View source for Douche

{{short description|Device used to introduce a stream of water into the body}}
{{hatnote group|
{{Redirect|Douche bag||Douchebag (disambiguation){{!}}Douchebag}}
{{Distinguish|Shower|text=French and other foreign language words for [[shower]]}}
{{about|vaginal irrigation|anal irrigation|Rectal douching}}
}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Infobox medical intervention
| Name = Douche
| Image = Vaginal bulb syringe.jpg
| Caption = A vaginal bulb syringe with lateral holes near the tip of the nozzle
| pronounce = {{IPAc-en|d|uː|ʃ}}
| ICD10 =
| ICD9 = {{ICD9proc|96.44}}
| MeshID = D044364
| OPS301 =
| OtherCodes =
| HCPCSlevel2 =
}}

A '''douche''' is a term for a device used to introduce a stream of water into the body for medical or hygienic reasons, or for the stream of water itself. Douche usually refers to vaginal irrigation, the rinsing of the [[vagina]], but it can also refer to the rinsing of any body cavity. A douche bag is a piece of equipment for douching—a bag for holding the fluid used in douching. To avoid transferring intestinal bacteria to the vagina, the same bag must not be used for both an [[enema]] and a vaginal douche.

Douching after sexual intercourse is not an effective form of [[birth control]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rengel|first=Marian|title=Encyclopedia of birth control|year=2000|publisher=Oryx Press|location=Phoenix, Ariz|isbn=9781573562553|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofbi0000reng/page/65 65]|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofbi0000reng|url-access=registration}}</ref> Additionally, douching is associated with a number of health problems, including [[cervical cancer]], [[pelvic inflammatory disease]], [[endometritis]], and increased risk of [[sexually transmitted infections]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cottrell|first=BH|title=An updated review of evidence to discourage douching.|journal=MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing|date=Mar–Apr 2010|volume=35|issue=2|pages=102–7; quiz 108–9|pmid=20215951|doi=10.1097/NMC.0b013e3181cae9da|s2cid=46715131}}</ref>

== Etymology ==

The word's first known use is in 1766. ''[[wikt:douche#French|Douche]]'' came into English via [[French language|French]], from {{langx|it|doccia}} "conduit pipe" and ''docciare'' "pour by drops" to douche, from ''doccia'' water pipe, probably back-formation from ''doccione'' conduit, from {{langx|la|duction-}}, ''ductio'' means of conveying water, from ''ducere'' to lead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/douche |title=Douche – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |date=2012-08-31 |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>{{Failed verification|source does not support 'shower'|date=February 2016}} In French today it means ''[[shower]]'', as it does in many European languages.

== Overview ==
[[File:Vaginal douche apparatus.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Vaginal douche apparatus with five quart tank from 1905 nursing text]]

[[Feminine hygiene|Vaginal douches]] may consist of water, water mixed with [[vinegar]], or even [[antiseptic]] chemicals. Douching has been touted as having a number of supposed but unproven benefits. In addition to promising to clean the vagina of unwanted odors, it can also be used by women who wish to avoid smearing a sexual partner's penis with menstrual blood while having [[sexual intercourse during menstruation]]. In the past, douching was also used after intercourse as a method of [[birth control]], though it is not effective (see below).

Many health-care professionals state that douching is dangerous, as it interferes with both the vagina's normal self-cleaning and with the natural bacterial culture of the vagina, and it might spread or introduce infections. Douching is implicated in a wide variety of dangers, including: adverse pregnancy outcomes including [[ectopic pregnancy]], [[low birth weight]], preterm labor, [[preterm birth]], and [[chorioamnionitis]]; serious gynecologic outcomes, including increased risk of [[cervical cancer]], [[pelvic inflammatory disease]], [[endometritis]], and increased risk for [[sexually transmitted infections]], including [[HIV]]; it also predisposes women to develop [[bacterial vaginosis]] (BV),<ref name="slate">{{cite web | url = http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/01/microbial_balance_in_vagina_miscarriage_infertility_pre_term_birth_linked.html | title = What's in Your Vagina? A healthy microbiome, hopefully. | first = Moises | last = Velasquez-Manoff | date = Jan 11, 2013 | work = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] }}</ref> which is further associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections.<ref name="Cottrell">{{cite journal | last1 = Cottrell | first1 = B. H. | title = An Updated Review of Evidence to Discourage Douching | journal = MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing | volume = 35 | issue = 2 | pages = 102–107; quiz 107–9 | year = 2010 | pmid = 20215951 | doi = 10.1097/NMC.0b013e3181cae9da | s2cid = 46715131 }}</ref> Due to this, the [[U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]] strongly discourages douching, citing the risks of irritation, bacterial vaginosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Frequent douching with water may result in an imbalance of the [[pH]] of the vagina, and thus may put women at risk for possible vaginal infections, especially yeast infections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://women.webmd.com/tc/Vaginal-Problems-Home-Treatment |title=WebMD article on the causes of yeast infections, including douching |publisher=Women.webmd.com |date=2011-10-31 |access-date=2013-08-03}}</ref>

