A douche is a term for a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons, or for the stream of water itself. Douche usually refers to vaginal irrigation, the rinsing of the

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

, but it can also refer to the rinsing of any body cavity. A douche bag is a piece of equipment for douching—a bag for holding the fluid used in douching. To avoid transferring intestinal bacteria to the vagina, the same bag must not be used for both an

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is the rectal administration of a fluid by injection into the Large intestine, lower bowel via the anus.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word ''enema'' can also refer to the ...

and a vaginal douche. Douching after sexual intercourse is not an effective form of

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

. Additionally, douching is associated with a number of health problems, including

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...

pelvic inflammatory disease Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), also known as pelvic inflammatory disorder, is an infection of the upper part of the female reproductive system, mainly the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries, and inside of the pelvis. Often, there may be no ...

, endometritis, and increased risk of

sexually transmitted infections A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...

Etymology

The word's first known use is in 1766. '' Douche'' came into English via French, from "conduit pipe" and ''docciare'' "pour by drops" to douche, from ''doccia'' water pipe, probably back-formation from ''doccione'' conduit, from , ''ductio'' means of conveying water, from ''ducere'' to lead. In French today it means ''

shower A shower is a place in which a person bathes under a spray of typically warm or hot water. Indoors, there is a drain in the floor. Most showers are set up to have adjustable temperature, spray pressure and showerhead nozzle angle. The si ...

'', as it does in many European languages.

Overview

Vaginal douches may consist of water, water mixed with

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

, or even

antiseptic An antiseptic ( and ) is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of sepsis, infection, or putrefaction. Antiseptics are generally distinguished from ''antibiotics'' by the latter's abil ...

chemicals. Douching has been touted as having a number of supposed but unproven benefits. In addition to promising to clean the vagina of unwanted odors, it can also be used by women who wish to avoid smearing a sexual partner's penis with menstrual blood while having sexual intercourse during menstruation. In the past, douching was also used after intercourse as a method of

, though it is not effective (see below). Many health-care professionals state that douching is dangerous, as it interferes with both the vagina's normal self-cleaning and with the natural bacterial culture of the vagina, and it might spread or introduce infections. Douching is implicated in a wide variety of dangers, including: adverse pregnancy outcomes including

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these sympto ...

, low birth weight, preterm labor,

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...

, and chorioamnionitis; serious gynecologic outcomes, including increased risk of

, endometritis, and increased risk for

, including HIV; it also predisposes women to develop

bacterial vaginosis Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an infection of the vagina caused by excessive growth of bacteria. Common symptoms include increased vaginal discharge that often smells like fish. The discharge is usually white or gray in color. Burning with urina ...

(BV), which is further associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections. Due to this, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services strongly discourages douching, citing the risks of irritation, bacterial vaginosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Frequent douching with water may result in an imbalance of the pH of the vagina, and thus may put women at risk for possible vaginal infections, especially yeast infections. In May 2003, a randomized, controlled, multi-center study was conducted with 1827 women ages 18–44 who were regular users of a douche product and who had been treated recently for a sexually transmitted bacterial infection or bacterial vaginosis. Women were randomly assigned to use either a newly designed and marketed douche product or a soft cloth towelette. There was little or no indication of a greater risk of PID among women assigned to use the douche product (versus soft cloth towelette). Antiseptics used during douching disturb the natural balance of bacteria in the vagina and can cause infections. Unclean douching equipment may introduce foreign bodies into the vagina. Douching may also wash bacteria into the

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

and

fallopian tube The fallopian tubes, also known as uterine tubes, oviducts or salpinges (: salpinx), are paired tubular sex organs in the human female body that stretch from the Ovary, ovaries to the uterus. The fallopian tubes are part of the female reproduct ...

s, causing fertility problems. For these reasons, the practice of douching is now strongly discouraged except when ordered by a physician for medical reasons. Douching after intercourse is estimated to reduce the chances of conception by only about 30%. In comparison, proper male

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

use reduces the chance of conception by as much as 98%. In some cases douching may force the

ejaculate Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural concepti ...

further into the vagina, increasing the chance of pregnancy. A review of studies by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (N.Y.) showed that women who douched regularly and later became pregnant had higher rates of

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s, and low birth weight infants than women who only douched occasionally or who never douched. A 1995 survey quoted in the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

study found that 27% of U.S. women age 15 to 44 douched regularly, but that douching was more common among

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

women (over 50%) than among white women (21%), and frequent douching contributes to more frequent bacterial vaginosis among African-American women than the average. Medical doctor

Harriet Hall Harriet A. Hall (July 2, 1945 – January 11, 2023) was an American family medicine, family physician, U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, author, Science communication, science communicator, and scientific skepticism, skeptic. She wrote about alterna ...

writes that not only can douching change the pH of the vagina and lead to infections, "There is no need ... to cleanse the vagina. It cleanses itself".

Slang uses

''Douchebag'' and its variants, or simply ''douche'', are

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

terms referring to an arrogant, obnoxious, or despicable person. The slang usage of the term originated in the 1960s.

References

External links

* *
"Douching" Womenshealth.gov
(archive from 24 October 2008)
"Douching fact sheet"
at Womenshealth.gov {{Sexual slang Female genital procedures Sexual slang Feminine hygiene False friends Hygiene Drug delivery devices Dosage forms Bacterial vaginosis

Etymology

Overview

Slang uses

See also

References

External links