Oak apple or oak gall is the common name for a large, round, vaguely apple-like gall commonly found on many species of oak.
Oak galls can cause burning and drying of women's private parts. Doctor warned it can cause infection, but why do some women use these wasp nests as a vaginal product?
Some women have been placing wasp nests in their private parts prompting doctors to warn about the dangers of this new trend.
Online retailers are selling ground-up oak galls as at-home remedy claimed to tighten and rejuvenate women's private parts.
What Are Oak Galls?
Oak galls are essentially growths from the bark of the trees that are produced when wasps or other organisms or their larvae expose trees to certain chemicals. The tree develops a protrusion that looks like a fruit that grew from a branch.
Although these tree growths do not necessarily serve as nests for the wasps, they serve as a sort of nursery for the larvae. Oak galls provide an ideal environment for the wasps to mature since the soft tissues that develop inside these provide food for the larva to eat as it grows.
While oak galls may be beneficial for wasps and other small creatures, they are not beneficial for women's reproductive health. Gynecologists have in fact warned women about placing them in the vagina.
Oak galls can dry up a woman's private part, which can lead to chafing during sex, making it easier to contract infections including STIs. These products can also disrupt the bacterial balance in the vagina which can raise risk for yeast infection and HIV.
The recommended usage involves applying a paste of galls on the episiotomy cut, the surgical cut in the area between the anus and the vagina made before delivery to enlarge vaginal opening.
Sellers also recommend it for use as feminine wash during or after a period particularly when excessive discharge occurs.
The galls, which contain tannin and small amounts of gallic acid and ellagic acid have antimicrobial qualities and are used in South East Asia especially Malaysia and Indonesia by women after childbirth to restore the elasticity of the uterine wall.
Ob-gyn Jennifer Gunter wrote about the dangers of using oak galls which include burning and drying.
This product follows the same dangerous pathway of other 'traditional' vaginal practices, meaning tightening and drying the vagina which is both medically and sexually (for women anyway) undesirable.
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