The danger of being too clean 'down there'

It’s hard to improve on nature -- though it never stopped any of us from trying. The sometimes disastrous results can be seen on the stretched and swollen faces of all those professional Housewives whose bizarre commitment to youthfulness seems to have also induced a form of hysterical blindness.

Botox and Juvederm (injectable fillers) are part of our vocabulary and culture and their proliferation has produced its own unique set of issues including a whole generation of actors whose faces are no longer capable of translating discernible emotion.

The temptation to improve on what we have extends to the most intimate parts of our body but now researchers are warning that the popular internal use of shower gels and lubricants is causing increased risk of bacterial infection and sexually transmitted diseases among women who use them.

An article in The Daily Mail highlights the results of a U.S. study originally published in the journal, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and conducted by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles who surveyed 140 women from Los Angeles about their use of lubricants and cleansers.

Sixty-six percent of the women reported using sexual lubricants internally, the bulk of which were commercial lubricants designed for that purpose, though petroleum jelly and oils were also used. The latter two, which are designed for external use only, can exacerbate your risk for yeast and bacterial infections.

K-Y Jelly contains glycerine, which is associated with the development of similar infections in women.

Study leaders concluded that these products can disrupt the natural balance of good and bad bacteria present in the vagina and can cause an infection called bacterial vaginosis, which increases your chances of infection from sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia, herpes and HIV according to article.

So what’s a girl to do to stay fresh? Researchers suggest that you wash with mild soap and water, and if you do use a lubricant, make sure it’s silicone-based and doesn’t contain glycerine and avoid using talcum powder down there -- wayward particles have been associated with ovarian cancer.

Oh, and mother was right, always wear clean underwear.