Do any of you females use a sitz bath for AF? Maybe I'm a germaphob but it seems to me that no matter how clean I think my anal area is a sitz bath is not hygienic. Do you think this could cause a vaginal infection? Thanks for your opinion.

Hi,
I had to have sitz baths at least 6 times a day in the worst stages of my AF as it was the only thing that relieved the spasms. I'm quite a germaphobe myself so I would put oil of oregano in mine and coconut oil, to try and naturally combat any germs.
When I was having that many hot baths I did get vaginal thrush but that was due to the amount of baths and the heat upsetting the ph not any germs from my behind. I needed those baths and couldn't have coped without them.

I think it's a matter where the reward is much greater than the risk - if you're in pain a sitz bath can be the only relief, and it promotes healing.

I find I like to have a full bath if I can, because it is incredibly relaxing to other muscles too (I get very tight all over when in pain). I often do a quick rinse in the shower after! If you have an extentension on your shower head, you could do this after every sitz bath. Alternatively, I find cleaning up after gently with a tucks or prep h wipe to be comforting.

I have actually thought about this myself. Ultimately, I agree with others, you do what you gotta do to find pain relief. I try to clean my bottom thoroughly but sometimes I'm in so much pain I hurry through the cleaning process to get sweet relief from my bath. I won't lie, there's been a couple of times I didn't clean well and saw things floating in the sitz water.

I guess my main focus is pain relief from my af as opposed to a UTI.