Benefits of coconut oil for vaginal dryness
Benefits of coconut oil for vaginal dryness
Menopause introduces several symptoms into your life like hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, and so on. One of the significant menopause symptoms includes vaginal dryness. It can hamper your sex life and cause discomfort. There are several treatments available to treat vaginal dryness. One of the best natural remedies is coconut oil. Research recommends using coconut oil because of its moisturising and nourishing properties.
Vaginal moisturisers or lubricants is opted for by several people to help with the discomfort that tags along with vaginal dryness. Lubricants are also an excellent way to help make intercourse an easy process. In a study conducted with 1021 women as the subjects, 66 per cent confessed to resorting to lubricants while having sex. There are a variety of vaginal lubricants readily available in the market. However, natural lubricants are the preferred choice in many cases.
Just in case you’re using latex-based contraceptive devices, it is advisable to not opt for coconut oil. Using oil as a lubricant increases the possibility of it wearing down the latex, which can render it less effective or utterly useless.
Let’s find out how well coconut oil works as a lubricant if it is safe and the side effects you might be prone to. What other benefits does coconut oil provide? Plus are there any other alternative treatments for vaginal dryness? Let’s explore.
Coconut oil is some fantastic skin benefits. It acts as a natural moisturiser for your skin, and it is used to treat various skin conditions. It is a home remedy that has been a favourite for people in countries like India. Applying it to your hair helps moisturise as well. Coconut oil has been gaining traction as a lubricant for vaginal dryness in recent years.
The effectiveness of using coconut as a vaginal lubricant is mostly hearsay at this point. Several studies support the benefits of using coconut oil as a vaginal lubricant to treat dryness successfully. Studies conducted on the alternative uses of coconut oil to treat diseases like mild to moderate dermatitis in children found promising results. It was observed that coconut oil is a more effective treatment than mineral oil to treat symptoms of atopic dermatitis, which could result in extremely dry skin. To add to it, the children suffered no side effects.
There were several other benefits of coconut oil researchers stumbled across. These perks include strengthening skin barrier by coating it to avoid water loss. It is this loss of water that ends up dehydrating the skin. The emollient properties further help sooth your skin and keep it healthy.
how to use it safely
There has been almost negligible research conducted into the use of coconut oil as a vaginal lubricant. There are no reports of severe side effects, and coconut oil is generally assumed to be quite safe on the skin all over your body.
Women who are allergic or have sensitive skin might want to avoid using lubricants natural or otherwise without the direction of your doctor to avoid side effects. If you’re unsure of how your body might react to coconut oil, you could perform a patch test. In order to do this, you should apply a small amount of coconut oil to your forearm and observe it for 24 hours. Doing this will help you catch any reaction your body might have to it. This is incredibly helpful not just in this instance, but to test any other product you might want to add to your beauty regimen.
You should immediately stop using any kind of lube, natural or otherwise if your body shows signs of rejecting it. These signs can manifest themselves in the form of swelling, itching, flushing, your skin becoming irritated and causing discomfort .If you’re unclear of how you might use coconut oil as a lubricant, you might want to start by applying it to the opening of the vagina and vulva. You could also apply it to the things that might enter your vagina. These include sex toys, fingers, or penis.
Risks
It is advisable to consult your doctor if you are suffering from vaginal dryness. Keep away from coconut oil and oil-based lubricants if you are opting for latex-based protection like condoms, as it breaks it down. Your protection ends up being less effective, which could result in pregnancy or contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Vaginal lubricants might increase your risk of infections by disrupting the ph balance inside your vagina. So just in case, you are already prone to contracting vaginal infections, consult a doctor before you opt to use coconut oil as a vaginal lubricant. There are various options available in the market for individuals that might be sensitive to pH changes.
Lubricants that have oil in them, including coconut oil, can be quite messy to use. They might also not be clothing friendly, leaving stains on your clothing, begging and underwear. You can protect your sheets by using a towel. A panty liner could help keep your underwear stains free. So if you’re thinking of opting for oil to be your choice of lubricant, you might want to dd a few of these protective essentials to your grocery list.
What are some other benefits
Being a natural lubricant and moisturiser, the side effects caused by coconut oil are almost non-existent. While other products might cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated, using coconut oil protects you from it. Coconut oil also has antibacterial properties that can help keep you safe from infections.
Coconut oil has a thick consistency, which results in it being on for longer periods. It does not need to be reapplied that often. These can result in it being extremely easy on your pockets. It is also readily available in your local store at quite a nominal price. Some alternatives to coconut oil include peanut, olive, avocado and almond oil.Commercial lubricants are mostly water, oil or silicone-based. Condoms are not affected by water and silicone-based lubricants. So if you opt for condoms during sex, these types of lubes might be for you.
Coconut oil can be your best bet at using a natural vaginal lubricant as long as you’re not allergic to it. You should do a patch test before you use it all over the body though.