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The Role of Herbal Medicines in Female Genital Infections
Published in Megh R. Goyal, Hafiz Ansar Rasul Suleria, Ramasamy Harikrishnan, The Role of Phytoconstitutents in Health Care, 2020
The herb is used as a spice in many types of foods, and its leaves, flowers, and essential oils are used as medicine. It contains many compounds with a wide range of biological activities such as flavonoids, triterpenes, and cafeic acid derivatives [61]. Method of Use: The marjoram herb is used for local functions in a disinfecting, anti-inflammatory, anti-septic way and tightens the mucous membrane in a delicate way. It is used as a vaginal steaming or douching, tea, and suppositories [83].
Is the vaginal cleansing product industry causing harm to women?
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2021
Amanda Jenkins, Deborah Money, Kieran C. O’Doherty
There has been accumulating evidence to suggest that many vaginal cleansing products have adverse health effects. The harms of douching, in particular, have been documented since the 1980’s [e.g. 8]. Some of these early medical studies connected adverse health outcomes to the added antibacterial ingredient hexachlorophene in douches which can cause nausea, vomiting, spasms, coma, and even death [7]. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of hexachlorophene in cosmetics in the USA in 1971, over-the-counter douches today continue to be linked to adverse health effects; yet they are widely sold throughout Canada, the United States and internationally [7,9]. Adverse health effects include bacterial vaginosis, cervical cancer related to increased risks of contracting human papillomavirus infection (HPV), upper genital tract infections which can result in tubal factor infertility and ectopic pregnancy among others [10–14] As most research in this context has focused on douches, much less is known about the health effects of other vaginal cleansing products despite the fact that products like vaginal wipes and sprays are used very commonly by women. For example, cross-sectional studies conducted in the United States have reported that between 17 and 50% of women have used vaginal wipes and between 42 and 53% have used sprays [15,16]. Nevertheless, although there is much less research on vaginal cleansing products other than douches, the studies that have been conducted suggest that at least some of them are similarly associated with health risks. In particular, lubricants, deodorant sprays, and vaginal powders may increase women’s susceptibility to urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, sexually transmitted infections, and an increased risk of ovarian cancer [17–20]. Other vaginal practices, such as vaginal steaming similarly pose harms to women’s health [21]. However, we do not know the full extent of the health risks associated with the wide range of vaginal cleansing products on the market and more research on these products is urgently needed.