Claim: A Facebook user claims cloves water can be used to get rid of yeast infection and tighten the vagina.
Verdict: False. There is no substantial scientific evidence that suggests cloves water can be used to cure yeast infection and tighten the vagina. Moreover, gynaecologists say despite antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, cloves have not been scientifically tested to cure vaginal infection.
Full Text
Despite daily breakthroughs in the efficacy of pharmaceutical drugs, a good number of Africans still rely on herbal medicine as an antidote to specific ailments.
A Facebook user, Angela Nwosu Page, claims cloves water can cure vaginal yeast infection.
“I am going to teach you the proper way to use cloves water to treat yeast infection, mouth odour, even (staphylococcus). No matter how long you have carried the (staphylococcus) around, cloves water would eradicate it,” the Facebook user asserted.
“For all sorts of toilet infections, you can make your natural remedy (referring to the cloves) and drink it, and it is all gone,” she added.
Ms Nwosu went ahead to give the recipe for preparing the liquid.
As of Tuesday, November 19, 2024, the Facebook post earned over 1 million views, 16,000 comments, and 85,000 likes.
Most users who had viewed the post and commented only registered interest in testing the herbal antidote.
“I will try this. Thanks for sharing.” Onyinye Cecilia reacted.
“What’s the quantity to be taken?” Amarachi Mercellina Ohuakanwa asked.
“Please, Mami, can men use cloves to get rid of the infections?” Helen Okoro asked.
A similar claim was also posted on TikTok.
Because the recommendation is non-pharmaceutical and novel, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
Cleaveland Clinic mentions the presence of eugenol—an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial chemical—in clove oil. However, it quotes Erik Modlo, who works at Cleaveland Clinic Main Campus, saying that adding small quantities of cloves to food is not threatening. There is no substantial evidence that cloves can be used for medicinal purposes.
Consuming cloves can have many benefits, including easing dental pain and managing gum disease, lowering blood sugar, protecting against cancer, relieving itchy skin, and improving breathing. However, the article does not mention that cloves cure any diseases highlighted by the Facebook claimant.
In an interview with Scientific America, Paul Nyirjesy, an obstetrician–gynaecologist, pointed out that the public perception of cloves as an antidote to vaginal infection is because of the presence of allicin. Allicin is considered fungicidal. However, Dr Nyirjesy said, “It is challenging to assess the potency of such infections.”
He further stated that whenever people insert anything, such as cloves, into the vagina, they could incur severe irritation or burn in that area.
An article on vaginal yeast infection by MedicalNewsToday informs that the condition arises as a result of Candida yeast overgrowth in the vagina. The condition occurs due to disturbances or imbalances between the presence of bacteria and vaginal yeast. About 75% of women are bound to experience this condition.
However, the outlet advises individuals with the infection to immediately contact a doctor. It also listed some medications that an infected person can consume over-the-counter (OTC), such as butoconazole (Gynazole-1), clotrimazole (Gyne-Lotrimin), miconazole (Monistat 3), and terconazole (Terazol 3).
But MedicalNewsToday also recommended homemade treatment, including the application of boric acid vagina suppository and oral or vaginal application of yoghurt.
What experts say
DUBAWA interviewed gynaecologist Qudus Lawal, who works at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Edo State, about the Facebook claim. He stated that there is no scientific evidence to back the claim up.
He posited that cloves have antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, “but it is not enough to heal or cure for those purposes, as there is no scientific evidence to use them for treatment about those conditions.”
Corroborating Mr Lawal, Akinkuade Abimbola, a gynaecologist at Garki Hospital in Abuja, explained that no scientific research validates the Facebook claim.
“The truth is that anything you put into your vagina becomes a foreign body, no matter how good the content of the thing is. It will irritate the vagina and cause soreness. When this wound heals, it causes what we refer to as gynaetresia, that is, the narrowing of the vagina due to fibrosis from poor healing.
“This is what some people call vagina tightness, but to a gynaecologist, it is an abnormal condition that may reduce women’s reproductive quality of life,” he explained.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings show that the claim is false. It is not scientifically proven, and gynaecologists and researchers have debunked it.