(Image source from: AmazonUK)

In a bid to find track down alternatives to sanitary napkins, tampons, menstrual cups, and reusable pads the women these days are found using “sea sponge” to cut down on non-biodegradable waste and the idea is absolutely risky.

Women are insertingsea sponges into their vagina thinking of it to be "reusable", "nurturing" alternatives to tampons.

Moreover, there are companies cashing on this new "trend" of using sea sponges as tampons.

A gynecologist Dr. Jen Gunter retweeted a link to Holy Sponge's $40 "Ritual Menstruation Kit" being sold by the retailer Otherwild that someone was recommending online. She slammed the recommendation by calling it "untested and potentially very unsafe" as well as "filled with dirt".

The kit includes "two sustainably-harvested sea sponges sourced by a female diver in Florida" and "organic tea tree oil to disinfect".

Dr Jen Gunter said: "Anyone who tells you to put a sea sponge in your vagina wants you to grow more bacteria that cause toxic shock syndrome. This is horrific and illegal in the U.S. to promote sponges for periods."

She further said: "Sea sponges are not safer. I have quite a bit dedicated to tampon safety and the very small risks and the much greater risks of sea sponges in my book The Vagina Bible."

Sea sponges are the multicellular organisms that grow on the ocean floor and have been used as bath loofahs. Sea sponges have pores that allow them to absorb food from water and get rid of waste they have been used by car, boat and aircraft enthusiasts to safely wash vehicle finishes, interiors and clean wheels and tires.

By Sowmya Sangam