So, how frequently do you need to douche to stay “clean?” Actually, the right question is whether you should be douching at all in the first place. The idea that the vagina is dirty and needs some miraculous special cleansing is untrue, yet it has been used by so many people to market products that women don’t even need. The same goes for the myths surrounding a “loose vagina” and “stubborn hair.” While women’s health requires the attention it is given, some of the information surrounding it is just not true. Here are the 10 biggest lies sold about Women’s health.

Swimming In The Ocean While Menstruating Will Attract Sharks

Sounds convincing, right? Well, it is not anywhere near the truth. Sharks can detect blood from 1/3 of a mile away, but they mostly track down the blood that belongs to their type of prey which is other sea creatures and not humans.

So, taking a swim during your period doesn’t put you at any higher risk of being attacked by a shark. There were 59 attacks by sharks globally in 2019, 57 in 2020, and none of those can be attributed to menstrual flow. Besides, the blood from your periods is too tiny to catch the attention of anything at sea. So, go ahead and take that swim but don’t do it in shark-infested waters because that is just dangerous; period or no period.

Abortion Causes Infertility

This is one of the oldest women’s health myths in the world. Most people only consider an induced termination of a pregnancy as an abortion, but in medical terms, even a miscarriage is considered an abortion. So, which of these causes infertility?

The truth is that abortion doesn’t cause infertility. The only concern is if scar tissue that occurs after a surgical abortion prevents normal implantation, but that issue can be easily resolved with a doctor’s help. This conclusion involves safe medical abortions only though, not unsanctioned procedures.

Birth Control Pills Cause Weight Gain

The pill has been the victim of lots of myths, including one that blamed it for causing ladies to be more attracted to unattractive men. However, weight gain is the most common of all myths associated with birth control pills. Some novices even tried to defend the myth by saying that the pill causes the body to retain fluid which makes the user fat, but that is not exactly true. Years of research have concluded that there is no direct relationship between women using birth control pills and gaining weight.

Vaginal Steaming Cleanses The Uterus

This goes back to the misconception that the vagina is dirty and that it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. There is no scientific evidence to support the argument that the vagina, cervix and uterus need any special cleaning at all, and a vaginal “facial” is not an exception. It will be a miracle if any of that steam makes it into your uterus. But even if it does, there won’t be anything to cleanse because the uterus, just like other organs in your body, is not dirty.

Breast Implants Are Dangerous For Breastfeeding Mothers

Breast augmentation is one of those procedures that still raise some eyebrows, and many current and future mothers are scared into avoiding it. During augmentation, the ducts that are involved in breastfeeding are rarely affected, so you won’t have any problem breastfeeding. The material in the implants doesn’t pose any health threat either, as they can’t leak into the milk. If any of the nerves and ducts involved in milk production are affected, your doctor will inform you and help you with the proper treatment.

Douching After Sex Prevents Pregnancy

After having unsafe sex, the urge to do anything and get the semen out is always high. However, sperms are microscopic, and most of the things people try, like taking a shower and douching, don’t really work. The Douche solution may not get anywhere near the sperms. It may only end up interfering with the natural ecosystem of your vagina. The best option is to get the morning-after pill.

Abortion Causes Breast Cancer

Abortion is a sensitive topic in society as it interferes with many personal, religious and political views. Breast cancer, on the other hand, is caused by irregular multiplication of cells in the breast, which may also be caused by hormonal imbalance. Abortion is not directly linked to any complications in a woman’s breast health, though. There is no direct correlation between abortions and the risk of breast cancer, so the safest assumption is that this is just a myth.

The Miracle Of Jade Eggs

Jade eggs have been sold to women for decades as the ultimate solution to the perceived problem of having a “loose vagina” and the solution to strengthening vaginal and other pelvic muscles. They are expensive, but many people still use them. However, as far as science is concerned, there is no miracle that will come to you when you insert them into your vagina. In fact, it may be more detrimental than beneficial to use them. If you are so keen on improving your ‘yonni,’ regular Kegel and other exercises and a healthy diet are the best way to go.

Birth Control Pills Are Similar To Abortion

Contraception and abortion are judged through the same lens by most anti-birth-control campaigners, but some tend to go way ahead of the science. Some even go way ahead of pregnancy, like in this case. An abortion can only happen to a fetus that has already been conceived. Birth control pills prevent any conception from happening by preventing the egg from being released, so in the real sense, there is nothing to be aborted. You can’t abort a pregnancy that never happened, right?

Bras Cause Breast Cancer

If this one were true, the entire human population would be on the verge of extinction by now because women who have been wearing bras since 1889 or even earlier would be extinct. Bras have been around all this time because they are doing more good than harm. Breast Cancer is caused by cell division inside the breast, and the bra doesn’t have any effect on that. There is, therefore, no scientific evidence that supports the theory that wearing a bra increases the risk of getting Breast Cancer or any other form of cancer for that matter.