Rosenberg M J, Phillips R S, Holmes M D
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
J Reprod Med. 1991 Oct;36(10):753-8.
Despite the long history of vaginal douching and its estimated practice by more than 67 million U.S. women, little is known about who those women are or why they douche. We addressed these questions by studying 618 women from urban gynecology practices. Fifty-nine percent had douched at some time, with the most frequent reason given as hygiene. The solutions used were evenly divided between commercial and home preparations. Three characteristics stood out among the women who douched: lower socioeconomic status, greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases and symptoms suggestive of vaginal infection. These characteristics were most common among women who douched frequently. The results suggest that douching has a strong cultural component but also raise the possibility that douching may be done in response to a perceived infection, possibly one transmitted through sexual contact.
尽管阴道灌洗历史悠久，且据估计有超过6700万美国女性有此行为，但对于这些女性是谁以及她们为何进行灌洗却知之甚少。我们通过对618名来自城市妇科诊所的女性进行研究来解决这些问题。59%的女性曾在某个时候进行过灌洗，最常见的原因是出于卫生考虑。所使用的灌洗溶液在商业制剂和自制制剂之间平均分配。在进行灌洗的女性中，有三个特征较为突出：社会经济地位较低、性传播疾病风险较高以及有阴道感染的症状。这些特征在频繁灌洗的女性中最为常见。研究结果表明，灌洗有很强的文化因素，但也增加了一种可能性，即灌洗可能是对察觉到的感染做出的反应，可能是通过性接触传播的感染。
