How To Fix Your pH Balance Overnight – Find 8 Ways

The vaginal pH value plays a major role in maintaining the health of the vagina. When the pH levels are in balance, the healthy bacteria thrive in the vagina. These good bacteria help in keeping the vagina clean and free from infection. However, if the pH value increases too high, it can lead to overgrowth of bacteria and some severe issues such as burning sensation, itching, changes in discharge, or redness. If you are experiencing these signs, it indicates a pH imbalance. Now, you might wonder, “How to fix your pH balance overnight”? This article will help you explore an average pH level, what causes a pH imbalance, the associated symptoms, and the best remedies to restore it. Read on!

What Is The Normal Vaginal pH?

Well, before understanding the normal vaginal pH, let’s first understand what does pH mean? The term pH represents the potential of hydrogen. It is a quantitative measure that expresses how acidic or alkaline anything is. A pH scale ranges from 0-7, where 7 is a neutral point, anything above it is alkaline, and anything below is acidic. pH levels differ all over the body. So, what is the pH of the vagina? The healthy pH balance for women is mildly acidic, which counts between 3.8 and 4.5. For females going through menopause, 5.0 is considered the normal. This moderately acidic environment favors the growth of good bacteria in the vagina, which help maintain the vaginal health. If the pH levels rise too high, the vaginal environment becomes alkaline and benefits the harmful bacteria by facilitating their growth and helping them thrive into a severe infection.

What Causes Vaginal pH Imbalance?

The body has a normal flora that consists of healthy bacteria and yeast in the gut, helping you digest the food. In the same way, your vagina also has some good and bad bacteria which naturally maintain the acidic environment of the vagina. They work together and prevent the growth of toxic bacteria that can cause vaginal infections. If the environment of the vagina becomes alkaline, it leads to a pH imbalance. Here are the factors that increase the alkalinity of the vagina:

• Antibiotics: Some antibiotics may influence the balance of good bacteria that can impact the pH balance.
• Sexual activity: Semen is alkaline which can temporarily increase the pH levels of your vagina. However, this subsides after a while.
• Douching: Using soaps and vaginal cleansers to clean your vagina can affect its normal pH levels.
• Menstrual Cycle: The pH level of your period blood is higher than your vagina, which can fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle.
• Hormonal Changes: Factors such as hormonal contraceptives, menopause, and pregnancy can affect the pH balance.
• Infections: Infections like bacterial vaginosis can upset the vaginal pH balance.

Symptoms Of Unbalanced pH Levels

Certain medications, hormonal imbalances, poor diet, and lifestyle changes can disrupt the pH balance. The increased pH levels give rise to harmful bacteria by creating a favorable environment to thrive. This can cause bacterial vaginosis. So, how to know if the pH level of your vagina is too much alkaline? The following are symptoms of unbalanced pH levels in females:

• Swelling, redness, itching, or rashes around the vulva or vagina
• Burning sensation during urination or sexual intercourse
• Unpleasing, strong smell or fish-like odor
• Change in the color of vaginal discharge varies from gray, white, and yellow to green.
• Heavy and lumpy vaginal discharge
• Chunky texture

Also Read:How to get rid of Vaginal odor at Home?

How To Fix Your pH Balance Overnight?

How do you get your pH balance back to normal? Sometimes, antibiotics are needed to fix the pH balance. But, if you want to fix it instantly at home, the following are the natural remedies to restore pH balance that you can try:

1. Increase Probiotic Intake

How to balance vaginal ph naturally? Nothing can be more effective than probiotics. Harmful bacteria are the causes of the vaginal infection that can lead to pH imbalance. Adding probiotics to your meal can help with the pH imbalance. Probiotics are the natural microbial flora for the body that help improve gut health and also maintain the vaginal pH balance. They facilitate the growth of good bacteria such as lactobacilli which aid in re-balancing the vaginal microbiome and restoring the normal pH levels. Eating nutritious food rich in protein and fiber will benefit the body. In addition, you can try yogurt, miso soup, buttermilk, kefir, and kombucha to restore the pH levels.

2. Try Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is commonly found in every household and can fix your pH balance overnight. Being antifungal and antibacterial, it can help get rid of the growth of harmful bacteria in the vagina. Just have the diluted apple cider vinegar by mixing it with a little amount of water and gulp it in one go. It will improve your digestive health and provide a favorable environment for the growth of good, healthy bacteria to thrive to maintain vaginal health. These healthy bacteria will restore the balance in the pH levels. Keep in mind, do not apply the apple cider vinegar directly on any areas of your vagina as it can cause vaginal tissue damage.

