Contrary to what women practise, a gynaecologist at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Imran Morhason-Bello has said simple things like cutting of pubic hair, use of deodorant and insertion of materials into the vagina over time can kill sexual pleasure.
Dr Morhason-Bello, gave this advice as part of a lecture at an advocacy meeting on the need to curb ‘medicalisation’ of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria.
The meeting, organised by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) and University of Ibadan Centre for Population and Reproductive Health, was held in Abuja.
The gynaecologist stated that FGM is not the only practice that causes havoc to women’s private parts and their sexual lives but also actions of women in the bid to clean up their private parts or boost their libido.
He said when materials used for cleaning up has corrosive effects, this overtime causes scarring of the private part, thereby making it less sensitive.
According to him, “the skin in the clitoris and labia minoria is very thin and heavily flooded with blood (vascularised). When you disrupt it, the area will heal by secondary intention. When it does so there is scarring, making the nerves less sensitive and their sexual drive will be lost.”
Dr Morhason-Bello explained that women need to avoid inserting non-prescribed medication, herbal preparations, perfumes, and deodorants in their vagina as this can lead to infection.
”In fact, some of them use their hand to insert these materials into the vagina and over time, this could cause narrowing of their vagina. We have cases of total closure of the vagina occurring due to acts like this.
“Correcting this will require multiple complex surgeries either to break it down or to reconstruct a new vagina. So the woman may be in the hospital for months.
“So, the surest material for a lady to clean up is clean water. When you use anything that has antiseptic effects it destroys the normal organisms that nature has created to keep that place fine. New organisms that will now destroy that place will set in; such women may then end up having recurrent vagina discharges,” he declared.
He advised that women should wash their vagina with water and “not mind the odour from the private parts because the odour is characteristic of the vagina”.
He also condemned shaving or cutting of the pubic hair, adding that sometimes this causes repeated micro bruises.
“In fact, sometimes when you examine the vulva of some women, because of multiple scars from shaving with a blade, that area is already disrupted and this can affect their sexual sensation later in life,” he added.
Dr Morhason-Bello also warned women against the use of aphrodisiac, adding that no drug is without side effects.
According to him, “some of the aphrodisiacs are topically applied around the vagina, causing similar effects like other chemical materials.
‘‘Many people that engage in drug-enhancing sexual performance do not practise normal sexual activity. They engage in what is called dry sex or rough sex. So these drugs make them prone to repeated injury. These injuries silently will continue to cause gradual scarring.”
The expert urged women that want tighter vagina to seek the help of a urogyneacologist rather than resorting to inserting substances into their genitals.
“The urogyneacologist can help reconstruct it and make it as it was before and they will go home the same day. But the only thing is that nothing must enter the place for six weeks to three months,” he concluded.
