Alums. Image credit: IndiaMart
Maternal health experts have cautioned women against using alum for vagina tightening, warning that it could lead to infection and infertility.
The experts disclosed this in exclusive interviews with HealthWise, stressing that using alum to wash the vagina cannot restore lost virginity.
Alum is an inorganic chemical compound that is generally made up of water molecules, aluminum or other metals, and sulfates.
An Associate Professor and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu State, Dr. Uche Agu, told our correspondent that the practice is a misconception by some women who think using alum to wash the vagina will make it tight and give them a sense of virginity.
According to him, using alum to wash the vagina cannot regrow a ruptured or broken hymen, stressing that virginity is a thing of the mind.
Dr. Agu said, “Using alum to wash the vagina is a misconception by some women that it gives them a sense of tightness and a sense of virginity. But it is just a misconception and deceit because it doesn’t mean anything.
“It is very dangerous because alum can be corrosive and cause some burning and irritation of the vaginal wall.
“It can also cause scarring and might even block or narrow the place terribly that the vaginal might require some surgical interventions to open it up.
“So, it is a very bad practice. It does not help anyone, rather it is dangerous. When you are using that substance on the vagina, by the time it erodes the walls of the vagina, causing burning, then infection can set in. That infection can spread up to the uterus and cause infertility in the future.”
According to him, the infection that might arise from the use of alum in washing the vagina can block the fallopian tubes and cause infertility.
The gynecologist also warned that such a harmful practice could lead to complications in pregnancy if the woman escapes infertility.
“If the woman eventually gets pregnant and the vagina is narrowed, it will be difficult for a baby to pass through a narrow canal.