3. Limit Sugar Intake

Sugar contributes to certain bacteria and yeast growth and high pH levels. Cutting off sugar from your dinner meal can help ease the vaginal infection caused by the pH imbalance. Avoid having refined bread, ice cream, soda, candy, and alcohol at night as they have a high amount of sugar. If you are craving something sweet, fruits like apples, oranges, and blueberries can be a great option as they contain natural sugar. Instead of sugar, you can use jaggery powder for your drinks and milkshakes. You can efficiently maintain your blood sugar levels and pH balance.

4. Reduce Stress Levels

How to fix pH balance naturally? Reducing your stress can help with it. Stress not only impacts your mental and physical health but also your pH levels. Research says stress highly stimulates the cortisol hormones produced as the quick fight response by the adrenal gland of the body. These hormones interrupt the acidity levels of the body. If you suspect that the cause of your pH imbalance is stress, you can lower your stress levels by some lifestyle changes. Like practicing deep breathing exercises and meditation, eating well-balanced food, having a brisk walk, sleeping on time(8 hours sleep), and quitting the use of toxic substances like tobacco, alcohol, or smoke. These healthy habits will help prevent stress from your life.

5. Eat Garlic

How to balance vaginal pH? What can be better than garlic that you can easily find in your kitchen? According to a study, garlic is significantly known for its antifungal and antibacterial effects, which can help fight off the growth of harmful bacteria or yeast in the vaginal area. It is suitable for your immunity, and eating it can help with your pH balance and prevent vaginal infection. You can add it to your diet as garlic bread, garlic mashed potatoes, or cream of garlic soup. These foods are not only delicious but also safe and healthy for your vaginal health. If oral garlic supplements are available, they can also be a great and more effective option to restore your pH balance. It is essential to know that you can not use or put garlic directly in or near areas of your vagina.

6. Avoid Douching

If you are looking for how to balance vaginal pH healthily, stop douching your vaginal areas. Douching is a way to clean the inside part of the vagina with water, soaps, or any liquid solution. Most women think practicing douching is healthy for reproductive health. However, it is not recommended by the doctors as this activity interrupts the vaginal pH levels and the normal flora of the body. Also, douching makes the infection more severe as it pushes the bacteria to penetrate inside the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. This, in turn, can cause serious health issues, which are known as pelvic inflammatory disease (infection of female reproductive organs).

7. Drink Plenty Of Water

Staying hydrated is essential for your everyday activities as well as your vaginal pH balance. Dehydration sometimes causes itchiness around the areas of your vagina or makes a yeast infection more severe. So, drinking a lot of water flushes out the toxins from the body and effectively maintains the ecosystem of the vagina. Have you seen the alkaline water bottles at the grocery stores or supermarkets and thought, are they better alternatives to regular water? Yes, alkaline water is more suitable to have as compared to regular water. This type of water carries high pH levels and can help lower the body’s acidity levels. Remember that it is essential to stay hydrated.

8. Wear Pure Cotton Underwear

The type of underwear you wear also impacts your vaginal health. The cotton-made underwear is very breathable and comfortable for your intimate areas, especially when you want to maintain the pH balance. They can quickly dry your vaginal part after you pee. When it comes to synthetic materials, these non-breathable fabrics can create a moist environment for harmful bacteria to grow and thrive. This gives way to the bacteria to enter your vagina and affect the pH levels. So, consider wearing breathable cotton underwear as they are suitable for your vaginal health and avoid infection.

Summing Up

The change in the pH balance of your vagina can cause the harmful bacteria to thrive. This can lead to some unpleasant issues, such as itching, a burning sensation while urinating, a foul smell from the vagina, and unusual vaginal discharge. Thankfully, there are effective home remedies for pH balance, such as probiotics, garlic, apple cider vinegar, good vaginal hygiene by avoiding douching, lowering stress levels, and wearing cotton underwear. These can help fix your pH balance overnight. So, if you ever experience the symptoms mentioned above, try the listed natural remedies. But if the symptoms become more severe or last several days, seek professional help immediately. Doctors will help you with antibiotic treatment.

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