{"id":20075,"date":"2023-01-01T16:47:56","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T21:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?p=20075"},"modified":"2023-03-19T12:06:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T17:06:59","slug":"5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Things I’d Never Do as an Ob-Gyn"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a new year! If you already have some health resolutions, grab your pen, you’ll want to add these to the list. We’ve asked some doctors for their insight on what you should NOT do in 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

The New Year is famously a time for resolutions: we make promises to ourselves \u2014 or others \u2014 about habits we\u2019d like to change and areas of our lives we\u2019d like to improve. Many of these resolutions are focused on fitness, career growth or taking more time to do the things we enjoy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about our day-to-day health? Resolutions about getting in shape or clinching that promotion sound a whole lot sexier than promising to attend yearly physicals or making sure we\u2019re getting routine cancer screenings. <\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to women\u2019s health, especially gynecology, the conversation can feel especially intimidating.\u00a0<\/span>Dr. Susan Khalil<\/a>, an ob-gyn at Mount Sinai Hospital, encourages patients to make an effort to find an ob-gyn they really like this year and make sure they’re up to date on important screenings.<\/a> She also has some key don\u2019ts<\/em> for patients to resolve to follow in 2023. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the holidays, only the people who really need to come will come, so you see a lot of crazy things,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a01. Never shave when you have a vaginal infection.<\/strong> \u201cEspecially if you have a skin infection outside the vulva, shaving or hair removal will inflame the area there,\u201d Khalil says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Never use herbal supplements with various levels of proven efficacy.<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m not against home remedies, but if you have symptoms that are not improving, don\u2019t go for garlic suppository, or a fig\u2014 I\u2019m not even kidding,” she says. “Just go see someone to make sure you don\u2019t have a serious condition.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Never go for vaginal or anal bleaching. <\/strong>There are a lot of DIY methods and treatments you can find online that claim they can lighten<\/a> your vulva and the area surrounding it. But Khalil warns against them, because they can be harmful.\u00a0<\/span>“Accept your body, healthy is beautiful,” she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Never use perfumed soaps and other products like scented pads or tampons, especially if you have sensitive skin.<\/strong> They often can do more harm than good because they can cause irritation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Never use Vagisil if you have a yeast infection.<\/strong> While great for itch relief, Khalil says that Vagisil used alongside an infection can cause even more inflammation. For a more sensitive and effective way to soothe irritation in that area, she recommends taking a <\/span>sitz bath.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

In short, along with following these tips, <\/span>find a gynecologist<\/span><\/a> you trust, and pay them at least one visit a year. <\/span>Don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions <\/span>before <\/span><\/i>trying new products. If you stay on top of your health, those visits should be a breeze!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Need an\u00a0ob-gyn<\/a>? Find\u00a0one<\/a>\u00a0on Zocdoc.<\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gynecologist lists some surprising don’ts for the new year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":20110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[103,191,81,106],"class_list":["post-20075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-prep","tag-gynecology","tag-preventive-care","tag-treatment","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi","specialist_by_city-ob-gyn"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paper Gown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"448\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brittany Kriegstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brittany Kriegstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brittany Kriegstein\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e154736e92effc200af1bcc2c45095\"},\"headline\":\"5 Things I’d Never Do as an Ob-Gyn\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\"},\"wordCount\":486,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Appointment Prep\",\"Gynecology\",\"Preventive Care\",\"Treatment\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\",\"name\":\"5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":448},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"5 Things I’d Never Do as an Ob-Gyn\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paper Gown\",\"description\":\"Stories for and about patients\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Zocdoc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"width\":2059,\"height\":1049,\"caption\":\"Zocdoc\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e154736e92effc200af1bcc2c45095\",\"name\":\"Brittany Kriegstein\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/brittany-kriegsteingmail-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides","description":"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides","og_description":"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/","og_site_name":"The Paper Gown","article_published_time":"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":448,"url":"https:\/\/zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Brittany Kriegstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Brittany Kriegstein","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/"},"author":{"name":"Brittany Kriegstein","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e154736e92effc200af1bcc2c45095"},"headline":"5 Things I’d Never Do as an Ob-Gyn","datePublished":"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/"},"wordCount":486,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg","keywords":["Appointment Prep","Gynecology","Preventive Care","Treatment"],"articleSection":["Guides"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/","name":"5 Things I'd Never Do as an Ob-Gyn - Guides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg","datePublished":"2023-01-01T21:47:56+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-19T17:06:59+00:00","description":"We talked to a gynecologist for her advice on what patients should really stop doing in 2023.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/ob-gyn-casing.jpg","width":960,"height":448},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/5-things-id-never-do-as-an-ob-gyn\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"5 Things I’d Never Do as an Ob-Gyn"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","name":"The Paper Gown","description":"Stories for and about patients","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Zocdoc","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","width":2059,"height":1049,"caption":"Zocdoc"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b4e154736e92effc200af1bcc2c45095","name":"Brittany Kriegstein","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/brittany-kriegsteingmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}