Vaginal douching among university women in the southeastern United States.

OBJECTIVE

The authors assessed the knowledge, beliefs about, and practices of vaginal douching among women attending 2 universities in the southeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS

There were 416 participants in this study; 46.9% were black and 44.5% were white.

METHODS

The authors administered a 30-item questionnaire to women enrolled in health-related and social science courses at 2 southeastern universities.

RESULTS

Approximately 38% of participants reported vaginal douching, mostly for hygienic reasons (70.7%). Most women first learned about douching from their mother. Douching was more common and more frequent among black women (48%) than among white women (27%). Age of first douche correlated positively with age of first sexual intercourse and age of first period.

CONCLUSION

Women who had been informed not to douche by a healthcare professional were less likely to have douched within the past 6 months than were women who were not given this information. Misconceptions about douching are common and should be addressed by healthcare professionals.