Keeping Your Vagina Clean and Healthy

We all know tips and tricks for getting healthy hair and skin, but what about having a healthy vagina? Most women are taught early on to cleanse daily with strong soap or use "feminine hygiene" sprays, but this can actually do more harm than good. Knowing the right way to stay clean, choosing foods that will boost your health, and even exercising your vagina are all ways you can keep your vagina in tip top shape. Read on to learn more about how to have a healthy vagina.


The vagina is a tube of muscle inside a woman’s body that runs from the cervix (the opening of the womb) to the vaginal opening. The external sex organs, which are called the vulva, surround the vaginal opening.
Looking after your everyday health can help keep your vagina in good shape, says Dr Suzy Elneil, consultant in urogynaecology at University College Hospital, London, and spokesperson for Wellbeing of Women. “Generally, good vaginal health is maintained by making sure you’re in good general health,” she explains. “This includes healthy diet and exercise. Normal exercise helps maintain good vaginal function, as walking and running helps the pelvic floor to tone up and helps ensure good general health.”

Vaginal secretions or discharge
Other than your period as part of your natural menstrual cycle, it’s normal to produce clear or white secretions (discharge) from your vagina. This mucus is produced naturally from the neck of the womb, known as the cervix. “Vaginal discharge is not ‘always a bad sign’,” says Dr Elneil. “There is a myth that copious clear or white discharge is associated with sexually transmitted infections. Changes in the amount of discharge can be 100% hormonal – in other words, linked to the menstrual cycle, pregnancy or menopause.”
The character and amount of vaginal discharge varies throughout your menstrual cycle. Around the time that your ovary releases an egg (ovulation), your discharge usually becomes thicker and stretchy, like raw egg white.

The vagina contains more bacteria than any other part of a woman's body, after the bowel

Healthy discharge doesn’t have a strong smell or colour. You may feel an uncomfortable wetness, but you shouldn’t have any itching or soreness around your vagina. If there are any changes to your discharge that aren’t normal for you, such as a change in colour or if it starts to smell or itch, see your GP as you might have an infection.

Bacteria in the vagina

There are lots of bacteria inside the vagina, and they’re there to protect it. Professor Ronnie Lamont, spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, says: “The vagina contains more bacteria than anywhere else in the body after the bowel, but the bacteria are there for a reason.”
The good bacteria inside the vagina:

• provide "numerical dominance": they outnumber other potential harmful bacteria that might enter the vagina
• help to keep the vagina’s pH balance (how acidic the vagina is) at an even level, which helps to keep the balance of bacteria healthy
• can produce bacteriocins (naturally occurring antibiotics) to reduce or kill other bacteria entering the vagina
• produce a substance that stops invading bacteria sticking to the vagina walls, which prevents bacteria from invading the tissues

If the balance of bacteria is disturbed, this can lead to infection and inflammation. Bacteria called lactobacilli help to keep the vagina’s pH balance at its normal low level (less than pH 4.5), which also prevents the growth of other organisms. If the pH of the vagina increases (in other words, if it gets less acidic), the quality or amount of lactobacilli can fall and other bacteria can multiply. This can result in infections such as bacterial vaginosis or thrush, which can cause symptoms including itching, irritation and abnormal discharge.

Washing your vagina

It’s a good idea to avoid perfumed soaps, gels and antiseptics as these can affect the healthy balance of bacteria and pH levels in the vagina, and cause irritation.
Use plain, unperfumed soaps to wash the area around the vagina (the vulva) gently every day. The vagina will clean itself inside your body with natural vaginal secretions (discharge). “During your period, washing more than once a day may be helpful,” says Dr Elneil, who points out that keeping the perineal area (between the vagina and anus) clean is important too. “Good perineal hygiene is necessary, by washing that area at least once a day using your normal bathing routines.”
“All women are different,” says Professor Lamont. “Some may wash with perfumed soap and not notice any problems. But if a woman has vulval irritation or symptoms, then one of the first things you can do is to use non-allergenic, plain soaps to see if that helps.”

