Popular blogger XONecole has put her body through a lot these past 20 years or so.
“[I]t has carried babies and had more menstrual cycles than I can count,” she wrote of her vaginal journey, adding that she started having problems after having an IUD inserted. “I now regret my decision to use an IUD, because I sincerely believe the vaginal infections that ensued after I started using it, combined with three years of no menstrual cycle, has wreaked havoc inside me.”
More:5 Common causes of feminine odor — because we’ve all been there
So, she read about the idea of “womb detox pearls” made with herbs from countries like India and China and decided to try it. Basically, it involves putting these little baggies stuffed with herbs inside the vagina for three full days. Afterward, your vagina will be magical or something.
One big problem: It doesn’t work. Vaginas are self-cleaning and do not need questionable herbs stuffed up there in order to be fresh.
“Your uterus isn’t tired or depressed or dirty and your vagina has not misplaced its chakra,” Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB/GYN with Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, wrote in a blog post. “Many plant products and extracts are irritating and certainly none of the claimed contents have been tested for vaginal use. God knows what is in the ‘vaginal tightening’ pearls, but I imagine something caustic or drying — both really bad.”
More: Paying for Pap smears is a risky business
And putting materials from questionable sources inside your vagina puts you at bigger risk for conditions like Toxic Shock Syndrome.
The blogger said her experience was “life changing.”
“It really wasn’t as bad as my mind believed it would be, but I did have some discharge, especially on the third day of the cleanser,” she wrote. “Since then, I’ve completed three more cleansing sessions, and each time the discharge was less, to barely anything at all. Most importantly, my vagina feels amazing!”
She also said she changed her diet during the detox by eliminating sugar and caffeine, which, truth be told, is probably much of the reason she felt so good.
“I definitely recommend anyone suffering yeast and other vaginal infections, fibroid pain, severe menstrual pain, and/or fertility issues to research womb detox methods further in order to determine if it’s for you,” she continued.
More: The birth control side effect your doctor isn’t talking about
Leave a Comment