During female perineal care, what is the proper order for washing the genital area?

• A. Meatus, inner labia toward you, inner labia away from you, outer labia toward you, outer labia away from you.
• B. Outer labia away first, then inner labia toward you, inner labia away from you, outer labia toward you, meatus.
• C. Meatus last.
• D. Inner labia first, then meatus, then outer labia.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is to clean from the cleanest area toward the dirtiest, moving from the urethral opening outward. Start with washing the meatus first, then wash the inner labia toward you, then the inner labia away from you, followed by the outer labia toward you, and finally the outer labia away from you. This front-to-back, inner-to-outer sequence helps prevent bringing bacteria toward the urinary opening and reduces the chance of recontaminating cleaned areas by using a fresh section of washcloth for each stroke. Washing outer areas first or skipping the meatus at the start can spread contaminants toward the urethral area, and washing inner labia before cleaning the meatus fails to follow a clean-to-dirty progression.