Exactly How To Keep Your Medicine Cabinet Stocked, From An OB/GYN

This past year certainly solidified the value of our overall health and our preparedness for emergencies. Just like keeping a properly stocked fridge or pantry, it's also important to keep a properly stocked medicine cabinet. Impending shutdown or not, keeping necessary vitamins, products, and medications available is always a good idea. 

When women go through menopause, they begin to lose estrogen, which can lead to dry skin—including in the vagina. Whether you're feeling dry while walking around or during sex, she recommends using vaginal moisturizers.

Vaginal moisturizers are different from vaginal lubricants. "A vaginal moisturizer is something you insert vaginally a couple of times a week to keep things feeling moist and lubricated, even if you're really dry. It doesn't fix the cells, but it's a great quality-of-life enhancer," she says. 

When it comes to odor, Sophocles emphasizes what not to keep in your medicine cabinet. "Forty percent of women in the world douche because their moms or grandmas told them it makes them clean," she says. "This is a really big myth we have to bust." In general, she says you should avoid products that are scented or contain the ingredient benzocaine, which can irritate skin on the genitals.

The vagina is self-cleaning and doesn't require any extra help. But it is important to wash the vulva, both the big lips (the labia majora) and the little lips (the labia minora), says Sophocles. Just do so "gently and carefully with water."

Recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs) could occur for a couple of reasons. One is that the bacteria from the first UTI wasn't fully eradicated, she says. Another is that new bacteria was introduced while having sex or wiping. 

Keeping vitamin C (1,000-milligram tablets) or cranberry supplements in your medicine cabinet can help acidify the urine and manage UTIs when they occur. Drinking a teaspoon of cranberry juice can serve the same function, she adds—just make sure you keep that in the fridge.