The pH balance is the balance between “basic” and “acidic”. This balance has an effect on the vaginal health. Healthy levels of some certain types of bacteria may keep the vaginal pH balance from 3.8 to 4.5, which can be on the acidic side. Nevertheless, the balance may be upset easily. A high pH level in the vagina indicates that there isn’t enough acidity while a lower level indicates a higher amount of acidity. When the vaginal pH level is above the normal range, you can experience excess discharge, itching, and pain when urinating. So, do you know the root causes of pH imbalance? If “No”, you can learn more in this article on the VKool.com.

Top 14 Common Causes Of pH Imbalance You Should Be Aware Of

1. Stress

In fact, chronic stress may result in chronic acidosis. The body tends to produce acids as a normal & natural response when under stress. Particularly, the adrenal glands are responsible for secreting the stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol. These hormonal secretions result in an accelerated metabolic state that will create acid as a by-product.

2. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Menstruation

The blood pH is normally 7.4, which is considered much higher than the pH levels of the healthy vagina. Tampons may be one of the causes of pH imbalance because they often absorb menstrual blood & fluids for a long period of time. This problem is often made worse if the tampons are left in this area for longer than several hours because unhealthy bacteria grow in the moist & warm environment.

Read more: Natural home remedies for heavy menstrual bleeding clots

3. Tampons

Tampons soak up your menstrual fluid and good & bad bacteria. They may prevent the good bacteria from maintaining your pH balance while giving the bad bacteria a great environment to grow on ^[1]. Instead, you can try using a reusable menstrual cup, which collects your menstrual flow rather than soaking it. Besides, the cup is made of the medical-grade silicone, which helps to protect your natural balance.

4. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Lack Of Exercise

Moderate exercise helps to alkalize your body for a lot of reasons. It aids in increasing the oxygen flow in your blood, organs, and tissues, and stimulating the burning and eliminating acid wastes from your body.  Over exercising may create acidity due to the accumulation of lactic acid. In addition, lack of exercise may contribute to the buildup of acids in your body.

You should maintain moderate physical activity for at least 3 times a week with a proper period of rest, which helps to return the lactic acid levels to normal.

5. Sexual Intercourse

The sweat & bodily fluids, like semen, may carry a pH from 7.1 to 8. When the fluids are entered into the vaginal pH levels will change, which triggers an imbalance. Moreover, women often produce natural lubricant as aroused, but some women don’t produce enough. When the insufficient natural lubricant is produced during sexual intercourse, the vagina and labia will become irritated & chafed that may also trigger a pH imbalance. Sexual intercourse-induced pH imbalances may resolve themselves within several hours. If you suffer from irritation after sex, try condoms to avoid the balance.

Learn more: Best diet and foods for sex power

6. Douching

Some women feel that they have to clean their vaginas with cleansers and water. However, this isn’t necessary because your vagina may clean itself. Plain water has the pH of 7 (above the acidic level we want) and the fragrances used in several douches may trigger pH imbalances and irritate the vagina. Cleaning the external part of the vagina is all that is necessary. In case, you notice an unpleasant or strong smell, you may make an appointment to visit your gynecologist because you might have an infection.

7. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Smoking

As you may know, smoking has a lot of unhealthy impacts for the body. When it comes to acid & alkaline balance, the toxins and strong chemicals in cigarettes have an acidic effect on your body. The lungs and kidneys are the main organs in the body that help to eliminate toxins. Not only does smoking load the body with many toxins forming from acids but it also weakens your lungs, which hampers the ability of the body to remove toxins through expiration.

See more: Negative side effects of smoking

8. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Overwork

Many times people with workaholic tendencies often ignore the signals and break that the body is giving them, and continue working. As an alternative to the rejuvenation, your body would have collected from a break or a walk, the body begins to secrete adrenalin for extra amounts of energy needed to continue working. Done repeatedly your body begins to build up the acidic by-products, which cannot be eliminated without the appropriate rest & recuperation.

You should deliberately begin breaking up the habit of overworking. Make sure that you are getting proper amounts of rest & relaxation and are having balanced, nutritious meals.

9. Eating An Overly-Acidic Diet

Meat, highly processed foods, sugar, dairy products, alcohol, coffee, and soft drinks result in an acid condition in your body if not balanced by drinking enough water and eating alkaline-forming foods, including vegetables and fruit.

Many acid-forming foods aren’t harmful in themselves. However, foods like nuts, fish, and oils are essential for a balanced diet. Health or sexual conditions only occur when the diet includes a large number of acid-forming foods. When you do not consume enough alkaline-forming foods, the excess acid won’t be able to be removed and will be stored in the body.

For people who are acidic, their diets include 20% acid-forming foods and 80% alkaline-forming foods until their pH level come back into balance. Avoid drinking soft drinks. Instead, consume water with natural flavors (lemon or lime juice). Besides, consider including organic food in your diet.

See more: Good foods for vaginal health

10. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Lack Of Water

Because water is necessary to remove acid wastes from your body, insufficient intake of water is one of other causes of pH imbalance. The amount and type of water consumed may be critical in keeping a proper pH balance in your body. Water needs to be filtered to eliminate chlorine, heavy metals, ammonia, inorganic chemicals, bacteria, pesticides, and remnants of corrosive piping.

Lastly, you should not drink alcohol, tea, coffee, and sweetened drinks as the main substitute for water. Caffeine, sugar, and alcohol make your body more acidic and dehydrated. The most effective solution is to drink 6 to 8 glasses of filtered & mineralized water a day.

11. Medication

Most medications have an acidic effect on the organs in the body, including prescribed medications for acidic conditions. The drugs fight the symptoms and reduce the pain, but do not deal with the cause of this acid condition and actually worsen it. The longer the drugs are taken, the more noticeable the acidic effect can be.

Birth control pills and antihistamines can also be one of the causes of pH imbalance in your vagina. Any medication upsets the normal balance of hormones & chemicals in the body and may upset both vaginal and bodily pH balance.

Read more: Bacterial vaginosis freedom

12. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Lack Of Sleep

A good sleep at night is a restorative action of the body to bind and remove the acid. Alkaline minerals including calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium bind to acids (hence neutralizing them), which allows these to be excreted by your kidneys.  The fewer hours you sleep the less acid amount you remove.

In some people, lack of sleep also causes the stomach to create an excess of the hydrochloric acid. This excess amount of acid must be neutralized, which will create a greater demand for the precious mineral reserves of the body.

13. Hormonal Changes

As you may know, hormone levels play a crucial role in balancing pH in the vagina. Changing hormonal levels (including during pregnancy, menstrual cycles, and menopause), may have an effect on the vaginal pH balance.

14. Causes Of pH Imbalance – Breastfeeding Or Menopause

The hormones, especially estrogen, are important in keeping the vagina healthy and the pH acidic ^[2]. When women start menopause or breastfeed, estrogen levels are usually low, causing higher pH and sometimes leading to conditions such as vaginal atrophy ^[3]. If you are going through menopause or breastfeeding, consult your doctor to keep the pH balanced. They may suggest using prescribe creams or supplements to aid you in staying balanced.

Above are the common causes of pH imbalance you should be aware of. Hope that it helps you to know the root causes to protect your vaginal health. For another useful article about sex and relationships, visit our Love & Sex page. Feel free to leave your comments to share your thoughts with us.

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