The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has warned Kenyans against misleading social media claims encouraging women to insert cetirizine tablets into the vagina for drying or tightening purposes.
The board clarified that cetirizine is an antihistamine approved for oral use to relieve allergy symptoms and has not been authorised for vaginal application.
Dr Wilfred Ochieng, Director of Pharmacy Practice at the PPB, said the medicine should only be used for its approved purpose, warning against following unverified medical advice circulating online.
“You cannot take probably like cetirizine, medicine that is meant to be used orally and insert into the female reproductive organ based on a claim that somebody’s making,” he said.
“We found that a bit worrying that somebody has created this.”
Ochieng said cetirizine has been available in the market for a long time and is classified as a pharmacy-only medicine, meaning it can only be obtained from a registered pharmacy.
He explained that the drug is approved to treat allergic conditions, including allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever, itchy skin and hives.
“Its authorization, we classify it as an antihistamine. This is a medicine that is used to treat allergies. For example, if someone gets allergic rhinitis, also called hay fever in layman’s language, or you develop some reactions like itchy skin, like hives, or other forms of allergic reactions, then you can take this medicine to...
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has warned Kenyans against misleading social media claims encouraging women to insert cetirizine tablets into the vagina for drying or tightening purposes. The...