STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe frequency of douching and reasons as timing to menses, vaginal symptoms, and coitus and the association of these behaviors to the diagnosis of three sexually acquired @entity281 . DESIGN, SETTING, @entity1 : The study involved 160 females between the ages of 14 and 25 yrs attending a STD clinic and/or community adolescent health clinics. Subjects were eligible to enter the study if they had a positive test(s) for and/or were a contact of @entity1047 , @entity2954 , trichomonas, and/or @entity6369 ( @entity6369 ). Reevaluation for these @entity281 occurred at the 1-month, 4-month, and 7-month visit with one-dose antibiotic treatment provided for positive tests. Data on douching was collected at the 7-month visit only. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Results of tests for STI's using urine-based DNA-amplification techniques for @entity1047 and @entity2954 and using self-obtained vaginal swabs for trichomonas culture. RESULTS: Nearly two-thirds (106/160) of the subjects ages 14-25 yrs completing the 7-month visit reported douching, with 67.7% (69/102) reporting douching once a month or more. Douching was more common in older, black @entity1 , using injectable progestins for contraception. Douching was more common in those reporting more recent sexual partners. Douching related to menses was not associated with any of the three @entity281 , while douching related to symptoms and coitus was associated with positive tests for @entity281 . CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that for this subset of teens at high risk for sexually acquired @entity281 , douching is a commonly reported behavior. This study suggests that the linkage of douching and sexually acquired @entity281 is associated with contraceptive choices, self-treatment of vaginal symptoms, and sexual risk behaviors but not menstrual hygiene.

Douching behaviors reported by adolescent and young adult XXXX at high risk for sexually transmitted infections.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['participants', 'PARTICIPANTS'] @entity2954 :: ('MESH:D006069', 'Disease') :: ['gonorrhea'] @entity6369 :: ('MESH:D014526', 'Disease') :: ['nongonococcal urethritis', 'NGU'] @entity281 :: ('MESH:D007239', 'Disease') :: ['infections'] @entity1047 :: ('MESH:D002690', 'Disease') :: ['chlamydia']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['women']
