The Ministry of Health has cautioned Kenyans against misusing cetirizine, an allergy medication, to reduce vaginal lubrication during sexual intercourse, following a social media trend that has encouraged some women to experiment with the drug in pursuit of increased sexual pleasure.
Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga raised the alarm over the growing online discussions surrounding the medication, warning that treating such claims as harmless jokes could expose members of the public to the dangers of using medicines for purposes they were not designed for.
Speaking on Wednesday, November 4, during a High-Level Health Products and Technologies (HPT) Stakeholder Meeting in Nairobi, Oluga expressed concern that social media discussions were influencing people to misuse pharmaceutical products without understanding their possible health effects.
“I saw people discussing this medicine in a manner that is like a joke, but this also influences some sections of the public to misuse products and medicine,” he said.
The trend has been driven by claims that cetirizine can reduce natural vaginal lubrication because of its drying effects, supposedly creating a tighter sensation during sexual intercourse.
Some women have reportedly turned to the medication in an attempt to achieve vaginal dryness or reduce sexual desire, despite the absence of established scientific evidence supporting its use for these purposes.
Oluga said the government was considering measures to strengthen the monitoring of the drug's distribution and establish whether it was being purchased and used for inappropriate reasons.
He explained that authorities could develop a tracking system to identify individuals purchasing the medication and enable health officials to follow up where misuse is suspected.
“What we can assure Kenyans is that we can develop a system that can trace everyone, for instance, who has gone to buy cetirizine,” he said.
The PS also suggested that directly observed therapy and closer monitoring of the medicine's distribution could be considered as part of efforts to address the growing concerns.
He noted that the government needed to establish the source of the medication, the companies and individuals responsible for distributing it, as well as the retailers selling it to members of the public.
“From a medicine control perspective, it is very important that we trace who manufactured this cetirizine and who sold it to which patient?” Oluga said.
According to the Principal Secretary, following the medicine through the supply chain would help authorities establish how it was reaching consumers and identify those who might need medical guidance.
He added that community health promoters could also play a role in reaching individuals who had purchased the drug and educating them on the dangers of using it outside its intended medical purpose.
Cetirizine is an antihistamine commonly prescribed to manage allergic reactions and symptoms such as sneezing, a runny nose, itchy skin and watery eyes.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that the drug is less likely to cause dryness than older antihistamines, although some people who use it may experience side effects such as dry mouth.
Other common side effects include drowsiness, headaches and dizziness.
The medication is taken orally to manage allergy symptoms and is not designed to be inserted into the vagina or used to change natural vaginal lubrication, elasticity or muscle tightness.
Meanwhile, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board urged Kenyans who experience suspected adverse reactions after taking medicines to report them through its pharmacovigilance system.
The board stressed that monitoring the safety of medicines must continue even after they have been approved for use, allowing health authorities to identify and respond to possible side effects.
The Ministry's warning comes amid concerns that unverified information circulating on social media could lead people to take medicines without proper medical advice, exposing themselves to avoidable health risks.
Authorities have consequently urged members of the public to seek guidance from qualified health professionals instead of experimenting with pharmaceutical products based on online claims.