Coronavirus and your vagina

Welcome to the apocalypse! Nobody thought it would look like this, but here we are.

First off, don’t worry – coronavirus can’t infect your vagina. It infects your respiratory tract. But, there could be indirect impacts on your body that could result in your vagina turning on you. Read on if you can draw yourself away from the news!

What we’re doing to help

• Killing BV books are free for the foreseeable future
• Ask Aunt Vadge is open to take your questions
• A few naturopathic tips below to help see you through being unwell and to support your vulva and vagina through hard times

We’re well-stocked in products and so long as shipping systems are still in place, slow as they may be, we can send supplies anywhere. So far so good!

Coronavirus and your vagina

While we know by now that COVID-19 gives you respiratory problems (not vagina problems), it is unclear what else could happen to you besides financial ruin and the death of a beloved.

Indirect coronavirus fall-out for your vulva or vagina

• Stress and anxiety – stress hormones dampen immunity and reduce vaginal sugars that feed healthy flora (resulting in worsening or developing flora-related vulvovaginal symptoms)
• Poor nutrition – missing out on food groups that keep your immunity up
• Stress-induced hormonal fluctuations – delayed ovulation, delays in periods, skipped periods/periods stop, worsening or developing premenstrual symptoms (PMS or PMDD)

The main issue anyone suffering from COVID-19 will face is pressure on the immune and nervous systems. It may be mild, it may be severe, but you won’t know unless it happens to you.

If you already have vulvovaginal problems, such as infections or auto-immune disease, you could see a worsening of your symptoms while you’re unwell.

If you’re treating vulvovaginal infections like bacterial vaginosis and have respiratory symptoms, follow the advice of your local health department to avoid respiratory transmission to others and support your immune system.

Treat your vulvovaginal symptoms based on advice from your healthcare practitioner, but also avoid transmission – many bugs/conditions are not on the sexually transmitted disease official register and can be transmitted to sexual partners.

Supporting your body and mind

The immune and nervous systems are supported largely by diet and lifestyle, so here’s our two cents to keep you running on all systems and help keep vulvovaginal problems from worsening.

Eat well

You need your vitamins and minerals to keep your immune system going, so do your fresh fruit, veg and lean protein routine like never before. Make nice soups, eat salads, mix it up where you can, and don’t skip any food groups.

Important nutrients include zinc, protein, vitamin C, and fibre, to keep your bowels moving. Stay hydrated. Take a vitamin D supplement. Drink and gargle green tea, eat raw garlic. Eat more plants, cook at home.

Sleep well

Your immune system rejuvenates itself while you sleep, so a good night’s sleep is more important than ever. It’s not always easy to get a full night’s rest, with kids, stress and global melt-down anxiety, but make an effort whatever that means for you in your life.

Take naps. Dim the lights on screens. Keep the temperature low while in bed. Keep a regular routine. Avoid caffeine 6-10 hours before bedtime.

Relax

This, like everything else, will pass. If you are lucky enough to be able to relax right now, go nuts. If you’re experiencing stress and anxiety, find ways that suit you to actively relax as a matter of priority, the same way you would find time to eat and sleep.

Stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) block your immune system from functioning optimally, so reducing these hormones – by chilling out on purpose as a therapy – is a meaningful step you can take. While the anxiety may seem to have no end in sight, do what you can and then take time out and calm the mind and body.

Dance, sing, connect with friends and family, binge-watch a comedy and laugh your guts out, read a book or take five minutes each day to do some mindfulness/meditate/whatever that means for you. It works! Science says.

Resilience of your body and mind is what we’re aiming for. May the vagina fairies be with you during quarantine!