Sex toy poisoning?

[Pinkmarley]

Hi,

With lockdown and being a single lady,my sex toys have had quite alot of action.

Recently, I've had a mild burning sensation, a stronger vaginal smell (chemical like) and some cramping (no abnormal discharge).

My sex toys are made of silicone ( so it says on the box). I've read that these materials can cause poisoning in the body, as they can leak, and many other issues around the safety of the materials used and the harms caused to your body.

Thrush test was negative and GP was quite rude and not really willing to listen to what I had to say and just told me to get STI checked. I've not had sex since last check so it's defo not an STI.

What can I do if I think I've poisoned my vagina? It sounds funny, but am worried.

[Hidden]

Dear pinkmarley,

There's an NHS web page discussing sex toy safety: nhs.uk/common-health-questi...

I can't find any references on Pubmed, the online medical reference resource, when searching "sex toys poisoning" although there are references to children's toys and lead poisoning and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) poisoning from children sucking on toy beads. GHB is also a drug that's used in chemsex.

Silicone can be toxic but from what I've read, it's usually in the context of faulty breast and buttock implants and fatal pulmonary embolism from injecting liquid silicone for buttock augmentation by unscrupulous operators. All these cases are of silicone administered or inserted internally. I can't find any mention of toxicity from an external source, such as silicone sex toys being temporarily inserted into a body orifice for sexual gratification.

If you're concerned, my advice would be to stop using the toys and see if you recover from your symptoms.

Rgds,

Adhari

[Hidden]

This is just a thought regarding the persistent 'chemical smell' in the vagina- are you quite sure you didn't leave anything inside (i.e. retained foreign body)? Have you accounted for all your toys, etc?

[Pinkmarley in reply to Hidden]

I'm very sure, nothing has been left in there! I really think it's the materials used in the toys that is giving me a bad reaction...

[Pinkmarley in reply to Hidden]

With the that response, you are clearly a male. Surely you have been told that us women can feel the smallest things going on and going in there!!

[Pinkmarley]

Update: the problem was that I was not drinking enough water and (and also diagnosed with iron deficiency, not sure if that would have anything to do with it).I've been drinking loads of water since and problem has been resolved. Feeling fresh