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It's going viral for all the wrong reasons.
Social media can, at times, prove to be a conflicting source of information when it comes to your health. Thankfully, there are doctors and trained professionals who often take to the platform to set the record straight about the worrying 'trends' they see surfacing on the internet.
The latest example of this comes courtesy of female A & E doctor Dr Maddy Lucy Dann who has warned about the dangers of a particular 'semen sponge' that's infiltrating the sexual health space on TikTok right now.
A post shared by Maddy (@maddylucydann)
Do not ever use a 'semen sponge', she said in an Instagram reel yesterday. The now viral product, which has over 60 million views on TikTok, has been created to remove semen left in the vagina after sex.
Filed under weirdest invention ever, the 'semen sponge' is a sponge made out of polyurethane. It’s been designed in a shape similar to that of a tampon in order to soak up any ejaculation left in the vaginal canal, which can cause discomfort for some women.
Dann, however, warns that inserting a sponge into your vagina could actually be very harmful. In the caption she wrote: 'To all vagina owners, this product is at best pointless and at worst could do harm. We don’t need to be even further removed from our bodies by it being suggested we need a tool to clean out our self-cleaning vaginas.'
Yes, as Dann states, you do not need to clean your vagina as it's self-cleaning. Although 'if you are someone with a surgically created vagina, then your care for your vagina may differ.’
She adds: 'There is flesh and tissue around the vagina called the vulva made up of the labia majora and the labia minora, or the outer and inner lips. These can be washed using a very gentle soap or just water,' reiterating that the inside of the vagina does not need cleaning.
Danns adds that the confusion this product is creating is also deeply worrying. 'Some [think] it’s contraceptive, some now [feel] they NEED to remove ejaculation or SHOULD remove it.' Not only that but it's actually creating a new problem by demonising normal behaviour and making the act of 'running to the loo' something to be embarrassed about. 'Imagine CREATING a problem to make people pay for your ‘solution’ when a dozen better methods exist.'
Worse yet, 'inserting a dry sponge into the vagina can cause micro abrasions or micro tears putting you at risk of irritation, BV, thrush,' she says. And if the person you’re sleeping with has a sexually transmitted infection and it’s present in the ejaculation, the irritation or micro tears from the [semen sponge] could make it more likely for you to contract the STI too.
A better route to remove ejaculation should you want to is simply a swipe of a clean finger or using gravity, going to the toilet and having a wee, she continues. 'Urinating after sex is also really important as it can clear the urethra and really reduce your risk of getting a UTI.'