Body

7 Reasons Your New Vaginal Care Regimen Is Dangerously Nuts

Further proof you should never detox your vagina (No. 4 will make you shudder)

by Katie McCarthy | COMMENT

PHOTO 7/8

No. 7: If Something Is Awry Downstairs, There's Someone Who Can Help (Not Gwyneth Paltrow) And what if there's something genuinely wrong with your vagina -- a newly funky smell, a persistent itch, or pain during sex? Then you don't need a detox; you need a doctor.

"If you are experiencing a bothersome change in vaginal discharge; odor or discomfort; vulvar skin changes, itching or irritation; or pain with intercourse, let your provider know," DePree says. "A thorough exam should be performed to determine the cause, and then, of course, the proper treatment."

Women should also be aware of the signs of pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection of the reproductive organs that requires immediate treatment by a doctor. "If a woman were to develop pelvic inflammatory disease, she would usually have significant pelvic pain, fever, and possibly some bleeding," says Minkin.

But if anyone ever tries to tell you to detox your vagina -- or your uterus, your cervix, or your freakin' chi pathways -- for the love of yoni, don't do it.

Image via Getty

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