Vulva and vagina science, one of my favorite subjects, is this Valentine's Day's topic de jure! 

I am especially excited to discuss safeguarding our naturally disease-fighting microbiome. The topic of vaginal ecosystem health is hot on my mind, and I want to share some personal stories that relate to the science of yoni health.

Access to Vaginal Health

Chickfly is about access, and along with vaginal access, our pants' fly offers access to the outdoors, access to science and construction jobs, medical access, access to a chance to win the race, access to public life (for people with disabilities), and just plain old access to go pee.

We want to address the fact that women do not have access to a healthy vagina. Yes, I can back that up, I wrote one of my first blog posts about it here.

An astonishing 30% of women have bacterial vaginosis in the US at any given time and it is the leading cause of miscarriages and stillbirths.

Antibiotics chronically fail to treat it 50% of the time. In recognition of this issue, we are offering 30% off the Butter Onesie for Valentine's Day! Code: VAGINA

This is another case of women's issues not being a priority. If men had a chronic problem where their dicks stank, resulting in the death of their unbirthed offspring, I am pretty sure they would have solved the problem. And, if people stopped fighting abortion access and instead put their energy into women's vaginal health, they would probably save more babies' lives. Does anyone have some stats on this?

I'd like this post to be personal, so we are going to veer back to dating and my eminent vaginal health choices for today. Hopefully my story will make all this science fun and relatable because of the immediate and practical application!

This section is about sex, fair warning!

I have started to date two men. I have not had sex yet, but we have started to talk about it. For me safe sex starts before intercourse, and condoms don't cut it. Some diseases live on the skin around the genitals where condom coverage stops (although female condoms do a better job, and I prefer them). STIs can also sometimes be transferred through oral sex, and can live in the mouth for a few weeks.

Today I am going on a second date and, yes, we already kissed. I injured my leg, and can't go on a hike, and don't want to be bed-ridden with him yet, so we are going to go on a boat ride on the lake in my little rubber raft! He is literally an Amazonian, and grew up on the river — I think I can handle being rowed around for a couple of hours... oh romance, it's so easy to loose your head... but let's get back to practical matters! 

He told me that he went on a date yesterday and got intimate. Yes, healthy communication is key! So, my question is, did he go down on her, and if so, can I kiss him? And my answer is, a peck on the lips is probably fine, but no, I am not going to stick my tongue in his mouth. Why? If I use my saliva for masturbation, or kiss or have oral with someone else, then I may transfer it to myself or someone else until the 'germs' eventually die off in my mouth (postscript - I did kiss him, but held the line there). For me, safe sex starts with kissing! I am not a prude, simply pragmatic! So, everybody will get tested for STIs, and...

If everyone's been tested for STI's, then it's safe, right? Oh, wait, maybe getting tested isn't enough... You'll want to know this!

BV Science and Me...

Let's bring this back to bacterial vaginosis through another personal story. Once upon a time, I was married, and for a little while we were polyamorous. That's how I got so well educated on safe sex. My husband was seeing someone and doing 'everything but...' which means everything but sex. You would think this would be safe, right? Following this period I came down with bacterial vaginosis, and it took me years to recover (I will be posting about how I got rid of that infection later this month).

Here's a primer on the BV science:

Vaginas are supposed to be acidic with a pH of around 4 to 4.5 and be dominated primarily by Lactobacillus bacteria. Lactobacillus is a disease-fighting bacteria that keeps your pussy happy and also coats your baby in healthy goodness when you give birth. There is a culprit in the midst that goes by the name Gardnerella! If Gardnerella gets out of hand, colonizing and dominating the environment, then the pH rises, and all hell breaks loose. It smells like hell, the likelihood of miscarriages increases, and babies born in this environment are more likely to have health problems, both immediately and as adults. I am oversimplifying, and technically, other bacteria can cause BV, but Gardnerella is a primary culprit.

I believe my husband transferred the Gardnerella from her to me through oral, and I got the stinkiest infection of my life (tested positive for BV and Gardnerella). Now, technically this isn't considered an STI. But fuck, shouldn't it be? So, just so you know, if your partner gets tested for STIs, it won't include BV-causing bacteria. It is also good to consider that someone's else's healthy bacteria may not be the right fit for your vaginas microbiological fingerprint!

So, let's bring this back my date; when can I kiss him again? Does it last forever? My previous research suggested that STIs can live for about two weeks in the mouth. The oral environment really isn't ideal for them and they do eventually die out. I will ask him if her pussy was sour because that would be a good sign (like sour yogurt or sauerkraut, which are also Lactobacillus-dominated)! Acid crotch rocks!

So, this post today is, essentially, what I need to talk to him about because I am damn sure that few people know this vag science as I do. 

I hope you enjoy being on this vaginal journey with me this month for V-Day, and that my colorful stories bring life to the science of your body's microbiology!