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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Rodent Estrous Cycle Monitoring Utilizing Vaginal Lavage: No Such Thing As a Normal Cycle

Rodent Estrous Cycle Monitoring Utilizing Vaginal Lavage: No Such Thing As a Normal Cycle

Published on: August 30, 2021

Why do women douche? A longitudinal study with two analytic approaches.

Rebecca M Brotman¹, Mark A Klebanoff, Tonja Nansel

¹Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21224. rbrotman@jhsph.edu

Annals of Epidemiology

|December 8, 2007

Summary

Women are more likely to douche when experiencing vaginal odor or irritation, or with more sexual partners. Understanding these triggers can help reduce adverse outcomes associated with vaginal douching.

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Area of Science:

Reproductive Health
Vaginal Microbiome Research
Public Health Interventions

Background:

Vaginal douching is linked to adverse health outcomes.
The motivations behind women's douching practices remain under-researched prospectively.
Understanding these motivations is crucial for targeted health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To prospectively investigate the individual-level factors influencing women's decision to douche.
To identify specific triggers and circumstances associated with vaginal douching.

Main Methods:

A longitudinal study involving 3,620 non-pregnant women aged 15-44.
Quarterly assessments over one year.
Case-crossover analysis to identify time-varying factors associated with douching.

Main Results:

Women were more likely to douche when reporting "fishy" vaginal odor (OR: 2.74) or vaginal irritation (OR: 1.52).
Increased number of sex partners (≥3, OR: 2.42) and summer months (OR: 1.37) were also associated with douching.
Douching was less likely during treatment for bacterial vaginosis/trichomoniasis (OR: 0.72) or when menses were absent (OR: 0.37).

Conclusions:

Identifying predictors of vaginal douching can inform programs to reduce associated adverse health effects.
Case-crossover analysis is effective for studying time-varying factors in prospective research.