Cucumber may be the coolest vegetable around. And while the classic phrase might derive from its famously cold temperature, that doesn't mean it isn't also a pretty extraordinary food.
In fact, there are so many ways to use a cucumber that don't even involve eating. You can use slices to defog a mirror, shine your shoes, or even reduce the appearance of cellulite.
Part of what makes cucumbers so awesome is that they are packed with all sorts of vitamins and minerals. According to Live Science, cucumbers are high in water content, potassium, plant chemicals that prevent disease, such as cancer, and of course, they are low in calories.
But while cucumbers might be a great addition to any diet or good to keep around the house, they are not good for cleansing your vagina — a recent internet trend that doctors have anything but embraced.
Thumbnail Photo: Max Pixel
If you conduct a search online with the words, "cucumber vagina cleanse" you are going to come across a number of YouTubers raving about the trendy regimen.
The theory instructs women to peel the cucumber and insert it into your vagina, as if it were another phallic object.
They claim the incredible cucumber will cleanse your lady parts. Different "experts" will suggest various durations for the cleanse.
However, those advocating for this treatment aren't exactly the experts they claim to be.
Dr. Jen Gunter dedicates her blog to dispelling health myths — and definitely advocates against this trend.
Dr. Gunter puts it simply, stating: "If you have a vagina, you should definitely not do this."
However, her reasoning may not be as obvious as you think. First of all, she explains that vaginal cleansing is not required because, believe it or not, vaginas are not dirty.
Our lady bits actually already have built-in ways of keeping clean and discharging any harmful bacteria.
Moreover, attempts to clean the vagina are often misguided and ineffective. In some cases, they can even do more harm than good.
She explains in her own words: "By damaging lactobacilli and the mucosa, attempts at vaginal cleaning increase a woman’s risk of contracting HIV or gonorrhea if she is exposed. Paradoxically, it will also cause odor."
Dr. Gunter is not alone in her opinion.
According to the BBC, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists also agrees.
Specifically, Dr. Vanessa Mackey says, “Using a cucumber to clean the vagina is potentially harmful and should be avoided. Use plain, un-perfumed soaps to wash the area around the vagina (the vulva) — not inside it — gently, every day.”
It turns out, our parts "down there" do not need as much TLC as people or trends may suggest.
We are encouraged to keep our areas clean, but not to go above and beyond or insert any foreign objects where they don't belong.
Again, cucumber is an awesome way to reduce eye puffiness and a great addition to your diet or a gin cocktail. But it's cleaning properties do not extend to female genitalia.
For now, the only objects that should be inserted into your "you-know-what" are sterile things like this tampon.
Or, if you are so inclined, another cucumber-shaped something that is designed to go there.
In the meantime, enjoy some cucumber in a salad, and make sure to SHARE this PSA with your lady friends!
