I didn’t expect to add another part to my jade egg review, but last minute I decided to look into the controversy around the use of jade eggs.
There is one specific article which I am referring to, written by Dr. Gen Gunter, an Ob-Gyn who is very interested in women’s rights and also in debunking health claims that are not backed by science.
Her original article was criticising GOOP (one website that sells jade eggs) and after that said article there was a bit of a kerfuffle, with jade egg teachers and sellers attempting to address her concerns in different ways, followed by Dr. Gunter defending her science. Dr. Gunter’s articles come across as very feisty, probably on the verge of being offensive. And she pretty much dismisses every health claim that doesn’t have a study/research to prove it. She also questions the sellers’ motivation with their health claims in the same way she questions health claims raised by Big-Pharma influenced Drs and advertisements. Basically, she’s questioning the truth behind claims of a product’s benefit, whenever there are suspicions of financial gain. And that’s a good thing.
She is doubting the claimed benefits of the use of jade egg, and she also raises two real concerns in regards to the use of jade egg, and I want to mention those here, in case you are practicing with a jade egg. It’s always good to be aware of as many sides of a coin before we decide which side to take.
Her concerns are:
Leaving the jade egg inside you for lengthy periods of time: she reckons that this is potentially dangerous for your pelvic floor muscles. True, overworking weak muscles is not helpful, and indeed most respected jade egg teachers would only advise leaving the jade egg inside the vagina according to each person’s ability. This is why it is so important to be guided by a teacher that can help you with your practice, as I recommended in the first part of my review.
Toxic Shock Syndrom: As TSS is a rare condition, there is practically no way to study the effect of jade egg use on developing TSS. Dr. Gunter says:
A jade egg can cause microabrasions, almost everything inserted vaginally does. If the jade eggs harbors bacteria or creates an environment that favors bad bacteria it could inoculate the vagina and then two days or 20 days later this could lead to TSS. We really are unsure of the exact risk factors and how it happens. We also don’t know how the jade egg will react when bathed regularly in a pH of less than 4.5 (i.e. the vagina). Could this cause microscopic cracks and allow bacteria in? Who knows? Who knows is not comforting in medicine.
The thing is, TSS is extremely rare. But you need to know that by inserting any porous material into your vagina – and according to her concern, this could be true for pretty much anything you put inside your vagina- a risk factor exists. Now, I’m not a geologist, but according to jemselect.com: “Bleaching causes jade to become porous and more prone to breakage”. Meaning, jade is not considered porous unless it has been bleached. In which case I would be hesitant putting it in my vagina anyway…
OK. I think I had enough writing about the jade egg for a while now!