Vaginal douches

A douche flushes water up into the vagina, clearing out vaginal secretions. Some women use a douche to "clean" the vagina, but using a douche can disrupt the normal vaginal bacteria so it isn't recommended that you use one.
“I can’t think of any circumstances where douches are helpful, because all they do is wash out everything that’s in the vagina, including all the healthy bacteria,” explains Professor Lamont.
There is no evidence that douching protects against STIs or vaginal infections, and it may even increase the risk.

Scented wipes and vaginal deodorants

These perfumed products can disrupt the vagina’s healthy, natural balance. “If nature had intended the vagina to smell like roses or lavender, it would have made the vagina smell like roses or lavender,” says Professor Lamont.
Washing with water and a plain soap should be all you need to keep your vagina healthy. It’s normal for the vagina to have a scent. “Vaginal odour can change at different times of the reproductive cycle and shouldn’t always be thought of as being a sign of infection or illness,” says Dr Elneil.
If you’re worried about the way your vagina smells, if the smell is unpleasant, or you’re using perfumed products to cover up your vagina’s smell, you should see your GP. You might have an infection that needs treatment.
The most common cause of unusual vaginal discharge is bacterial vaginosis, which can cause an unpleasant smell. It’s easily treated with antibiotics,

Safer sex

Some bacteria and viruses can get into the vagina during sex. These include the bugs that cause chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital herpes, genital warts, syphilis and HIV. You can protect your vagina against these infections by using a condom every time you have sex.

You forgot the interview you granted to Punch newspaper in 2011..." Sophia replies Tchidi Chikere

 
So after Tchidi Chikere kinda washed her dirty linen in public yester-evening (HERE), Sophia has responded via a press statement below:

Tchidi Chikere, I read all you said about me and I laugh. Is that the best way to justify yourself? It is well. I will not exchange words with you still because there is nothing you say or write about me that will shake me because those that put their trust in God, He never fails them.

Why are you lying to people? For them to turn around and clap for you and justify what you did? Is it because people who know the truth are saying it and it's hurting you and you are now looking for a way to justify yourself. I give 10 years of my life and this is how you repay me? By disrespecting me and my family?

You said I used juju to marry you. If truly I and my family used juju to hold you, let God who sees everything judge me and you.

You bring money for the upkeep of your kids and you are writing about it? Like seriously, are they not your kids? Whose responsibility is that? And who is disputing that with you? You said since you married me that I have not given you no love, no affection etc but you forgot the interview you granted to Punch newspaper in 2011 saying that I am the best thing that have happened to you.

You said I never had time for you? When you are always filming in the east and I won't see you in months. I played the role of father and mother to the kids...and I laughed the more when I saw where you wrote that I didn't feed you for 5 days.. Is this all in desperation to justify yourself? Wow!!

You said marriages are not contracted on the pages of newspaper and granting interviews yet you people have been granting interviews upon interviews since 2012.. Have I said anything against you? But I won't say anything against you. Keep saying lies about me thinking you can tarnish my image by putting up this childish and immature behavior.

Even if you say that I am a prostitute tomorrow or a thief, people who know the truth know the truth and God knows everything and sees the heart and he will pay everybody back according to our deeds. So am not shaking!!

I will never say anything against you to gain favour from people! No you can't hide pregnancy. I gave you my life for 12 years, gave you 3 lovely boys, gave you a home. And you always say to me then, I was a good wife to you and you know it. I was loyal to you and never cheated on you. I swallowed and stomached so many things just to make my marriage work. I turned deaf ears to so many things and covered my eyes to so many things.

I remember all the stories I heard about your escapades with other women, but did I leave you? I stayed with you because marriage is for better or worse and when you started your affair with Nuella in 2010, what did you say to me when I confronted you?

I stayed, endured and prayed every night. Have you forgotten the day I almost committed suicide? The first time you left me and the kids? I wanted to end my life but God saved me. Even as you left us in 2012, I keep saying to people that my marriage is intact and I never changed my name from Sophia Tchidi Chikere till date.

Have you not done enough to me? You are married now and still I wish you and your new wife well. Why can't you leave me alone to face my children and fill up the vacuum this has created in their lives? You say such evil things against their mother and they are hearing it from their schoolmates. Their schoolmates are taking about it and asking them questions everyday and yet your not satisfied. You claim you kept quiet because of them, yet you have been talking and tarnishing my image since 2012? Yet I kept mute. I have not and will never say anything bad against you. Vengeance is of the Lord, unless he is not on the throne.

