Question about perineal care??

I have my state exam on Friday. I'm getting alot of conflicting reports about how to clean the perineal area, and the book doesn't clarify it enough. When cleaning the woman's vagina, do you clean the outside first, and then the inside, or the inside first, then the outside? I'm watching the videos and they show them cleaning the outside, then the middle. But a CNA during my clinicals told me that you don't go from out to in becuase you can spread microbes into that area that way. How do you do it??

This is what we learned:

Clean the pubic parts first rinse and pat dry

Clean the side....side....middle with different parts of the mit (wash cloth) rinse and pat dry

[azcna]

I believe you go dirtiest to cleanest.

[Blossom Girl]

You clean the outside first, but when you clean the inside/center, use a different part of the cloth, or even a new cloth if possible. If you try to clean the inside first, you are going to push stuff from the outside in because there is no easy way to get to the inside without touching the outside first. So, if the outside is clean before you wash the inside, you won't have anything to push from the outside in. I hope that made sense, I'm not always very good at explaining!

[greeniebean]

You clean the outside first. Then with a new rag (or different part of your rag) you clean the middle. You go from cleanest to dirtiest. (to remeber that just think-"i clean the body before the genitals"-cleanest to dirtiest)