Pelvic health expert warns against ‘vaginal steaming’ after a woman was left with agonising burns – and shares advice on avoiding a prolapse
- Canadian woman was left with severe burns after using the steaming method
- Pelvic health expert Stephanie Taylor offered advice on preventing prolapses
- Her study found the NHS spends over £45 million a year treating the condition
- She has warned women against ‘vaginal steaming’ to relieve prolapse symptoms
A pelvic health expert has warned against ‘vaginal steaming’ and has offered her tips on avoiding a prolapse.
Stephanie Taylor, 57, from Hull, is the managing director of Kegel8 – a pelvic toner company recommended by UK GPs and gynaecologists for treating conditions associated with a weak pelvic floor.
The health expert has offered her advice after an unidentified Canadian woman, 62, attempted to fix her prolapse using the traditional Chinese method, which involves sitting over boiling water infused with herbs for 20 minutes – but was left with agonising burns.
Stephanie’s advice includes regularly practicing Kegel exercises, both manually or with the help of an electric toner, and insisted that in most cases the condition is entirely preventable.
Pelvic health expert Stephanie Taylor, 57, from Hull has offered her advice on avoiding vaginal prolapse
Speaking about the treatment, she said: ‘Even if you escape without injury, there’s no scientific benefit to squatting over what is essentially just herbal tea.
‘“Detoxifying” your vagina isn’t a thing and it certainly won’t cure a prolapse or other intimate health problems.’
She said: ‘Most cases of prolapse are entirely preventable. Just like brushing your teeth, looking after your pelvic health should be an important part of your daily routine.
‘Pelvic floor weakness is often thought of as an “old woman problem” but the truth is it can affect any woman, and indeed men, at any point in their life.
‘As with any muscle group, exercise it and it becomes stronger. A strong pelvic floor will be more equipped to hold the organs in place and reduce your risk of prolapse.’
Pelvic organ prolapse is when one or more of the organs in the pelvis slips down from its normal position – while the condition affects 1 in 3 women.
The health expert gave her top tips after a woman was left with second-degree burns after attempting ‘vaginal steaming’
Vaginal prolapse can cause symptoms such as heaviness around the lower stomach and vagina, a loss of intimate sensation or performance, pain and discomfort, and problems urinating.
Stephanie went on to explain that practicing Kegel exercises doesn’t just help to avoid the condition, but can also help improve an existing prolapse.
She said: ‘Strengthening the pelvic floor can also improve an existing prolapse and alleviate the associated symptoms as it springs back into place.
‘By practicing Kegel exercises, either manually or with the help of an electric toner, you can strengthen and build muscle tone in just a few weeks.’
This detailed diagram shows the top reasons for a hysterectomy and the detailed causes
This map shows the number of hysterectomies, by area, performed in the UK from 2017-2018
This chart shows the areas in the UK with the highest hospital admission of people with the condition
Vaginal steaming was recently recommended by Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow in an article for her lifestyle website Goop
Kegel8 underwent a study which found the NHS spends over £45 million a year treating the condition, the the highest spending in the South West at over £12 million, closely followed by London at £7.68 million.
Hysterectomies are the leading cause of prolapse in women and the study found that NHS Trusts in England performed over 23,000 hysterectomies between 2017 and 2018 alone.
Vaginal steaming or ‘V-Steaming’ was recently recommended by Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow in an article for her lifestyle website Goop, which doctors believe led to a surge in popularity.
Gynaecologists have repeatedly warned ‘V-steaming’, can cause infections and is not proven to work.