sex

Sexual health and hygiene

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Main article: vulvovaginal health

The vagina is a self-cleaning organ and needs no special treatment. Doctors discourage douching, which upsets the balance of vaginal flora, and may cause infection, including PID, or other problems. Betty Dodson addresses the self-consciousness that many women feel about the scent or flavor of their vaginal fluids in her writings, and encourages women to accept their bodies as normal and natural.

The vagina is examined during gynecological exams, often using a speculum, which holds the vagina open for visual inspection of the cervix or taking of samples (see pap smear).

Vulvovaginal disorders can affect the vagina, including vaginal cancer and yeast infections, as well as sexually transmitted infections.

The vagina and popular culture

• The Vagina Monologues.

Additional images

Uterus and uterine tubes.	Organs of the female reproductive system.	Schematic vulva anatomy.	Uterus and right broad ligament, seen from behind.
Sagittal section of the lower part of a female trunk, right segment.	Posterior half of uterus and upper part of vagina.	Layers of the vaginal wall.	Image showing streched vulva with surrounding

See also

• Menstruation
• Grafenberg spot
• Masturbation
• Kegel exercise
• Human sexuality
• Human sexual behavior
• Cunnilingus
• Sex-positive feminism
• Sex
• Childbirth
• Cunt (slang term for a vagina, and one of the seven dirty words)