• A video posted in recent weeks about a vaginal sponge created by an American start-up has made the buzz on the Internet.

  • The device, called "Dripstick", is intended to absorb fluids after intercourse and prevent leaks.

  • If it already seems to have its followers across the Atlantic, could France be seduced?

    Is it safe and effective?

    20 Minutes

    will answer you.

Crazy inventions around the vagina, there is a package. We already knew about the “Gwyneth Paltrow's vagina” scent candle, the exfoliating stick to rejuvenate her vagina (a very bad idea !!), the steam baths and vaginal infusions that Gwyneth Paltrow - again she - loves (a very bad idea there). also), or the yoni egg, marketed in particular by… Gwyneth Paltrow, for a perineum and overpowered orgasms. Last somewhat original invention: the Dripstick, a sperm sponge. You probably never thought about it, but an American start-up created it, the aptly named Awkward essentials, or “the bizarre essentials” in French.

A quirk that broke the web.

It's even in the brand's Instagram bio, delighted with its “post-sex cleansing sponge that continues to break the Internet”.

The presentation video of this Dripstick posted on TikTok quickly found its audience, accumulating more than 14.3 million views.

Its public, but also its customers, to read the many rave reviews posted in comments.

But is it really useful?

And gynecologically safe?

"The mess after sex was a hassle"

In practice, the Dripstick, which can be translated as "anti-drip stick", looks like a tampon, except that a small rigid stick replaces the cord, and that the absorbent part is made up not of a compact fiber, but of a tube-shaped sponge, medical grade and guaranteed without additives. The purpose of this product: to absorb all fluids after intercourse. As a reminder, if coitus without a condom ends with ejaculation in the vagina, semen flow is inevitable.

Unless you take out your Dripstick, which is therefore "a sponge sponge, on a stick."

After sex, you insert it [into the vagina], you spin it around a bit if you want - it's up to you to see it - then you take it out, and it absorbs all the semen in the vaginal canal ” , describes a prominent employee in the video posted to TikTok.

An object that directly meets the needs of Frances Tang, who runs the start-up: “I love my husband, but the mess after sex was a hassle.

Every time he finished [ejaculating], I rolled out of bed like a ninja, rushed to the toilet walking like a penguin, and sat down wiping off that endless flow.

@awkwardessentials

Reply to @ rolesdecanelasincanela founded by a founder… how innovative.

it's also called dripstick i forgot that part

♬ original sound - awkward essentials

"I don't know if it's fundamentally useful"

Relatively unknown in France, could the Dripstick find followers there?

“I don't know if it's fundamentally useful,” wonders Melissa, in her thirties, married and a mother.

I imagine that I got used to the post-coital "casting", jokes the young woman.

In fact, sex is most often at night when children are sleeping.

And afterwards, I go to pee and then take a shower, which allows a good part of the semen to escape, which also does not flow for hours and hours ”.

"I wonder about its usefulness," confirms Dr Aude Du Passage, obstetrician gynecologist. My patients don't particularly complain about this. And conversely, when they want to get pregnant, they are even rather afraid that the sperm will flow too quickly. It also depends on whether you have already given birth or not, in which case the vagina may be more lax and the sperm may flow more quickly. But why not ?…. This can be useful if you have to resume activities soon after and you do not want to risk staining your clothes. There are always patients who are very aware of the trends and phenomena emerging on social networks, and maybe I will soon have to answer their questions about this device! “, Anticipates the gynecologist.

After all, "it's true that it's a bit boring and yucky when it leaks as soon as you get up," Melissa says after a few minutes of thinking.

And it happens that the next morning, I still feel a few drops escaping, but not to the point of using this device consistently after sex.

On the other hand, after a "quickie" in the middle of the day, if I have to go out afterwards, it can be practical.

As long as it is effective and without risk ”.

“If it is well designed with a sterile material of medical quality, that it can only be used once and disposable, I do not see any particular danger or infectious risk, reassures Dr. Du Passage.

Except that it is obviously recommended to use it after washing your hands ”.

"It's so good not to have a leak after doing it"

Across the Atlantic, the Dripstick has already won over Americans, captured by the brand's active presence on social networks. “I saw the ad on Facebook and I thought 'this is weird, and this will never work.' And in fact, it works 100%, rejoices Denise, a user who left a more than positive opinion on the brand's site. It's life changing: I went from having to manage endless leaks to zero leaks, ”she says.

A review shared by LaTice, another user.

“I saw that on the networks and I decided to give it a try,” she says.

Honestly, it probably saved the privacy of my marriage because I had a tendency to dread the timing of the post-sex cleanse and leaks throughout the day ”.

“It's so good not to have a leak after doing it,” says another user.

Neither a contraceptive nor protection against STIs

The American brand is full of views and likes with each post on the Dripstick. And also gets a lot of comments and questions: "Does this really work?" Can you get pregnant using this? “Asked an Internet user. “It is essential to remember that this type of vaginal sponge does not constitute a contraceptive method at all, insists Dr. Du Passage. The sperm are very mobile, so once there has been ejaculation, they have already had time to come up. And, just as it does not protect against unwanted pregnancy, it also does not protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), continues the gynecologist. If you do not take contraception, do not want to get pregnant and want to avoid any risk of STIs, you should use a condom ”.

A prevention message also relayed by the brand, which recalls that its Dripstick is only intended "to absorb excess fluid after sex".

Health

Sexual Fluids: Everything You Need To Know About Semen

Health

Sexual Fluids: Do you know what cyprine is?

  • STD

  • Sexuality

  • Gynecology

  • Women's health

  • Health

  • TikTok