A new revelation has revealed the adverse effect a certain kind of washing ritual can have on ladies who indulge in it.

This washing ritual could actually give you cancer, a new medical study reveals.

Vaginal douching can increase your risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV), which can sometimes lead to cancer.

Douching is the practice of squirting water or fluids into the vagina in an attempt to rid unwanted odours, but the health implications could be very serious.

Women’s lady bits contain more bacteria than any other part of the body apart from the bowel, but for a good reason.

Most medical experts would recommend against the practice because vaginas are self-cleaning and washing them out in this way can disrupt the balance.

This can lead to abnormal tissue growth and other changes to cells within your cervix.

Researchers from the University of Texas studied the relationship between douching and HPV in 1,271 women aged between 20 and 49.

The shocking results revealed that douching nearly doubles a woman’s risk of contracting ovarian cancer.

The nationwide US study, by the National Institute of Environmental Sciences, is the first to link ovarian cancer to the washing ritual.

The NHS advices women against douching entirely as it can also make them more susceptible to infections and inflammations.

Professor Ronnie Lamont, spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, writes on the NHS website: “The vagina contains more bacteria than anywhere else in the body after the bowel, but the bacteria are there for a reason.

“I can’t think of any circumstances where douches are helpful, because all they do is wash out everything that’s in the vagina, including all the healthy bacteria.”

Around 7,300 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year in the UK but the survival rate is just 35%.

Prognosis is believed to be so bad because women often experience no symptoms until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage.

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– Via Daily Star