Unregistered 'magnesium salt spray' cannot treat vaginal diseases: health experts

"To women experiencing any of these conditions and are afraid to have them treated due to shame, do not be embarrassed because you are not alone," reads a Tagalog-language Facebook post shared on October 27, 2022.

The post promotes "Magnesium Salt Spray" to treat a range of conditions, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, yeast infections and human papillomavirus (HPV).

"No matter how early or severe these diseases are, use Magnesium Salt Spray which has helped many with God's mercy, so just shoot us a private message," the post adds.

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Screenshot of false claim taken March 29, 2023.

Similar Facebook posts touting the product were shared here and here.

Social media is awash with bogus and harmful medical posts in the Philippines, where citizens rank among the world's heaviest users.

Comments on the posts promoting the spray suggest some Facebook users were interested in buying it.

"Where do I order? I don't know why but my vagina is really itchy. I hope this helps," one commented.

"I have itchiness and discharge. I want to order," another wrote.

However, the FDA told AFP on March 24 that "Magnesium Salt Spray" was not registered with the agency. This means it has not been evaluated for quality, safety and efficacy.

"Consumption of such violative products may pose potential danger or injury to health," the FDA said in an earlier warning about the product issued in December 2020.

'No single cure'

Dr Marianne Austria, a gynaecologist from St. Clare's Medical Center in the Philippine capital's Metro Manila region said the posts were misleading.

"The therapeutic claims of 'Magnesium Salt Spray' are not true," she told AFP on March 30, 2023.

"These vaginal diseases do not have a single cure. They have different treatment methods that have been tried and tested and magnesium is not part of them."

Dr Bernabe Marinduque, a gynaecologist from major hospital St. Luke's Medical Centre, also in Metro Manila, told AFP on April 13, 2023: "People need to see a doctor for symptoms in their genitals. There are many conditions that if not properly treated will have lifelong consequences."

Some of the diseases mentioned in the false posts can be serious if not effectively treated early on, according to reputable health sources.

Untreated chlamydia can cause pregnancy complications and infertility, gonorrhea can be life-threatening if it spreads to the blood and HPV can cause cervical and other cancers.

Health experts at Meedan, an organisation tackling health misinformation, said there have been documented benefits of magnesium supplements for reproductive health but evidence is "lacking" that this is helpful for vaginal conditions.

"If a need for magnesium supplementation has been established, the magnesium should be given orally, not through the skin," a Meedan representative told AFP on April 1, 2023.

AFP has previously debunked social media posts promoting various unregistered products advertised as weight-gain vitamins, skin treatments and heart supplements.