All Things Vaginal Health

Hey, Lovelies, I hope you all are enjoying the last remnants of summer (ole girl is holding on for dear life) as we prepare to transition to pumpkin spice and cuffing season. Before you get cozy ("Renaissance" has me in a chokehold) with either yourself or your boo, we gotta have a serious conversation about vaginal health and the ins and outs of the menstrual cycle. Since most of our mamas are not one of our “lil frens” and didn’t give us the nitty gritty about our vagina, we have a lot to talk about, so let's get into it!

Did You Know?

About 1 in 3 women will get Bacterial vaginosis (BV) in their lifetime?
75% of women will get at least one yeast infection in their lifetime?
A normal vaginal pH level is between 3.8-5.0, which is moderately acidic?

What’s Inside the Honeypot (vaginal health)

So, I was avoiding my responsibilities again by scrolling on Instagram and came across a video of a person promoting an interesting concoction to treat and cure BV. While mostly all medicine has a plant derivative, I was SHOOKETH when I saw the ingredients and read through the comments. The vagina is a self-cleaning organ with its own naturally occurring ecosystem. The vaginal flora is the bacteria that naturally live inside of the vagina and are there to help protect against infections.

Bacterial vaginosis

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common health condition caused by having more harmful bacteria than good bacteria in the vagina. Some women and vagina owners may have no symptoms of BV. In contrast, others may experience unusual vaginal discharge (white or gray), a fishy odor, burning while urinating, and vagina irritation (itching). One can get BV by douching, using condoms that disrupt the vagina’s normal pH, and having new or multiple sex partners. Love, if you have a sex partner who is consistently disrupting your pH, baby, that’s nature telling you they’re not the one.

Candidiasis (Yeast infection)

A vaginal yeast infection is another common condition women, and vagina owners may experience at some point in their life. A yeast infection is a fungal infection that happens when the healthy yeast that normally grows in the vagina overgrows. The yeast infection symptoms are itching, burning, and swelling of the vagina and the vulva (the area around the vagina), pain while urinating, pain during sex, soreness, and thick white discharge.

Some things that can throw off your vaginal chemistry and potentially cause a yeast infection are regular hormonal changes, antibiotics (please don’t refuse these if prescribed by a medical professional), pregnancy, unmanaged diabetes, a weak immune system, and another person’s genital chemistry. Your granny was correct when she told you that always wearing those tight jeans could cause a yeast infection. Consistently wearing tight clothes can cause you to sweat and become irritated, which is the perfect environment for yeast to thrive.

Treatment

Both of these conditions are extremely common and are NOT STDs. Please see a medical professional immediately if you find yourself or know someone who has expressed these symptoms. The standard course of treatment for BV is antibiotics, and the treatment for yeast infections is anti-fungal medication. There are over-the-counter remedies for yeast infections, such as medicated creams or suppositories. Please follow the directions precisely and finish all the medicine prescribed, even if your symptoms disappear. Also, take a break from vaginal sex and oral sex, and don’t put anything in your vagina until you have finished the medication and the infection has cleared.

Tidbit

Whether you’re having sex with yourself or a partner, please do a hop, skip, and run to the bathroom afterward to urinate and wash up. If not, you run the risk of getting a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), and every time you go to the bathroom you’ll be hitting a soprano, putting Mariah Carey to shame.

Bees in the Honeypot (stages of the menstrual cycle)

For almost two decades that I’ve had a menstrual cycle, the mechanism of it was never explained to me. My mama only told me that it meant I was a woman and that I could get pregnant, then threw me some maxi pads and went about her day (don’t judge my mama, judge ya cousin).

I know I’m not the only one who feels like a feral cat during ovulation and wants to eat an entire chocolate cake during my cycle. So, since this is a safe space, I figured I’d explain it using Beyoncé references. The four phases of the menstrual cycle are menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase.

Menstrual phase

The menstrual cycle starts with menstrual bleeding (menstruation), which is the shedding of the uterus lining from the body through the vagina and lasts about 3 to 7 days. During this time, estrogen and progesterone levels drop, and you’ll experience cramps, mood swings, bloating, food cravings, tender breasts, and irritability. Resting, yoga, stretching, and walking are some ways to make this time manageable. I liken this phase to a mix of when Beyoncé was getting ready for Coachella and was eating that apple like it was her last supper and when she hit the Britney Spears in the "Hold Up" video.

Follicular phase

The follicular phase begins on the first day of menstruation and ends with ovulation (there is some overlap with the menstrual phase. During this phase, the pituitary gland stimulates the ovaries by releasing follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which stimulates the growth of 3 to 30 follicles. Each follicle contains an immature egg, but only one healthy follicle will fully mature into an egg. The rest of the follicles will be reabsorbed into the body. The maturing follicle causes an increase in estrogen and stimulates the lining of the uterus to thicken to prepare for pregnancy. The length of this phase varies, but on average, it lasts about 13 or 14 days. I liken this phase to regular country Houston-bred Beyoncé (the version we hardly see); during this phase, we’re all just living our normal lives.

Ovulation phase

Ovulation begins with the Luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulating the release of a mature egg from the ovary. The egg travels through the fallopian tube towards the uterus to be fertilized by sperm. If no sperm is present for about 24 hours, the egg will die (but sperm can live up to 5 days in the body). There are about 6 days that pregnancy can occur (fertile window), starting 5 days before ovulation and ending 1 day after ovulation (this varies for everyone). The entire phase typically lasts only for 12 to 24 hours and happens about 14 days before the start of the next period. Some noticeable symptoms of ovulation are an increase in basal temperature and a thick discharge (has the texture of egg whites). Due to an increase in hormones, many women and menstruating people experience an increase in libido (ovulation horny is persistent, you hear me). This phase is "Partition" Beyoncé through and through, y’all know the lyrics.

Luteal phase

The luteal phase starts after ovulation and lasts for 14 days, ending before the next menstrual cycle. It begins with the follicle releasing the egg and it changes into the corpus luteum, producing progesterone and estrogen. The body prepares for pregnancy, however, when pregnancy does not occur the corpus luteum will shrink and be reabsorbed into the body causing the lining of the uterus to shed. Then a new menstrual cycle will start. I can only describe this phase as Beyoncé sitting courtside at basketball games looking all confused and distraught, cause girl why I gotta go through this every. single. month?!?!

Closing

Whew! That was a lot, but I hope that we all have a better understanding of what is happening in our bodies every month. If you’re still confused, no worries reproductive health is an entire science. Remember, you know your body better than anyone, so protect it, and always advocate for yourself. Please be sure to consult with a medical professional, preferably an Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB-GYN) or Women's Health Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant, for more information, a diagnosis, or treatment.

Be on the lookout for more articles from "SPEAK UP!" interns. If you are or know of any Black college-aged and enrolled women interested in advocating against tobacco cessation on HBCU campuses, please visit Save a Girl, Save a World (SAGSAW) for more information.

Aravia Patterson, MPH, is a 26-year-old intern with SAGSAW/SPEAK Up! She is currently a Ph.D. Student at the University of Louisville studying Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences.