The Use Of Petroleum Jelly Can Lead To Bacterial Infection

The Use Of Petroleum Jelly Can Lead To Bacterial Infection.
Women who use petroleum jelly vaginally may put themselves at chance of a trite infection called bacterial vaginosis, a nugatory study suggests. Prior studies have linked douching to ill effects, including bacterial vaginosis, and an increased jeopardize of sexually transmitted diseases and pelvic demagogic disease. But little research has been conducted on the possible effects of other products some women use vaginally, said Joelle Brown, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the fresh study.

She and her colleagues found that of 141 Los Angeles women they studied, half said they'd reach-me-down some personification of over-the-counter product vaginally in the past month, including sexual lubricants, petroleum jelly and mollycoddle oil. Almost as many, 45 percent, reported douching. When the researchers tested the women for infections, they found that those who'd cast-off petroleum jelly in the history month were more than twice as likely as non-users to have bacterial vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis occurs when the normal compensate between "good" and "bad" bacteria in the vagina is disrupted. The symptoms include discharge, pain, itching or seething - but most women have no symptoms, and the infection usually causes no long-term problems. Still, bacterial vaginosis can judge women more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

It also once in a while leads to pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause infertility. The new findings, reported in the April son of Obstetrics & Gynecology, do not prove that petroleum jelly promptly increased women's risk of bacterial vaginosis. But it's possible, said Dr Sten Vermund, numero uno of the Institute for Global Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.

Petroleum jelly might strengthen the growth of bad bacteria because of its "alkaline properties," explained Vermund, who was not elaborate in the study. "An acidic vaginal environment is what protects women from colonization from aberrant organisms". He noted that many studies have now linked douching to an increased risk of vaginal infections. And that may be because the style "disrupts the natural vaginal ecology".

Normally, the vagina predominantly contains "good" bacteria that provide hydrogen peroxide. And experts say that this natural situation "cleans" the vagina; women do not need special products to do it. Yet many women with to douche, using products that may contain irritating antiseptics and fragrances.

Up to 40 percent of US women superannuated 18 to 44 douche regularly, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. "The frequency with which American women use expendable and harmful intravaginal products is unfortunate". It's not predestined that douching, itself, causes infections, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises women against the practice.

The bruited about findings are based on a group of racially diverse women who agreed to screening for sexually transmitted diseases. Slightly more than one-quarter were HIV-positive. Overall, Brown's troupe found, 21 percent of the women had bacterial vaginosis, and 6 percent had a yeast infection. Women who'd worn petroleum jelly in the last month were 2,2 times more tenable to have bacterial vaginosis than non-users.

That was with other factors, including race, age and douching habits, enchanted into account. It did not appear that women were using the product because of symptoms. Women with the infection were no more likely to report vaginal symptoms than other women were. And none of those with symptoms said they in use petroleum jelly for relief.

In dissimilarity to those findings, douching was not linked to bacterial vaginosis risk in the study. Brown said this could be the issue of having only a small number of women in the study "and the fact that women Euphemistic pre-owned various substances for intravaginal washing - which undoubtedly varied substantially in their chemical constituents and concentrations". Similarly, carnal lubricants were not linked to increased odds of bacterial vaginosis.

That finding echoes what dead studies have found so women who need sexual lubricants for comfort can take some reassurance. Still, Brown said that larger studies are needed to affirm these findings, and to understand how various products can choose women's health if they are used vaginally. For now, she recommended that women ask questions before using any offering vaginally tablet. Women should talk with their health care providers and ask them if the products they are using arranged their vagina are known to be safe for use in the vagina.