V-steaming or vaginal steaming — a procedure recommended by actress Gwyneth Paltrow became popular that many, including Hollywood celebrities, started using it. Medical experts, however, were recently alarmed and warned the public of its risks following an incident wherein a woman suffered horrific burns after doing the said procedure.

The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada published a paper indicating that a 62-year-old Canadian woman did the Paltrow-recommended vaginal treatment hoping to avoid surgery. The victim had a prolapsed vagina, Newshub reported.

Dr. Magali Robert, author of the article, said that the Canadian woman went to a traditional Chinese doctor, who advised her to go in for vagina steaming. The woman, for two consecutive days, sat over boiling water for 20 minutes before presenting her condition at the emergency department, BBC News reported.

What is vaginal steaming treatment/procedure? As mentioned earlier, the procedure involves a person sitting over a hot water with herb mixed.

The vaginal steaming procedure reportedly began somewhere in 2010 but people started paying attention to it when Paltrow’s Goop brand began recommending it.

Other than Paltrow, Hollywood celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and former “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Heather Dubrow tried the vaginal steaming procedure.

Teigen took it to Instagram and uploaded a snap of her with face mask, heat pad and doing the vaginal steam. The actress, however, claimed that she didn’t know if any of it would work but it wouldn’t hurt if she just tried.

In 2016, “RHOC” star Dubrow appeared on Khloe Kardashian’s former show, “Kocktails with Khloe” and shared her own experience of the vaginal steam treatment. In a video of FYI Television Network uploaded on YouTube, Dubrow explained how the vaginal steam treatment was done.

Nowadays, SPAs and salons are reportedly offering vaginal steaming treatment procedures, advertising that it’s been used in Asia and Africa for decades. They reportedly claimed that the practice was some sort of detox to the vagina.

Other than vaginal detox, there were some fans who claimed that vaginal steaming could cleanse the uterus, balances hormones, vagina tightening, reduces cramps and provide energy. These were just claims but available evidences spoke otherwise, Metro UK reported.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists representative Dr. Vanessa Mackay debunked the myth that a vagina needs extensive cleaning. Dr. Mackay reportedly said that female genital has good bacteria that are there for protection. A use of plain, unscented soap in cleaning the external vulva only is recommended by the medical experts.

She also reportedly added that steaming the vagina could result in irritation, infection, and inflammation. It could also affect the pH levels and healthy balance of bacteria in the vagina. Worst, steaming could burn the vagina’s surrounding delicate skin.

The Canadian woman, who suffered second-degree burns following the vaginal steaming procedure, would need to wait until she’s healed for the reconstructive surgery to commence.

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