It often leaves you embarrassed and ashamed, but bleached underwear is just a sign that your vagina is doing what it is supposed to, babes.
From her teens to her thirties Bulelwa Palele suffered in silence believing there was something wrong with her vagina. After a wash or two, her new black underwear often looked like she had bleached the crotch area while her whites were stained yellow. Eventually, she stopped wearing underwear.
“I was always afraid of what other people would think if they saw my underwear hanging in the bathroom or on the washing line,” she tells Health For Mzansi.
Palele is a forensic officer and lives with her family in Kuyasa in Khayelitsha, Western Cape. “We all shared the same bathroom. The bleaching was so severe I even stopped wearing underwear.”
Her embarrassment is shared by Gengezi Bubu-Yuze, a 54-year-old artist and mother, also from Cape Town.
“I don’t even wear underwear anymore; I always assumed the bleaching was due to illness or lack of water.”
Gengezi Bubu-Yuze (54), a Cape Town artist and mother. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi
She tells Health For Mzansi, “I had a troubling experience with a former boyfriend whom I dated before I got married. He would embarrass me and crack jokes about my bleached underwear and how much he despised it. My love for even sexy panties faded in that moment.”
Bubu-Yuze’s former lover is not the only man to ridicule a woman for stained underwear.
A 62-year-old male from Qonce in the Eastern Cape, who asked to remain anonymous, makes no secret about his beliefs. He tells us, “The fact that vaginal discharge can bleach underwear… Simply, that it is too dangerous to muff her all at all during sexual intercourse. A woman with rust (bleached panties) is a total turn off.”
Reclaim the power of your V
Vaginal discharge – which is perfectly normal, and healthy – is naturally acidic and can leave white or yellow stains on your underwear’s crotch region, explains Dr Lindikhaya Bam. “A healthy vaginal pH range from 3.8 to 4.5.”
Bam has been a general practitioner in Gugulethu, Cape Town since 1995. “The vagina possesses good bacteria called lactobacilli that keep your vagina healthy by maintaining optimum acidity levels and preventing harmful bacteria from causing infection, which is why it leaves an orange patch behind.”
Furthermore, traditional health practitioner Nicky van Eck believes where you are in your menstrual cycle determines the acidity of your pH.
“Our pH balance is more acidic than men on the inside. Our vaginas, throughout the cycle, can be a bit more acidic or less acidic. Eat well and look at what your Yoni is showing you. Mindfulness is the big healer.”
Nicky van Eck, a traditional healthcare practitioner
Van Eck uses the Sanskrit word Yoni (“sacred space”) for a vagina. She says men have no business policing women’s bodies. “Your body is the best indicator for you if you are doing something right or if you are doing something that can be improved.”
Should you be wearing pantyliners?
While they help to ease your anxiety, pantyliners are not necessary, believes Bam. “Women do not need to use pantyliners daily. If you’ve noticed discoloured patches on your underwear and suspect something’s wrong, you need to relax and get to know your body, particularly different vaginal discharges.’’
He also warns against bacteria killing practices like douching and Yoni steaming. “By doing so, you are getting rid of beneficial bacteria that are there to protect your vagina from unpleasant odours and infections.”
Always remember to wipe from front to back after using the restroom. “Any female must pay attention to their vaginal discharge. They must understand how their typical vaginal discharge looks and smells in order to recognise when there is an issue with vaginal infections. The pH levels in your body might fluctuate according to a variety of circumstances, including hormones, sex life, and menstruation.”
