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Abstract
Purpose
The study was done to survey feminine hygiene and vaginal douche practices in middle-aged women to obtain basic information for public health education.
Methods
With a descriptive survey design, 134 middle-aged women who have menstrual period were recruited via convenience sampling. Survey contents were from the study by Czerwinski (2000) regarding feminine hygiene and vaginal douching practices. After obtaining IRB approval, a self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed to study participants.
Results
Mean age of middle-aged women was 46.88 years old. Fifty-six percent of the women practiced vaginal douching. Women performed douching with water (68%), commercial products (13%), soap (12%), and vinegar-mixed water (6%) for clean and fresh feeling, removal of unpleasant odor, and removal of vaginal discharge. Vaginal douche practice was significantly related to a history of vaginitis.
Conclusion
The study results indicate that most of the women practiced inadequate feminine hygiene especially in douching, suggesting that is important to develop education programs on feminine hygiene practices for women of all ages, especially regarding douching and hand washing before and after changing pads or tampons.
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Table 1.
Subjects' Characteristics and Vaginal Douche Practice (N=134)
Table 2.
Difference in Perception about Vaginal Douche and History of Reproductive Health according to Vaginal Douche Performance (N=134)
| Variables | Categories | Total | Vaginal douche | x2 (p) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n=75) | No (n=59) | |||||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||||
| Perception about | Douching is done after period is | Yes | 68 (50.7) | 42 (56.0) | 26 (44.1) | 1.88 (.223) |
| vaginal douche | over | No | 66 (49.3) | 33 (44.0) | 33 (55.9) | |
| Douching is done after sex | Yes | 66 (49.3) | 43 (57.3) | 23 (39.0) | 4.45 (.035) | |
| No | 68 (50.7) | 32 (42.7) | 36 (61.0) | |||
| Douching can wash out vaginal | Yes | 106 (79.1) | 64 (85.3) | 42 (71.2) | 4.00 (.046) | |
| discharge | No | 28 (20.9) | 11 (14.7) | 17 (28.8) | ||
| Douching can get rid of vaginal | Yes | 111 (82.8) | 62 (82.7) | 49 (83.1) | 0.01 (.953) | |
| odor | No | 23 (17.2) | 13 (17.3) | 10 (16.9) | ||
| Vaginal discharge is normal | Yes | 121 (90.3) | 67 (89.3) | 54 (91.5) | 0.18 (.670) | |
| No | 13 (9.7) | 8 (10.7) | 5 (8.5) | |||
| Douching is not necessary | Yes | 40 (29.9) | 21 (28.0) | 19 (32.2) | 0.28 (.598) | |
| No | 94 (70.1) | 54 (72.0) | 40 (67.8) | |||
| I have ever read a book or | Yes | 37 (27.6) | 24 (32.0) | 13 (22.0) | 1.64 (.200) | |
| booklet to avoid douching | No | 97 (72.4) | 51 (68.0) | 46 (78.0) | ||
| History of | Sexual intercourse | Yes | 123 (91.8) | 70 (93.3) | 53 (89.8) | 0.53 (.535)† |
| reproductive health | No | 11 (8.2) | 5 (6.7) | 6 (10.2) | ||
| History of sexual transmitted | Yes | 6 (4.5) | 5 (6.7) | 1 (1.7) | 1.90 (.229)† | |
| disease | No | 128 (95.5) | 70 (93.3) | 58 (98.3) | ||
| History of vaginitis | Yes | 27 (20.1) | 20 (26.7) | 7 (11.9) | 4.49 (.034) | |
| No | 107 (79.9) | 55 (73.3) | 52 (88.1) | |||
Table 3.
Unadjusted Odds Ratio for Vaginal Douching associated with History of Vaginitis (N=134)
| Variable | B | SE | Wald | df | p | Exp (B) | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower | Higher | |||||||
| (Constant) | -2.00 | .40 | 24.81 | 1 | ＜.001 | 0.13 | ||
| Vaginal douching (1=yes) | 0.99 | .48 | 4.28 | 1 | .038 | 2.70 | 1.05 | 6.91 |
Table 4.
Feminine Hygiene Practice (N=134
| Practice | Categories | Never used a product or practice | Ever used a product or practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
| I. Body-cleansing practice | 1 Bathtub | 34 (25.4) | 100 (74.6) |
| 2 Shower | - | 134 (100.0) | |
| 3 Bidet | 67 (50.0) | 67 (50.0) | |
| 4 Handheld showerhead | 10 (7.5) | 124 (92.5) | |
| 5 Sponge bath | 8 (6.0) | 124 (94.0) | |
| II. Feminine products usage and practice | 6 Internal douche | 59 (44.0) | 75 (56.0) |
| 7 Panty liners | 57 (42.5) | 77 (57.5) | |
| 8 Disposable briefs | 115 (85.8) | 19 (14.2) | |
| 9 Feminine deodorant spray | 115 (85.8) | 19 (14.2) | |
| 10 Deodorant, vaginal (tabs/supp.) | 123 (91.8) | 11 (8.2) | |
| 11 OTC anti-itch products | 111 (82.8) | 23 (17.2) | |
| 12 Wet wipes | 107 (79.9) | 27 (20.1) | |
| 13 Wipe front to back | 24 (17.9) | 110 (82.1) | |
| 14 Wash with soap and water | 48 (35.8) | 86 (64.4) | |
| 15 Blotting | 101 (75.4) | 33 (24.6) | |
| 16 Wash hands after urination/defecation | 10 (7.5) | 124 (92.5) | |
| III. General menses collection and protection practice | 17 Nature sea sponges | 103 (76.9) | 31 (23.1) |
| 18 Reusable cotton pads | 93 (69.4) | 41 (30.6) | |
| 19 Tampons | 110 (82.1) | 24 (17.9) | |
| 20 Pads (sanitary) | 14 (10.4) | 120 (89.6) | |
| 21 Tampons/pads combination | 102 (76.1) | 32 (23.9) | |
| 22 Panty liners | 61 (45.5) | 73 (54.5) | |
| 23 Tampons/pads between periods | 115 (85.8) | 19 (14.2) | |
| 24 Wash hands after activity to genito-urinary area | 36 (26.9) | 98 (35.1) | |
| 25 Limiting bathing activity during menses | 32 (23.9) | 102 (76.1) | |
| IV. Specific menses collection and protection practice | 26 If tampons used, change every 6 hours† | 18 (64.3) | 10 (35.7) |
| 27 Wash hands before inserting tampon† | 17 (60.7) | 11 (39.3) | |
| 28 Wash hands after inserting tampon† | 16 (57.1) | 12 (32.9) | |
| 29 If pads used, change every 6 hours‡ | 10 (8.7) | 104 (91.3) | |
| 30 Wash hands before changing pads‡ | 24 (21.0) | 90 (79.0) | |
| 31 Wash hands after changing pads‡ | 8 (7.0) | 106 (93.0) |
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