According to a new study, feminine hygiene products used for vaginal douching could adversely affect users as a result of potentially harmful chemicals called phthalates. Scientists conducted urine tests in order to detect exposure of phthalate in 739 women. The participants were surveyed concerning their use of douches and other such products.

It has been found in the study that the more douching in women leads to higher exposure to a form of diethyl phthalate (DEP).

According to lead study author Ami Zota, a researcher at the Milken School of Public Health at George Washington University, “Phthalates are chemicals of concern for women’s health because they are suspected endocrine disruptors and can alter the action of important hormones such as estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormones. Douching is not medically required. A healthy vagina has an effective self-cleaning system”.

Doctors recommend that women should not go for douching for the reason that it has only some known benefits and could also lead to an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, bacterial vaginosis, and pregnancy complications in addition to potentially cervical cancer, said Zota.

However, there are still many women who douche, at least sometimes. As a result, Zota and colleagues started looking for the link between douching and two chemicals, DEP and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) that are usually found in beauty products. The study was conducted on women ranging in age from 20 to 49 and over half of them were overweight or obese.