Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I saw the mixed reviews on this and was immediately hesitant. But, as I started reading them, it became clear that that many reviewers don’t have a strong grasp of pH/pH testing and thought the strips weren’t working but, based on the info they provided, it sounds like the strips WERE working. So, quick science lesson everyone! Don’t worry, this will be fun! We’ll learn about vaginas AND pH! There is even an experiment! (I can’t tell if you just rolled your eyes or that was a sigh of excitement?) pH strips measure acidity/basicity. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, where 0-6.9 is acidic, 7.0 is neutral, and 7.1 - 14 is basic. Lemon juice (pH of ~2) and coffee (pH ~5) are acids. Water (pH 7) is neutral. Stomach tablets like Tums (pH of ~10) and soapy water (pH ~9) are basic. (If you’ve never seen it, “~” means approximately.) These strips only measure pH between 3.0 and 5.5. Per Dr. Google, a healthy vagina will have a pH of 3.8 - 4.5 (although your pH may be higher than 4.5 before menstruation and menopause). A pH over 4.5 creates the right conditions for unhealthy bacteria and yeast to grow, leading to BV or other infections. I imagine most of us are here to find out if our vaginal pH is matching the symptoms we are experiencing. In case you’re wondering, Dr. Google says a pH that is too low could create and environment where sperm are unable to thrive. Apparently sperm like a pH of 7.0 -8.5, which is annoying because we’ve already established that is prime caging all infection/bacterial overgrowth conditions. Ugh, men. Amiright?! (Ha, just kidding. I think?) These strips are designed to look for high pH, so I’d look elsewhere if your concern is low pH. Back to the strips: remember, they only measure 3.0 - 5.5, which means anything below 3.0 will show up as a 3.0 (yellow) and anything above 5.5 will show up as 5.5 (dark green). This means water and saliva will both show up as dark green (which I saw in the comments when someone said “everything” was turning the strip dark green, but she was only using things with a pH over 5.5 to test it). I’m in the middle of COVID lockdown with nothin better to do. So, I located the chemistry knowledge buried deep in the back of my brain and set out to see if these strips work. I used white vinegar (pH ~2.5 & should show up as yellow), pickle juice (pH ~3.2 and should show up as a yellow/green), and water (pH 7.0 & should show up as a dark green). I dipped a q-tip in each liquid and dabbed the q-tip on the strip. Sure enough, the strips do work! There was a visible difference in the pH of the 3 items and the colors were as expected. I went on to use a q tip to test the pH of my vagina and, like a true pretend scientist, compared my results with other pH measuring products I’d also bought on Amazon. All yielded the same result. I feel confident that a dark green strip does in fact mean that your vagina pH is high and, if you also have symptoms, you likely have an infection or bacterial overgrowth. In summary: these strips work, they are a great way to get piece of mind if you’re wondering about your vaginal health, and they can be used as a fun science experiment if you’ve got nothing better to do.