Douching

Douching is rinsing or cleaning out the vagina (also called the birth canal) by squirting water or other solutions (such as vinegar, baking soda, or douching solutions you can buy at drug and grocery stores) into the vagina. The water or solutions are held in a bottle and squirted into the vagina through tubing and a nozzle.

Douching is a common practice among women in the United States - 37% of American women between the ages of 15 to 44 douche regularly. Of these women, about half douche on a weekly basis.

Douching is a practice that is thought to have been around since ancient times. Reasons women have given for using douches include to: rinse away blood after a menstrual period; clean the vagina after sex to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and wash away semen to prevent pregnancy; and reduce odors.