These microscopic maestros, including Lactobacillus and friends, work tirelessly to maintain the pH, fend off harmful invaders, and ensure your intimate ecosystem is a thriving hotspot of health. So, let's celebrate the vaginal microbiome – the unsung heroes of your intimate health with a guide to all things Vaginal Microbiome!
Let's get Nerdy!...
What do we mean by a Healthy Vagina?
It’s all very well talking about vaginal health and a ‘healthy vagina’, but what does that actually mean? In short, a healthy vagina is one that causes you no bother at all and allows you to enjoy a normal life of fun, exercise, work, sex, dancing, swimming…… you name it, you can do it!
A healthy vagina is one that:
- Is free from unpleasant odour, just has your lovely ‘you’ smell
- Doesn’t not itch or sting
- Has no unusual discharge (all vaginas have a little bit of clear mucus discharge)
- Isn’t sore and doesn’t ache
- Is moist, supple and comfortable
A healthy vaginal microbiome is important in relation to fertility and to a successful pregnancy.
What is the vaginal microbiome?
The job of keeping the vagina feeling good and smelling right is down to millions of different types of microbes called bacteria which are collectively called the Vaginal Microbiome. A healthy microbiome is mostly made up of a type of bacteria called a Lactobacillus. These bacteria produce chemicals which make your vagina slightly acidic which is very protective against the bad bacteria and yeasts which cause infections. The predominant types of Lactobacilli found in healthy women are:
L.crispatus
L.gasseri
L.jensenii
L.rhamnosus
These bacteria flourish in the vagina and produce antimicrobial compounds such as lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide and other anti-microbial compounds which stop bad bacteria and yeast from growing and from binding to the walls of the vagina. They are the vagina’s little army of helpers which fight infections.
Are all bacteria the same?
The answer to this question is emphatically NO! If we look at “good bacteria”, there are many different types that help in hundreds of processes that are important in the human body, from digesting food to keeping skin healthy. Lots of these bacteria have the same name – these are known as the same “species”, a bit like all dogs are the same species. Just like the example of dogs, bacteria that are the same species do not all do the same thing. Some may live in the gut, some in the mouth and some in the vagina, each is specialised to do the job that it is needed to do, in the place where it is needed to do it.
This is really important when it comes to supplementing your microbiome. It doesn’t help your vaginal microbiome if you take a supplement which contains species that are best suited to help digestion. This next level of specialisation is called the “strain”. If you are thinking of taking a supplement to support your vaginal microbiome, make sure that you choose one that is both the correct species and is a strain that is supposed to live in the vagina and help support the body’s natural defences against infections.
How can I check the health of my vagina?
In most cases, you will know if you have an infection. With Thrush you will have symptoms such as a discharge and itching or stinging, with a UTI you will have symptoms like the need to pee a lot more than usual, pain when you pee and sometimes blood in your urine.
BV on the other hand doesn’t always cause symptoms. Typically you will get a grey/white thin discharge that smells ‘fishy’ and pain or itching in your vulva. This isn’t always the case though and half of all women with BV do not know they have got it. This is important, because BV can cause further infections such as Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) or cause fertility issues if you are trying to have a baby.
Because a healthy vagina is generally slightly acidic because of all the good Lactobacilli, you can test your pH to see if it is too high. If it is higher than 4.5 then you may have BV (Bacterial Vaginosis). Find out more about the importance of pH and testing on our pH Test page.
If you have tested your pH and your symptoms do not really match-up with any of the most common problems, then you may have a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). If you are concerned about this, you should visit your local STI clinic , visit your GP or get an STI test from your local pharmacy.