You put up my pictures with my friend to use against me? You want to use it to justify what you did to me? What you put me through for years? You said he is my boyfriend that I go to see in London and I ask you Tchidi, when I was with you, did I not go to London 2 or 3 times yearly to buy clothes for my boutique? Everybody knows that I am a business woman and I buy my products from London and America. And so because I have a friend in London, I now go there just to see him? Lol He is my friend, my pal, my buddy and my best friend.

We started being good friends in 2013 after Chidi left me and ended our marriage. He is someone that is very close to me and my confidant. All these years I have had women as best friends and they all betrayed me, and I decided to have a guy as my best friend. We go everywhere together and he assists me in shopping and buying things for my shop etc I can't deny him. He is my friend. People that know me very well will tell you that I love taking pictures and so we took lots of pictures and the guy posted it on his Facebook page and some people copied it and started posting it online. I have also kept mute about it and I would have still keep mute if not that Tchidi raises it and wanted to use it to tarnish my name.

But is well. My kids read what their daddy wrote about me and they asked me to respond and tell the whole world that you are wonderful mother and that they know and they are seeing everything and won't say anything till they grow up! So am responding to this because of my three lovely boys that I live for, that am blessed with.

I want to beg Tchidi to please allow me to concentrate and train my kids with God's grace and help. I wish him the best in his new marriage.I bless his new marriage with his new wife and I wish them well. This will be my last statement. Even if Chidi pulls the mountain to paint me black.. I will not respond again.

Thank you

Tchidi Chikere ridicules ex-wife, exposes her lovers

The fight gets dirtier.... as Nollywood producer/director TChidi has blown the lid on why his marriage with estranged wife Sophia crumpled by exposing photos of Sophia with her lovers. When Sophia initially accused Nuella of breaking her home, Tchidi kept mum...well, he's finally decided to speak and spill the beans! According to Tchidi, he has tried in a matured way to be silent about the whole issue but I guess comments from haters got to him. Tchidi  said, he begged her for years,  cried for affection,  begged for a bond but Sophia never cared. That is why he wants to experience love and what it really means to have a home, what life feels like to be truly married.  TChidi is still tweeting but here are snapshots of his first tweets below:

Finally EXPOSED! See What Many Ladies Wear To Deceive Men (See Photo)

 

Ever noticed someone (a lady) whose posterior used to be flat, eventually becomes bigger like Kim K's over night? Well, if you have, don't trip, she just got this from the market! 

Na foam in there o! 

 

Lol.....

Oh Dear! Nollywood Actor Chris Nkulor's New Look will Shock You! (Photos)

Here are recent pictures of Enugu based Nollywood actor, Chris Nkulor, who right now is down with kidney infection and needs to undergo a surgery as quickly as possible.

Chris has been critically ill for a long time now, before he was even diagnosed of kidney infection. And according to his colleagues, they are proposing that the surgery be done at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching hospital Ile-Ife Nigeria. A total sum of about three million naira is needed for the surgery and post surgery care.

If you would love to help, please donate anything you have to the account number: Chris Nkulor, 0065713996, Access Bank. Chris Nkulor also needs our prayers

Comedian Bovi Shows Off Beautiful Wife And Shares Message For Her

He took to social media on March 30, 2014, to share a message for his beautiful spouse on the Mother's day.



This is what he had got to say:
"Happy Mothers’ day to Christabel, d one who took me and gave me emotional shelter, ok well plus financial loan just one time. Hehehe, my tolerant, my adviser, confidant, beautiful nuisance, my perfect imperfection. The mother of our children."

It would be recalled that last September the couple, already blessed with a son, welcomed their second child, a baby girl.
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HIV Infected Man Beats WifeTo Death For Denying Him Sex

A man suspected to be infected with HIV has allegedly beaten his wife to death in Plateau State, northcentral Nigeria.
 
