Doctors warn women against putting wasp nests in their vaginas

June 1, 2017 | 11:22am | Updated
Modal Trigger Doctors warn women against putting wasp nests in their vaginas
Galls on an oak leaf. Getty Images
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Women are being warned against trying a bizarre new trend that suggests using ground-up wasp nests to tighten and rejuvenate their vaginas.

Some online retailers have been selling oak galls, which are nests that house wasp eggs before they hatch, and touting them as a natural way of cleaning female genitals.

The product reportedly is crushed into a paste and applied topically, with one listing on Etsy, which has now been removed, claiming it can improve a woman’s sex life.

They are also being advertised as helping to “heal episiotomy cuts, rejuvenate the uterine wall and clean out the vagina” after childbirth, though there are warnings that it can “burn” when applied.

Now, gynecologist Jen Gunter is warning women not to get sucked in by the new trend after branding it “dangerous” — saying the practice is using “drying agents” to tighten the vagina.

Writing on her blog, she said: “Drying the vaginal mucosa increases the risk of abrasions during sex (not good) and destroys the protective mucous layer (not good).”