OBJECTIVE To measure intravaginal practices among women of differing ages, ethnicities, and human immunodeficiency virus status and the association between intravaginal practices and bacterial vaginosis and candidiasis infection. METHODS Between 2008 and 2010, we recruited and followed sexually active women aged 18-65 years living in Los Angeles. At the enrollment and month 12 visit, particip...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of oral estradiol given with either oral or intravaginal micronized progesterone (P4) on risk biomarkers for breast cancer in a postmenopausal monkey model. DESIGN This experiment was a two-way crossover study in which 20 ovariectomized adult female cynomolgus macaques were treated (in equivalent doses for women) with oral estradiol (1 mg/d) + oral micronized...

OBJECTIVES Although common worldwide, intravaginal cleansing is associated with poor health outcomes. We sought to describe intravaginal cleansing among women attending a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic in Jamaica. METHODS We examined intravaginal cleansing ("washing up inside the vagina", douching, and products or materials used) among 293 participants in a randomized trial of co...

OBJECTIVE Intravaginal practices-including behaviors such as intravaginal cleansing and insertion of products-have been linked to a number of adverse reproductive health outcomes, including increased risk for bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV. Currently, little is known about the motivations for intravaginal practices among women in the United States. The objective o...

Two recent Phase III clinical trials to investigate an intravaginal ring for preventing HIV infection demonstrated that adherence to prescribed device use was a primary driver of efficacy. Surrogate methods for determining adherence in the studies were limited in their inability to monitor temporal patterns of use and allow deconvolution of the effects of adherence and device efficacy on HIV in...

Intravaginal insertion is often associated with the concept of 'dry' sex. All HIV-prevention microbicides tested to date have been vaginally applied lubricant-based gels. In this paper, we examine whether the use of intravaginal insertions could be in conflict with the introduction of vaginal microbicide gels. The Africa Centre site was part of the Microbicides Development Programme evaluating ...

Cross-sectional studies have suggested that intravaginal practices, such as douching or "dry sex," may increase women's susceptibility to infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The authors examined the temporal nature of this association in a cohort of South African women. At enrollment (2001-2002), 4,089 women were tested for HIV infection. Participants reported their intravaginal ...

BACKGROUND Intravaginal practices are commonly used by women to manage their vaginal health and sexual life. These practices could, however, affect intravaginal mucosal integrity. The objectives of this study were to examine evidence for associations between: intravaginal practices and acquisition of HIV infection; intravaginal practices and vaginal infections; and vaginal infections and HIV ac...

Intravaginal practices (IVPs), include intravaginal cleansing (cleansing the inside of the vagina) or intravaginal insertion of products for hygiene, health or sexuality reasons. IVPs are associated with adverse female health outcomes, development of bacterial vaginosis, HIV acquisition and transmission. A mixed methods approach was used in this study to examine the prevalence of IVP, assess re...