The vagina is a part of the body designed to enable us to have periods, sex and children, but how do you know what is normal and what isn’t? This area of the body, as with every other feature of a person’s physique, is individual to the person in question – no two are the same. The vagina itself is a tube around 8cm long, which leads from the cervix to the vulva – it’s elastic in order to stretch around the baby during labour or around a penis during sex.
In order to keep the vagina in shape, particularly after childbirth, you should perform pelvic floor exercises to tone the muscles and improve sexual functions. In addition to this, regular exercise can also help strengthen this area, such as walking or running, which not only tones the pelvic floor muscles but also improves your general health and wellbeing.
A concern of many women is the size of their labia, which are the lips outside of the vagina, but this is generally an area of little concern – this varies for every woman, so there’s no need to judge yours by the standards of anyone else’s. If you’re really concerned, speak to your GP who can help calm any worries you have. Generally speaking, they are only a medical concern if they are affecting your general day to day life, such as playing sports or working – this is very rare though.
The amount of discharge each woman gets varies, and it is perfectly normal to have differing amounts of discharge depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle. You should become aware of what is normal for you, in terms of texture, smell and colour, but if you notice any changes that you are worried about, speak to your GP who can run tests for any potential infections. If you’re noticing any itching, this should be a concern though – a healthy vagina shouldn’t itch. It could be a sign of thrush, which is easily treatable, or a general skin problem. As before, speak to your GP who can advise you how best to treat the problem.
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