Bit hot? Yep, bit hot.
An ice lolly would be good, right? Well, yes, as long as you promise to eat it and not do anything else with it – doctors orders, after all.
While many of us may have our own coping methods for staying cool in the hot weather – staying inside with the windows shut and the curtains drawn, much like the rest of the year, for example – others have seemingly thought ‘well, if eating ice lollies cools my mouth down, I wonder what else I can cool down with them’.
According to reports, some women are feeling the heat so much they’ve decided to try and cool down by inserting ice lollies into their vaginas, as Metro states.
And while you may think putting something nice and cold on or in your body is a sure-fire way to cool yourself down, doctors are warning women not to participate in this peculiar practice.
As Dr Sarah Welsh, co-founder of condom brand Hanx, explained:
The vagina is composed of very delicate and sensitive skin.
Hence, things that may seem innocent to other areas of the body, if they come in contact with the vagina, can cause infections, irritations and damage.
There are many things that should never go near a vagina, and ice lollies are up there. The ice can stick to the delicate skin of the vagina and cause real trauma and damage.
What’s more, putting any foodstuff inside your vagina can introduce microbes, disrupting its normal balance and allowing an environment for bacteria to grow and infections to develop.
The ice lollies can also play havoc with the natural pH of a woman’s vagina, causing thrush or irritation, so swapping to a sugar-free ice lolly isn’t an option either.
There’s also the danger of the popsicle melting or breaking off inside the vagina, which could cause damage too. While reports of one incident claimed a woman who said the lolly temporarily changed the colour of her skin after it ‘slipped’ inside her.
Dr Shree Datta, consultant gynaecologist at MyHealthcare Clinic, told Metro:
My advice would be to avoid any foreign bodies in the vagina for risk of infection.
I would suggest loose cotton underwear and avoiding tight clothing to prevent any irritation and dermatitis developing. A cool shower (without internal douching) and keeping well hydrated should suffice.
Doctors advised that, if you do want to cool down with your partner, running ice cubes over (but not inside) each other’s body can be pleasurable. Or take a cold shower. Don’t even think about inserting garlic. But leave the lollies to be consumed orally.
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Ed Watkinson is a content strategist and editor at UNILAD. Having worked for several large media agencies for over 10 years, he joined LADbible Group in 2017 and has been overseeing organic content performance since then.