How often do you douche after SRS?
I mean after a few months or more than a year, do you do it regularly?
Or only after sex or using lube?

And do you use any products to maintain hygiene or good smell?

First 2 months, twice a day. After that, never. Brassard said that it was necessary to clean the surgical site, but once everything was healed the vagina would be self-cleaning and douching would disturb the natural flora. Seems to be true; everything has stayed perfectly fine since then. (Well, vaginas are *supposed* to have a smell; not a bad/infection type smell, but our bodies aren't really meant to be disinfected and odorless.)

I am only 7weeks post op but I have a friend whos 1 yr post op. She said she tried not to douche for a month or so and her vagina smelled like smelly foot so she continued to douche every other day.

I stopped douching at about 4 months post-op. Seems to be ok. It's not smell-free, but supposedly some smell is not a bad thing - means that the beneficial bacteria are keeping the pH low making it less hospitable for the nasty bacteria.

Brassard still recommends to douche at least once a week in month 3.  After that no more douching.

I douche most days with a very mild water with a bit of vinegar solution (about 2 tspoons to a cup).

Everyone's flora and fauna are different and some people seem to be fine without doing it. But I definitely get pretty stinky if I don't, also the longer I leave it I start to get a bit irritated. I tried a bunch of things and abstaining but no joy. Some smell is good. Smelling yourself sitting at work is not so good.

I felt like I was giving in but actually it is no big deal. It's just became part of my shower routine and takes not time at all.

I use saline water (approx 1 L water with 1 teaspoon of salt) and found that even though it's not odourless down there, but the resulting odour is not unpleasant either.

Quote from: jfong on December 15, 2014, 06:57:44 AM
I use saline water (approx 1 L water with 1 teaspoon of salt) and found that even though it's not odourless down there, but the resulting odour is not unpleasant either.

how often would you do that?

I am still at the end of my 1 month post op. So I still have a full month of 2x a day and then once a week session for month 3. Everything are pretty much healed, only some fibrins left at the bottom of V.

I only douche if something bad has happened, which so far nothing has happened (touch wood) after the first roughly 2 months. I keep things happy scented by religiously using wet tp (just external cleaning).

what about the left over lube inside during dilation? Wouldnt thay cause odor?

Chinee : I stopped douching when the dilations decreased in frequency; the lube just works its way back out. (Usually rather, ahem, abruptly...)

I sometimes feel that I have itch inside the canal and want to scratch it. I found that if I put my finger in there are some white marks left..I do not know if that's normal....the finger does smell but not that bad....I have to touch for two months and Important two years post op...I also wonder if mineral oil left you with bacteria inside....

Im  post  many  years.  Ive  found  that  over  time,  especialy  if  your  sexualy  active,  that  odor  will  develop.  as  was  said  in  an  earlier  post, " when  you  can  smell  yourself  just  setting  there"  somethiong  needs  to  be  done. 
  A  rule  of  thumb  even  for  genetic  females,  is  "  less  is  better".    try  just  a  clean  water  rinse  first.    im  thinling  about  80%  of  the  time,  that  is  all  I  need.    If  that  does  not  do  the  trick,  I  lean  toward  the  saline  rinse.    Im  not  partial  to  that  vinegar  smell.  The  last  thing  you  want  to  do,  without a  doctors  recomendation,  is  to  use  really  strong  solutions  that  will  eradicate  the  natural  bacteria  that  are  good  for  you,  and  are  suposed  to  be  there.   
  if  you  are  still  dialiating,  be  sure  that  between  each  session,  you  fully  clean  the  dialiator.  that  is  a  major  cause  of  bad  bacteria  and  odor. 
  A  trick  ive  learned over  all  these  years,  is  to  stay  dry.    cotton  panties  or  cotton  liner  areas  are  a  biggie.    also,  in  really  hot  and  humid  weather,  i  am  not  adverse  to  a  dab  of  baby  oil  or  vasaline,  to  protect  the  skin  from  moisture  irratation.  it  works  on  babies,  it  works  for  me. 

  recent  post  ops  absolutly  should  follow  the  doctors  orders. 

also i noticed something strange,, after dilating i douche and sometimes the next evening or next day i am still leaking a tiny bit of the water in my underwear, ... how does this happen??

Gets trapped behind the PC muscle when it contracts.

Happens to some.

At my last visit I asked Dr Belanger and here is what she said:

After the first two months, you do it as needed. If you smell something too badly, you do one. It essentially falls to feminine hygiene.

Her words.

I'm nearly 7 months post op and dont douche.The odour produced smells very similar to a natal vagina(my partner is a cis woman).That surprised me(in a pleasant way).