This is true—the vagina has a natural cleansing mechanism, which is why vaginal health specialists never recommend things like putting soap into your vagina, or douching. But when it comes to dripping, odor or discomfort after sex, the natural cleansing mechanism is sometimes enough. However, other women need a little extra “help” to get rid of the fluids as long as it’s effective and safe.
The first thing to understand is that what you eat and drink plays a role in what goes into your mucosal secretions. This is true for how your breath smells, to how your urine smells, to the scent of vaginal secretions. In general we often forget that hydration is essential. When you don’t hydrate everything gets concentrated from your urine odor to your vaginal odor. A normal vagina should be acidic. The body does a nice job of doing this on its own. However, birth control pills and menopause can affect hormone levels which in turn can affect the pH levels.
Not exactly. The reason is two-fold: First, tampons are made of cotton, or rayon, and while this material absorbs menstrual fluid well, they’re not designed to absorb viscous (thick) fluids like semen. Second, tampons are designed to sit in the bottom of the vagina, and they don’t reach into the fornices of the vagina, where semen may be trapped.
Women have a short urethra—usually about 4cm, or a little less than a couple of inches. Because of this, bacteria during sex that live in the vaginal region may be “pushed” into the urethra, and make their way into the bladder. That’s why we recommend that women make sure to pee after sex to help get rid of any bacteria that entered the urethra. Additionally, hydrating is important.
Many women have urinary urgency after sex. This may be from the repetitive friction caused by the penis on the anterior vaginal wall and urethra, as the bladder sits just in front of the inside wall of the vagina. Not all women who have these symptoms (urinary urgency, frequency) necessarily have an infection, though.