Early onset of vaginal douching is associated with false beliefs and high-risk behavior.
BACKGROUND
Vaginal douching in young women has been linked to a variety of adverse reproductive health consequences.


OBJECTIVE
To explore associations with early onset (< or =15 years old) of douching.


METHODS
A confidential survey was self-administered to convenience samples of women attending seven primary care clinics.


RESULTS
The mean age of the 726 evaluable participants was 27.9 years (ranges, 14-63 years). Twenty-two percent of participants believed douching "kills germs that cause infections," and 27% agreed that "women believe douching prevents pregnancy." A history of having ever used douching products was reported by 73%. Of those who had douched, 24% began the practice at age < or =15 years. Compared with those who began at a later age, those who began at age < or =15 years were also more likely to have begun sexual intercourse under 16 years of age (AOR 2.63; P<0.001), to believe that douching kills germs that cause STDs (AOR=2.15 P=0.004), and to currently douche more than once per month (AOR=2.08; P=0.009).


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that early onset of vaginal douching is associated with false beliefs and sexual debut at younger age.
Oh
M Kim
MK
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35233-1711, USA. mkoh@uab.edu
Funkhouser
Ellen
E
Simpson
Tina
T
Brown
Pernell
P
Merchant
Jeanne
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000407:Alabama / Q000453:epidemiology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014621:Vagina