If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you’ve probably seen Gulf horror stories dominating the headlines. Thanks to alternative medicine trends perpetuated by celebrity-owned health and wellness brands, women are now using more unconventional methods to “heal” their vaginas than ever before.
Now we are not saying that all alternative approaches to medicine are hoaxes. But maybe the ones that leave you with second degree burns (hello vaginal steam) should be looked at a little more closely before attempting. Lucky for you, we’ve scoured the web for information and come up with a list of five products the expert says should never see the inside of your hoo-ha.
Following the dangerous trend of vaginal steam, garlic has gained popularity as a way to treat a vaginal yeast infection. It seems the trend can be traced back to 2003, when an article in the journal Midwifery Today highlighted the herb as an overnight treatment for a bacterial infection.
In a post on Twitter, San Francisco-based OB/GYN and notorious celebrity health trend debunker Jen Gunter wrote in all caps, “I shouldn’t be saying this in 2019, but here we are.” Gunter then goes on to explain that while garlic contains allicin, a compound that typically has antifungal properties in lab settings, you’re unlikely to see the same anti-yeast action in your vagina.
“To release allicin, garlic must be cut or crushed,” he writes. He also adds, “Garlic could [also] they have bacteria from the soil. Bacteria from the soil can be pathogenic – harmful to the body.”
A few years ago, Khloé Kardashian wrote on her website about the benefits of adding vitamin E oil in and around the vagina. Many Kardashian fans then quickly ran to the stores and bought vaginal creams containing vitamin E that promised to “add some extra beauty to the V” (an actual quote from Scandinavian brand Shades of V’s Vaginal Luminizer).
“As this product claims, it can brighten the appearance of skin, [it] it could have a discoloring agent that has a real potential to cause irritation. Stay clear,” Gunter writes on her blog.
If you haven’t heard of it, then there’s only one thing you need to know: don’t try it. These sticks are made up of ground plants, herbs and other mysterious substances that promise to tighten your vagina after just a few minutes of use. They also claim to help eliminate vaginal discharge, and one bold brand claims that their sticks will make you “feel desirable again.” Yes.
“Chemicals or trauma temporarily reduce vaginal moisture,” Gunter writes in a blog post. “The lack of moisture and pain from the resulting abrasions can also cause the pelvic floor to spasm during sex (not in a good way) and this will tighten the vaginal opening (which can make insertion painful). She also notes that methods like this dry out the vagina and increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
No longer just a cure for the aches and pains caused by the common cold, many women now use Vicks VapoRub to apparently clean their vagina, boost their sex life, and keep it smelling fresh down there. Here’s why this is wrong:
“Many of these ingredients are irritants and sensitizers and are definitely NOT for mucosal surfaces,” writes Jen Gunter in a blog post. Gunter believes that if you try this method, you won’t get very far.
“The irritation alone would prevent anyone from actually using it,” Gunter writes.
These glorified rocks have been hailed by some wellness brands as an “ancient Chinese secret” that helps increase your sexual pleasure, strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, and boost your feminine energy. But those jade eggs aren’t worth it, and it’s not just because they carry a pretty hefty price tag for being so small.
“Jade is porous, which could allow bacteria to get in [the vagina], and thus the egg could act as a fomite. This is not good, in case you were wondering,” Gunter wrote in a blog post.
Gunter writes that jade eggs “could be a risk factor for bacterial vaginitis or even the potentially fatal toxic shock syndrome.”
Now that you know these five things that shouldn’t go anywhere near your vagina, hopefully you’ll find other (scientifically approved) ways to keep your vagina happy and healthy. And if you still want to stick to something, check with your doctor first to make sure it’s safe.
Originally published 2019-08-15 22:23:09.
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