The man identified as Benjamin Toma has been arrested after the incident which happened recently.
Plateau State Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe, who confirmed the incident, told journalists on Tuesday that Toma beat his wife to death and later hanged her body to cover up the criminal act.
According to the state police boss, Chuwang Sambo of Larwa village in Heipang District of Barkin Ladi Local Government, reported to the police that Toma of Foron junction, also in Barkin Ladi, beat his wife, Victoria aged 25, to death and later hanged her body.
Olakpe further stated that “the reason for his action was as a result of his wife’s refusal to summit herself to sexual intercourse.”
A source close to the couple said Victoria consistently denied Toma sex because he had contracted the dreaded HIV disease.
Olakpe said the suspect will soon appear in court after the conclusion of investigation.
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Ovulation: Five Ways to Tell You're Ovulating

During each monthly cycle, healthy couples in their 20s or early 30s who aren't using birth control have a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant. And that's a surprisingly high percentage considering that you can conceive only around the time of ovulation — a small window of opportunity each month (usually about 12 to 24 hours) during which the egg is viable, or open for the business of fertilization.
Doesn't sound like much of an opening? Consider, then, that sperm are able to live to fertilize for a lot longer than an egg is willing to hang out, anywhere from three to six days. Which means that even if you have sex a few days before ovulation, there may be plenty of sperm still around to greet the egg when it emerges. (And remember: It only takes one sperm to make a baby.) Of course, having sex the day you ovulate would be ideal. After ovulation, that window tends to slam shut till the next cycle. Clearly, knowing when the Big O occurs is key when doing the Baby Dance.

Here are five ways to help you pin down the big day. 
1. Check the calendar: Ovulation most often occurs halfway through your menstrual cycle — the average cycle lasts 28 days, counting from the first day of one period (day one) to the first day of the next period. But as with everything pregnancy-related, there's a wide range of normal here (anywhere from 23 to 35 days), and your own cycle may vary slightly from month to month. By keeping a menstrual calendar for a few months, you can get an idea of what's normal for you — tools like this ovulation predictor can help you pin down the date. If your periods are irregular, you'll need to be even more alert for other signs of ovulation, so read on.
2. Listen to your body: If you're like 20 percent of women, your body will send you a memo when it's ovulating, in the form of a twinge of pain or a series of cramps in your lower abdominal area (usually localized to one side — the side you're ovulating from). Called mittelschmerz — German for "middle pain" — this monthly reminder of fertility is thought to be the result of the maturation or release of an egg from an ovary. Pay close attention, and you may be more likely to get the message.
3. Chart your temperature: That is, your basal body temperature, or BBT. Taken with a special thermometer (yes, you guessed it, a basal body thermometer), your BBT is the baseline reading you get first thing in the morning, after at least three to five hours of sleep and before you get out of bed, talk, or even sit up. Your BBT changes throughout your cycle as fluctuations in hormone levels occur. During the first half of your cycle, estrogen dominates. During the second half of your cycle (once ovulation has occurred), there is a surge in progesterone. Progesterone increases your body temperature as it gets your uterus ready for a fertilized, implantable egg. Which means that in the first half of the month, your temperature will be lower than it is in the second half of the month, after ovulation. Confused? Here's the bottom line: Your BBT will reach its lowest point at ovulation and then rise immediately and dramatically (about a half a degree) as soon as ovulation occurs. Keep in mind that charting your BBT for one month will not enable you to predict the day you ovulate but rather give you evidence of ovulation after it has occurred. Charting your BBT over a few months, however, will help you to see a pattern to your cycles, enabling you to predict when ovulation will occur in future months — and when to hop into bed accordingly.
4. Get to know your cervix: Ovulation isn't an entirely hidden process. As your body senses the hormone shifts that indicate an egg is about to be released from the ovary, it begins to ready itself for the incoming hordes of sperm and give the egg its best chance of getting fertilized. One detectable sign of oncoming ovulation is the position of the cervix itself. During the beginning of a cycle, your cervix — that neck-like passage between your vagina and uterus that has to stretch during birth to accommodate your baby's head — is low, hard, and closed. But as ovulation approaches, it pulls back up, softens a bit, and opens just a little, to let the sperm through on their way to their target. Some women can easily feel these changes, while others have a tougher time. Check your cervix daily, using one or two fingers, and keep a chart of your observations. The other cervical sign you can watch for is the appearance, increase in quantity, and change in consistency of cervical mucus (the stuff that gets your underwear all sticky). Its more noble purpose is to carry the sperm to the ovum deep inside you.
After your period ends, you'll have a dry spell, literally; you shouldn't expect much, if any, cervical mucus. As the cycle proceeds, you'll notice an increase in the amount of mucus with an often white or cloudy appearance — and if you try to stretch it between your fingers, it'll break apart. As you get closer to ovulation, this mucus becomes even more copious, but now it's thinner, clearer, and has a slippery consistency similar to an egg white. If you try to stretch it between your fingers, you'll be able to pull it into a string a few inches long before it breaks. (How's that for fun in the bathroom?) This is yet another sign of impending ovulation — as well as a sign that it's time to get out of the bathroom and get busy in the bedroom. Once ovulation occurs, you may either become dry again or develop a thicker discharge. Put together with cervical position and BBT on a single chart, cervical mucus can be an extremely useful (if slightly messy) tool in pinpointing the day on which you are most likely to ovulate — and it does so in plenty of time for you to do something about it.
5. Buy an ovulation predictor kit: Don't want to mess around with mucus? You don't have to these days. Ovulation predictor kits (OPKs) are able to pinpoint your date of ovulation 12 to 24 hours in advance by looking at levels of luteinizing hormone, or LH, which is the last of the hormones to hit its peak before ovulation actually occurs. All you have to do is pee on a stick and wait for the indicator to tell you whether you're about to ovulate.
Another option is a saliva test, which takes a peek at levels of estrogen in your saliva as ovulation nears. When you're ovulating, a look at your saliva under the test's eyepiece will reveal a microscopic pattern that resembles the leaves of a fern plant or frost on a windowpane. Not all women get a good "fern," but this test, which is reusable, can be cheaper than those sticks you have to pee on. There are also devices that detect the numerous salts (chloride, sodium, potassium) in a woman's sweat, which change during different times of the month. Called the chloride ion surge, this shift happens even before the estrogen and the LH surge, so these tests give a woman a four-day warning of when she may be ovulating, versus the 12-to-24-hour one that the standard pee-on-a-stick OPKs provide. The key to success in using this latest technology is to make sure to get an accurate baseline of your ion levels (currently, there's a device on the market that needs to be worn on the wrist for at least six continuous hours to get a proper baseline). No OPK can guarantee that you will get pregnant or that you're actually ovulating; they can only indicate when ovulation may be occurring. So no matter which device or method you choose, patience and persistence are key! Just don't forget to put together a candlelit dinner, draw a warm bubble bath, or plan a romantic weekend getaway — whatever it is that puts you and your partner in a baby-making mood.
Good luck — and have fun trying!

