Senior health official warns against vaginal piercing

"Some patients had their uterus removed after having vaginal piercing and adornment with unsafe objects," said Medical Services Department deputy chief Boonreung Traireungwararat.

The ministry issued the warning after it became a trendy and popular fashion among young Thai girls who believe that piercing their vaginas and adorning them with beautiful accessories would enhance their sexual libido and attract a partner's attention while having sex.

Labial piercing is a type of female genital piercing done either through the labia minora or the labia majora.

These are the simpler and more common genital piercings performed on women, and are often done in symmetrical pairs.

Like all genital piercings, depending on jewellery and placement, they may provide additional stimulation to one or both partners during sexual intercourse.

Such piercing plays a prominent role in the French erotic novel, "Story of O". The heroine, O, has a hole pierced through a labium, through which a stainlesssteel ring is inserted. Another ring is linked to it, and to that, a metal disk with identifying information on it, including the name of her Master, the mysterious Sir Stephen.

For young Thai girls, Boonreung believes the vaginalpiercing fashion has followed a trend popular among Japanese girls.

He said most of women want piercers to put the decorated objects on their clitoris. But the unsafe processes used by many of them could cause inflammation and bacterial infection around the ornamented areas.

Moreover, an unsafe procedure could also cause urethral stricture - a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury or disease such as urinary tract infection or other forms of urethritis - or salpingitis, which is an infection and inflammation in the fallopian tube.

Some of these problems can result in haemorrhaging and may develop into dangerous conditions.

However, Boonreung said there was no scientific evidence to prove that vaginal piercing would enhance sexual activity.

During the past few years, Thai teenagers loved to pierce and decorate many parts of their body such as ears, nose, and navel.

But for young girls, Boonreung suggested that they should not pierce their vaginas as it could put them at risk of getting infection and severe symptoms.

" Of course, at the first time, they [young girls] would enjoy their sexual activity with their partner after they get vaginal piercing and decorating with jewelry. Then they would get nuisance and severe reproductive health's disease," he said.