly more likely than men to go bare down there but almost everyone admits to some trimming. While this is a fairly harmless personal preference, people should know that pubic hair does serve some purpose. People believe that pubic hair may help your stuff stay clean and warm, while also adding some comfort during intercourse. Pubic hair (and armpit hair) is also believed to hold onto and diffuse pheromones, helping people attract each other.
CONDOM TO THE RESCUE
Many common sexual practices involve some level of skin tearing and bleeding. This includes vaginal and anal sex. Don’t depend on seeing bleeding in order to know when you might be in trouble. Many of these tears are tiny but even microscopic openings in the skin can contribute to STD transmission. For this reason, condom use is strongly advised for most sexual activities.
STICK TO THE BASICS
Just about everyone has some kind of odour going on down there, no matter how much they clean. Follow the rules of cleaning once a day and after sweaty activities and you should be fine. Soap and water is all that’s needed for the job (even soap is a questionable choice for women), so don’t go hunting for any special products or deodorisers, which could simply create irritation without helping a whole lot. Anything beyond basic washing is unnecessary.
KEEP IT LOOSE
Whether we are talking about underwear or pants, a looser fit is better for your functioning down there. Restriction and overheating can both affect fertility and contribute to infection, like jock itch. It’s still important to wear supportive clothes during sports but wash yourself and your clothing if you’ve worked up a sweat in order to stay as hygienic as possible.
CHECK YOUR PARTNER FOR SIGNS
Intimate partners can care for one another by checking each other for signs of infections or other sexual health problems. Oftentimes, partners are the ones who find lumps and bumps that could use attention from a medical professional. Just as with men, women should be notified of any redness, lumps, blisters, or warts. It’s important to note, however, that many STDs do not show any visual symptoms. So, that yearly test is still warranted, even when all looks well.
CLEAN RIGHT
For women, it is recommended to wash from your vagina to your anus to prevent the transfer of germs from the anus to the vagina and also avoid yeast infections.
WATER TO THE RESCUE
For women, avoid washing your intimate parts with body gel. Your skin has a pH value of 5.5, while the pH of your intimate parts is 3.3, which means it is much more acidic. The use of inappropriate showering agents disturbs the pH and makes it more alkaline, causing germs and bacteria to develop. So, it is best to either use only water to wash your genital area since the vagina is a self-cleansing organ. It protects itself with discharge and good bacteria. Use showering products intended for intimate use only if your gyneacologist recommends it. Remember, if you overdo it, the vaginal infection can appear
WEAR THE RIGHT UNDERWEAR
Have you ever heard that thongs can be bad for your vaginal health? Thongs or G-strings of different shapes and colours indeed look very sexy and attractive, but they are not very hygienic. The thin string of the thong causes bacteria to develop, and it can transfer bacteria from your anus to your vagina. What’s more, sexy lace underwear is often made of synthetic materials, which means that your intimate area does not breathe. It causes skin irritations and inflammation. Try to use cotton panties more often so your vagina can breathe
It’s never too late to make your sexual health a priority. If this isn’t already a routine for you, do start now.
Enjoy the weekend.
I would love to get feedback, questions and recommendations on the topics you would want me to shed light on.
Let’s meet tonight (Friday) in the chatroom. If you want to be a part of it, send me a message on Telegram at: @tiwa_says. Chatroom opens at 10pm every Friday.
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#tiwa_says; 09032331388; tiwalolaoke@yahoo.com.
