Except
in rare cases where some individuals have both the male and female sèx
organs, every human being is born either a male or a female. Whatever
sèx you turn out to be, there are scientific things to know about your
anatomy, especially when you realise that whatever events go on between
your thighs can sometimes determine your general wellbeing or, in some
cases, your lifespan.
This is more evident in the case of
women whose biological make-up is a lot more complicated than men’s,
considering their reproductive role.
Physicians believe that a woman cannot
be too concerned about her reproductive organ because as her age
increases, a lot of changes affect the female genitalia and women need
to know what to do to stave off preventable health issues that may want
to encroach on their lives via this avenue.
To start with, there is much hype out
there about “revirginalisation,” that is surgically replacing a torn
hymen — the thin flesh that covers the external opening of the genital
of a virgin female.
Obstetrician/Gynaecologist, Dr. Femi
Adigun, says the claim is one of the biggest commercial lies he has
heard as a medical practitioner.
He says, “The hymen cannot grow back
once it has been torn, because it is a thin, fleshy tissue that
stretches across part of the opening of the female genital opening, and
it can be stretched through sèxual intercourse, exercise such as riding
bicycles, and so on.”
Experts say if there’s anything that
affects the health of the female genital, it is sèxual intercourse,
because of the various possibilities that go with it, including
pregnancy, childbirth, infections, etc.
Despite the media hype that depicts
sèx as everything, some women do experience pain during intercourse and
would rather avoid it where they can. Doctors warn that painful
intercourse is not normal and that women who experience it should seek
medical help.
Indeed, in a study, Swedish scientists
claim that painful intercourse occurs in 9.3 per cent of females, with
the incidence being higher among the young and inexperienced and
relatively low among the over-50s.
Adigun chips in, “Painful intercourse,
medically known as dyspareunia, can be as a result of many issues, but
the first thing the doctor must determine is whether the pain is deep
inside or near the outside of the genital.”
He says many things can be responsible
for intercourse pain, and they include endometriosis (a disorder that
often affects the womb and surrounding tissues, making them very tender,
particularly when the menstrual period is near)
“The pressure of the male organ on an area of endometriosis may cause intense, deep pain,” Adigun says.
Another cause of intercourse pain is vaginismus — a spasm of the vàginal muscles, caused mainly by fear of being hurt.
Adigun says vaginismus may be as a
result of strict upbringing that makes a woman view sèx as dirty or
nasty; or it could happen if the woman has a history of rape or
childhood sèxual abuse; or if she has experienced a medical history of
painful vàginal infections. “Experiences like these understandably make
women fearful of sèx and of being hurt,” he warns.
He also explains that medically, there’s a condition called “collision dyspareunia.”
“This happens when infections of the
cervix cause it to be tender, such that the woman feels pain during deep
penetration,” he enthuses.
He says further that when a woman is
infected with Chlamydia and does not seek medical treatment, the
infection might result in pelvic inflammatory disease. “In PID, the
tissues deep inside become badly inflamed and the pressure of
intercourse will cause deep pain,” he says.
He also warns that menopausal or
post-menopausal dryness might result in pain during intercourse. In this
case, he advises the use of lubricants like Vaseline to ease the
tension.
More important, the doctor warns that
if a woman is over 40 years of age and suddenly starts having pain
during intercourse, she should be checked for cancer, which may or may
not be the cause.
Physicians say, like other parts of
the body, the female genitalia can age and lose its ‘grips.’ Adigun
describes it this way: “The female genital is like a bicep, you either
use it or lose it. As a woman ages, the fragile female genital tissues
can scar or shrink, especially after menopause.
“Menopause is not the time for a woman
to stay away from active sèxual intercourse; otherwise, her genitalia
might atrophy by decreasing in size, leading to the wasting of the
tissues and the attendant discomfort,” he counsels.
Physicians also warn that the female
genital might suffer a prolapse. The gynaecologist says prolapse happens
when the tissues and muscles surrounding the female genital are
weakened, deteriorate or get damaged.
“In general, this condition is called
pelvic floor relaxation, and it may cause the supports for the rectum,
bladder, uterus, small bladder, urethra, or a combination of them to
become less stable,” Adigun warns.
Some causative factors for prolapse
include multiple child births, hard labour during child delivery, and
delivery of large babies vàginally. Adigun says the symptoms of genital
prolapse include difficulty in urinating or bowel movement, inability to
control urination, pain when the sufferer stands for too long, or
enlarged, wide and gaping vàginal opening.
Many women believe that douching (a
process of intravàginal cleansing with a liquid solution) is a way to
keep their genital ‘clean.’ Physicians warn against this practice. For
one, Adigun says, douching neither prevents infection nor conception;
and that the only way to keep the area clean is to simply wash with
clean water each time one uses the bathroom; and where there’s no clean
water, just wipe dry with a clean soft tissue.
Indeed, an epidemiological study by
some Italian scientists suggest that douching increases the risk of
vulvovàginal candidiasis — an infection of the vàgina’s mucous membranes
by Candida albicans, which affects up to 75 per cent of women.
A study published in the Oxford
Journal deposes that douching is harmful and should be discouraged
because of its association with pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic
pregnancy, and other conditions.
The epidemiologists, Drs. Jenny L.
Martino and Sten H. Vermund, submit that “Douching has been associated
with many adverse outcomes, including PID, bacterial vaginosis, cervical
cancer, low birth weight, pre-term birth, HIV transmission, sèxually
transmitted diseases, ectopic pregnancy, recurrent vulvovàginal
candidiasis (vàginal thrush), and infertility.”
And, do you wash your hands before you
touch your nether region? Many people would wash hands before eating
but do not consider it necessary to also wash hands before washing their
bums. Adigun says just as germs can be introduced into the body via the
mouth when the hands are dirty, so can germs and certain infections be
introduced into the body via dirty hands that touch the female genital.
So, wash your hands before washing ‘yourself!’
Finally, how do you clean up after each bathroom use? Experts advise
that in order to prevent infection, you should wipe from front to back.
Many women do the exact opposite. If you are one of those, it’s time to
change
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