I Was Raped At 13, I Was Scared – Ice Prince Opens Up

Story of the famous Nigerian rapper Ice Prince, who has recently said in an interview that he had his first kiss at the age of 13, takes a new turn as he reveals how he lost virginity with an aunty at 13.


Speaking with Pulse, the performer said:
"I had my first kiss when I was 13…I had my first sexual encounter... It wasn’t a sweet experience at all. I had this aunty, though we were not related, she was just a neighbour who was living close to us, who came into my room and slept with me... She just came into my room and just forced me to do it with her."
Describing the whole thing as a "terrilble experience", Ice Prince confessed that he was really scared.
He also added that, in his opinion, sex is not "that good" and that it is "over-rated".
Expressing his reluctance to speak on the issue, the celebrity concluded that he had not seen his first woman since then.
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Love Indeed: Australian Man Weds His Dog

This is surely the end of times as an Australian man, Joseph Guiso, surprised his family and friends when he decided to tie the knot with his dog, Honey, a 5-year-old labrador retriever, whom he described as his best friend.
Joseph, from Toowoomba, a suburb of Australia, gathered 30 of his friends and family to witness what he called the 'most important day in his life and that of Honey.'
Describing himself as a very religious person, Joseph said he felt guilty about living in sin with Honey, so he decided they should seal their love in front of God. He then got down to his knees, stared deeply into the dog's eyes and said to her:
You’re my best friend and you make every part of my day better.
Joseph also promised his family and friends that his relationship with Honey is made of pure love.
Joseph Guiso then sealed the marriage with a kiss right on Honey’s snout.

See photos below: