1. Sometimes a question is posed on these interwebs that seems too good, too rich, too mind-boggling to be a real question. Like this one, for instance, posted on Yahoo! Answers, on the possibility of lady parts sealing up for good if they're not (and feel free to add in your own interpretation of this phrase) "used."
Readers do offer a variety of responses best described as...ummm...entertaining. One guy says yes, and he knows this because "[h]appened to my wife." Rather than making me think this guy's got credibility, it conjured up images of the wife and her girlfriends are laughing hysterically over margaritas that the hubsband actually bought that line when all she really wanted was a little peace and quiet to read the latest issue of O magazine.
Another commenter definitively says no, reminding us all, "There is nothing to heal. It's a body feature, not an injury." While I think referring to one's vulva as a "body feature" is aesthetically lovely, my favorite response comes from "Proud Mom of 2!" who warns, "no but it can get cobwebs!"
2. If you're looking for a real medical response, the folks at Strollerderby can't provide one. But they will offer up a sort of snarky lifestyle reminder worth reading. I'm hoping they take on this runner up cringe-worthy question about how long it might take for a woman to really heal after getting hit there by a softball. All I can say is "eek" and not as much for the injury as the boyfriend who is tapping his foot waiting for his girlfriend to put the ice pack down already so he can get in there (which makes "eek" again to just type the words).
3. While we're discussing what is going on inside of our vaginas, it's probably wise to heed this warning by Rachel at Women's Health News: Hiding a bag of cocaine in your vagina and then forgetting about it for three months is not so good for the body. How might Rachel know? CT scans, of course!
No, not of her own. An entry in the New England Journal of Medicine shows images of a woman's abdominal cavity, where a bag of cocaine was "encapsulated" after migrating from her vagina. Not only did it cause abdominal tenderness and other complications, it also resulted in vaginal necrosis, which Rachel interprets as the woman's body trying "to seal [the cocaine baggie] up in gunk." (I've officially moved on from "eek" to full force shuddering.)
4. Even if you're not stressing about healing up and are sure you haven't played hide and seek with anything inside yourself, you've probably had your fair share of vaginal dryness. And, oh my, it takes about 30 seconds of experiencing that before you're looking to end all the discomfort dryness down there can cause. Here's a post we ran last spring on afew reasons dryness gets us and a few ways to end it quickly.
5. Let's all pause for a collective thanks that at we are no longer douching with household cleaners. Right?! Say it with me: We are no longer douching with household cleaners. Phew. Thank you.
6. And finally, if you'd like to get back to the basics of what a happy, healthy vagina feels like, the editors at TeenWire are willing to help out with a simple description. I would suggest, though, that you spend a bit more time poking around this guide to the vagina from Women's Health magazine. It is full of great information on (these are their words, not mine) the "nooks and crannies of [your] nether region." It is an easy, accessible read that will help every woman keep her body healthy.
Of course, the more we know, the fewer eek-ifying things we will do and head-shaking questions we will ask. And of course, none of us can know everything, even about our own bodies. So while the subject is (ahem) wide open, who has a question about privates you're willing to pose?
Read more:
The desert that is your hoo-hoo
Would opt to have only four periods a year?
Can the pill kill your sex life?
[photo credit: Getty Images]
