Fact Check: Consuming cold water, cucumber during menstruation won’t cause cancer, infertility; misleading post getting viral

A post shared on social media suggests certain activities women should avoid during menstruation. A woman should avoid such activities as it increases the risk of ‘sterility’ and ‘uterus cancer’ as per the viral post. The source of the claim is given as the Indonesian Cancer Extension Institute. The post is also accompanied by disturbing images of a severely swollen belly. Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post is misleading.

Claim

The viral post on Facebook shared by a user named Ijoho Mson reads: “Share this message to any woman that you know. (If you are man and you receive this message please help forward it to the women around you), If you are a woman who is on her menstrual period then please do not do these 4 things; 1. Do not drink iced water, soda water, or eat coconut during menstruation.. Do not apply shampoo on your head because the pores of the head are open during menstruation and it can cause headache (hit the wind head), it is very dangerous and this effect can be felt when young and later when aged. 3. Do not eat cucumber during menstruation because the sap present in the cucumber can block some menstruation (blood waste) in the uterine wall and it can cause Barrenness! 4. In addition, during menstruation, your body should not be knocked or hit by hard objects, especially the abdomen because it can cause vomiting blood, the uterus can be injured. And these are the “ORIGIN OF UTERUS CANCER, CYSTS AND BARRENNESS Research proves, drinking ice during menstruation can cause menstrual blood remaining in the uterine wall, after 5-10 years can cause “UTERUS CANCER OR TUMOR”. Please this info is distributed to many women; mothers, wives, daughters, or girlfriends. Show concern for others. Love your woman. There is Beauty in Sharing … saving 1 woman, can get you an unexpected reward, this would be useful for women. Uterus Cancer or Barrenness will not be your portion… Source: LPKI (Indonesian Cancer Extension Institute).” The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Investigation

Vishvas News started its investigation by searching about the source mentioned in the viral message, Indonesian Cancer Extension Institute. We did not find any institute of such name in its searches.

We searched the photos mentioned on the viral post by performing Google Reverse Image Search. We found that the photos were shared in 2017. It was the photo of a 24-year-old woman who had a large-sized ovarian cyst.

Nothing in the article linked the cyst to any of the symptoms in the viral post.

Vishvas News further investigated each claim one by one.

Claim 1: Do not drink iced water, soda water, or eat coconut during menstruation.

There is no scientific evidence supporting this claim. When Vishvas News spoke to Dr. Anita Soni, a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, she said: This is a myth. This claim isn’t true. The message conflates two bodily systems – the reproductive and digestive system. Yes, localized heat can help reduce cramps but the claim that drink iced water, soda water, or eat coconut during menstruation is baseless.

Claim 2: Do not apply shampoo on your head because the pores of the head are open during menstruation and it can cause headache (hit the wind head), it is very dangerous and this effect can be felt when young and later when aged.

Dr. Anita Soni, a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician said that a change to the pores of a woman during an average menstrual cycle is typical. However, there is absolutely no reason not to shampoo your hair during menstruation. This claim is not true.

Claim 3: Do not eat cucumber during menstruation because the sap present in the cucumber can block some menstruation (blood waste) in the uterine wall and it can cause Barrenness!

Dr. Anita Soni commented on this by saying: There is no relationship between eating cucumber and barrenness. Many things can lead to infertility; cucumber is definitely not one of them.

As per US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,  infertility can be linked to various problems such as problems in menstrual cycle, infections, implantation failure, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, etc.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, an American academic medical center, cucumbers have an anti-inflammatory compound that in fact, removes waste from the body and are not bad for women during menstruation.

Claim 4: “Your body should not be knocked or hit by hard objects, especially the abdomen because it can cause vomiting blood, the uterus can be injured. And these are the “ORIGIN OF UTERUS CANCER, CYSTS AND BARRENNESS.”

As per Dr. Anita Soni, being hit with hard objects can cause vomiting of blood and injury. But, it can cause cancer and cysts is quite an overstretch. In general, it is not advised that one takes a blow to the stomach, under any condition; menstruating woman or not.

Claim 5: Drinking ice can cause cancer

Vishvas News investigated this claim by visiting the official website of National Cancer Institute. We did not find any report citing any connection between the drinking of ice or iced water and cancer. If the information was true, it would have been well documented in medical establishments.

Vishvas News spoke to Dr. Manish Singhal who is an oncologist with Indraprastha Apollo Hospital. He said: There is no link between cold water and cancer. The cold water you consume after food will eventually turn to the body’s internal temperature very similarly what should happen to it if you keep a cold or warm glass of water outside in ambient temperature. The stomach muscles mix the food and liquid with digestive juices. The stomach slowly empties its contents to the small intestine.

Vishvas News fact-checked similar claim which suggested that there is no link between cold water and cancer. Click here to read the article.