In May 2003, a randomized, controlled, multi-center study was conducted with 1827 women ages 18–44 who were regular users of a douche product and who had been treated recently for a sexually transmitted bacterial infection or bacterial vaginosis. Women were randomly assigned to use either a newly designed and marketed douche product or a soft cloth towelette. There was little or no indication of a greater risk of PID among women assigned to use the douche product (versus soft cloth towelette).<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Rothman KJ, Funch DP, Alfredson T, Brady J, Dreyer NA|title=Randomized field trial of vaginal douching, pelvic inflammatory disease and pregnancy|journal=Epidemiology |volume=14|issue=3|pages=340–8|date=May 2003|pmid=12859036|doi=10.1097/00001648-200305000-00015|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Image:Combination enema and douche syringe.jpg|thumb|right|225px|The "fountain syringe" is used for douching, by replacing the attached [[enema]] nozzle with the vaginal nozzle (shown bottom left). The vaginal nozzle is longer and thicker and has lateral holes]]

Antiseptics used during douching disturb the natural balance of bacteria in the vagina and can cause infections.<ref name=sciencenews>{{cite journal |last=Seppa |first=N. |title=Douching associated with pregnancy risk |journal=Science News |date=2 January 1999 |volume=155 |issue=1 |pages=7 |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/data/1999/15501/15501-12.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926103430/http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/data/1999/15501/15501-12.pdf | archive-date=September 26, 2012 |access-date=1 March 2013 |doi=10.2307/4011204|jstor=4011204 }}</ref> Unclean douching equipment may introduce foreign bodies into the vagina. Douching may also wash bacteria into the [[uterus]] and [[fallopian tube]]s, causing fertility problems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://health.ivillage.com/gynoperiod/prhygiene/0,,4r3b,00.html|title=Warning from Kelly Shanahan, MD on douching|publisher=Health.ivillage.com|access-date=2013-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111121725/http://health.ivillage.com/gynoperiod/prhygiene/0,,4r3b,00.html|archive-date=2007-11-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> For these reasons, the practice of douching is now strongly discouraged except when ordered by a physician for medical reasons.<ref name="sciencenews"/>

Douching after intercourse is estimated to reduce the chances of conception by only about 30%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Baird|first1=Donna|last2=Weinberg|first2=Clarice|author2-link=Clarice Weinberg|date=June 1996|editor-last=Grigg|editor-first=Bill|title=NIH Study: Among Women Who Want to Get Pregnant, Douching May Delay Conception|url=https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsroom/releases/1996/june19/index.cfm|journal=American Journal of Public Health|access-date=2019-07-12|via=NIH}}</ref> In comparison, proper male [[condom]] use reduces the chance of conception by as much as 98%.<ref name="contraceptivetechnology.org">{{cite book|title=Contraceptive Technology|vauthors=Trussell J|publisher=Ardent Media|year=2011|veditors=Hatcher RA, Trussell J, Nelson AL, Cates W, Kowal D, Policar M|edition=Twentieth Revised|location=New York NY|chapter=Contraceptive Efficacy.|chapter-url=http://www.contraceptivetechnology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CTFailureTable.pdf|access-date=2019-07-13|archive-date=2017-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215224018/http://www.contraceptivetechnology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CTFailureTable.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In some cases douching may force the [[ejaculate]] further into the vagina, increasing the chance of pregnancy. A review of studies by researchers at the [[University of Rochester Medical Center]] (N.Y.) showed that women who douched regularly and later became pregnant had higher rates of [[ectopic pregnancy]], [[infection]]s, and low birth weight infants than women who only douched occasionally or who never douched.<ref name="sciencenews"/>

A 1995 survey quoted in the [[University of Rochester]] study found that 27% of U.S. women age 15 to 44 douched regularly, but that douching was more common among [[African Americans|African-American]] women (over 50%) than among white women (21%),<ref name="sciencenews"/> and frequent douching contributes to more frequent bacterial vaginosis among African-American women than the average.<ref name="slate" />

Medical doctor [[Harriet Hall]] writes that not only can douching change the [[pH]] of the vagina and lead to infections, "There is no need ... to cleanse the vagina. It cleanses itself".<ref name="Care and Feeding">{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Harriet|author-link=Harriet Hall |title=The Care and Feeding of the Vagina |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=5 |pages=28–29 }}</ref>

==Slang uses==
''Douchebag'' and its variants, or simply ''douche'',<ref name="douche-dictionary.com">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/douche?s=t|title=Define Douche at Dictionary.com|publisher=Dictionary.com|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref><ref name="vocabulary.com-douche">{{cite web|url=http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/douche|title=douche – Dictionary Definition|publisher=Vocabulary.com|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> are [[pejorative]] terms<ref name="vocabulary.com-douche"/> referring to an arrogant, obnoxious, or despicable person.<ref name="douchebag-dictionary.com">{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/douchebag|title=Define Douchebag at Dictionary.com|publisher=Dictionary.com|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> The slang usage of the term originated in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drbilllong.com/SpellersDiary/Interlude.html |title=Terms of Derogation |publisher=Drbilllong.com |access-date=2013-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414194031/http://www.drbilllong.com/SpellersDiary/Interlude.html|archive-date=14 April 2006}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Antiseptic douche]]
* [[Bidet]]
* [[Enema]]
* [[Sexual slang]]
* [[Therapeutic irrigation]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline}}
*{{wiktionary-inline|douche bag}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081024153332/http://www.4woman.gov//faq/douching.htm "Douching" Womenshealth.gov] (archive from 24 October 2008) 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120410030151/http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/douching.cfm "Douching fact sheet"] at Womenshealth.gov

{{Dosage forms}}
{{Toilets}}
{{Sexual slang}}

[[Category:Female genital procedures]]
[[Category:Sexual slang]]
[[Category:Feminine hygiene]]
[[Category:False friends]]
[[Category:Hygiene]]
[[Category:Drug delivery devices]]
[[Category:Dosage forms]]
[[Category:Bacterial vaginosis]]