Researchers link personal hygiene practices to the acquisition of HIV

A two-year study of thousands of women showed that those who used certain intravaginal practices were more susceptible to HIV acquisition.

Researchers from the University of Bern in Switzerland combined data from 13 studies involving about 15,000 women. Results showed that of the 791 women who acquired HIV over the two-year span, many of them reported that they used intravaginal practices.

Women who used cloth or paper to clean their vagina were nearly one and half times more likely to have acquired an HIV infection as women who did not use this practice, according to study results.

Women who reported that they had used products to dry or tighten the vagina, or cleansed intravaginally with soap also showed a higher risk of contracting HIV.

The authors of the study, published in PLoS Medicine, said that they believe the potentially harmful effects of intravaginal practices should be taught in HIV intervention programs, similar to the way U.S. behavioral interventions have discouraged female douching.

Though the study did not show any evidence of a direct correlation between intravaginal practices and HIV acquisition, the findings suggest a link between the two.

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