EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Vaginal Detox

We know what you’re thinking…WT…F?  Vaginal detox?

Well for those of you who feel that between pregnancy, childbirth, using tampons once a month and pap smears every 2 years, your vagina doesn’t get poked and prodded quite enough for your liking, you can now subject it to a detox treatment.  For real!

Read: Why Gwyneth Paltrow Thinks You Should Steam Clean Your Vagina

U.S firm Embrace Pangaea are selling ‘herbal womb detox pearls’ online (essentials small balls of perfumed herbs that are inserted deep into the vagina for up to 3 days) claiming that the products ‘aids to correct conditions such as endometriosis, ovarian cysts and thrush.’

And they aren’t the only place on the big ol’ crazy internet that you’ll find these vaginal ‘pearls’ or similar products.

According to the Independent, the owner of Embrace Pangaea, Tamieka Atkinson said

Our product is not a drug by any means, and we make no claims of curing, diagnosing, or treating disease.
Embrace Pangaea is a holistic company that provides high-quality herbal detoxes and information to educate clients about natural living.

Our Herbal Womb Detox Pearls is simply a natural herbal alternative that women can make a conscious and informed decision in using. With all our clients, we do advise them that we are not medical professionals, and that they should seek assistance from their doctor.

Anybody else spot any red flags in that statement?

Experts Warn About The Dangers of the Vaginal Detox Trend

Just because you can, it doesn’t mean that you should!

Experts warn that not only are the ‘pearls’ ineffective they can also be very dangerous.

Dr Jen Gunter, a US gynaecologist debunks the companies claims in her blog post titled ‘Don’t “detox” your vagina or uterus with a bag of herbs in your vagina. Really.‘ Dr. Gunter explains (what most of us already suspected):

Your uterus isn’t tired or depressed or dirty and your vagina has not misplaced its chakra. They want no real help from you unless there is something wrong and they will tell you there is something wrong by bleeding profusely or itching or cramping badly or producing an odor. Don’t blame malaise, or fatigue on your uterus or vagina (unless you are anemic from bleeding, but then you would have had the warning sign)…

 

Vagina’s, we are reminded, are like self-cleaning ovens.

via GIPHY  Would everyone please kindly step away from my oven!

Dr Gunter also warns,

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.

These herbs (or whatever, because you really just don’t know – hey it could just be dirt from someone backyard) could be damaging to your lactobacilli (the good bacteria) or be directly irritating to the vagina mucosa (the lining) and both of these outcomes will increase your risk of infection…

…What happens when you leave something in a vagina for 3 days is that anaerobic (not good) bacteria grow….

…leaving a product that is not designed for prolonged vaginal use (and these are not) in the vagina is a risk for toxic shock syndrome. Just don’t do it.

If you are still in doubt, we recommend reading Dr Gunter’s full blog post yourself.  It contains a number of graphic images illustrating exactly why you shouldn’t do this.  Just don’t click across if you’re eating!

So there we have it.  Absolutely everything you’ll ever need to know about vaginal detox.

Don’t do it!