Although vaginal steaming has not been extensively studied by medical science, there is growing evidence to suggest that it may be a beneficial practice for certain gynecological conditions.
The widespread prevalence of vaginal steaming in ancient medical texts and indigenous medical practices (predating the current Sims-era gynecological system that focuses primarily on surgery and pharmaceuticals) is promising and should be further explored.
Within the past two decades, there have been a handful of studies exploring the impact of vaginal steaming on gynecology and, so far, all of the results have been favorable.
Researchers who have conducted studies on vaginal steaming come from all parts of the world including the Peristeam Hydrotherapy Institute (USA); the Public Health Service in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) with the Public Health Service in Paramaribo (Suriname); University of Zurich (Switzerland); the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine with the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine; Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (China); Dae-Jeon University (Korea); Seoul University (Korea); The Society of Korean Medicine Obstetrics and Gyneocology (Korea); Pusan National University (Korea); and Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Ayurved (India).
Topics studied include vaginal steaming for: postpartum recovery, chlamydia, genital infection, vaginal atrophy, menstrual pain, irregular vaginal discharge, vaginitis, high risk HPV, cervical cancer and yeast infections.
