In that moment, the clash was no longer about mere annoyance but about danger masked as natural healing. The family’s concern pierced through the veneer of charm, exposing the peril behind blind faith in unproven treatments. It was a stark reminder that sometimes love and care demand standing up, even when it means confronting uncomfortable truths.
My uncle’s new girlfriend came to family dinner the other night and it was the first time anyone in my family met her. She is super into essential oils which is very eyeroll inducing for me but I didn’t say anything about it or show that I found it annoying at first.
I bit my tongue while she went on about putting them in her water (you should not be ingesting essential oils) and rubbing them on pressure points and trying to convince my mom to buy some.
But then she brought up that they can be super good for yeast infections!!? I looked at her super horrified and asked “you mean you’re putting them *down there*??” And she said yes you just insert a few drops and it clears up right away!
I told her this was very dangerous and could cause chemical burns as well as throwing off your vaginal ph and potentially causing other infections. She said “oh no you don’t have to worry about that they’re all natural!!” To which I replied “so is poison ivy but I wouldn’t suggest shoving it up your vagina.” She just looked kind of shocked.
My sister laughed and my aunt said “well she has a point,” but other family members said that it was rude and crass. Which I didn’t think so because she’s the one who started talking about yeast infections at a family dinner certainly saying the word vagina is less crass than that.
Conclusion
The original poster (OP) felt compelled to voice a strong, factual warning when their uncle’s new girlfriend promoted the potentially harmful practice of internal essential oil use for medical issues during a family dinner. This created an immediate conflict between the OP’s desire to protect someone from potential harm and the family’s expectation of polite, non-confrontational social behavior.
Was the OP justified in directly confronting a guest about a dangerous health practice, even if it occurred in a public family setting, or did their blunt delivery cross the line into impoliteness that disrupted the social harmony? Where should the line be drawn between speaking up against misinformation and maintaining dinner table etiquette?
Here’s how people reacted:
I have nothing against natural treatments, when they go alongside with what modern society considers “cientificaly proven treatments”- but people who actually know about natural tratments don’t go around giving: 1) Unsolicited advice; 2) Advices that could be harmful.
Seriously, just because it’s natural doesn’t make it good – arsenic, asbestos, and box jellyfish are all also natural, and nobody is claiming that this makes them good for you!
You’re right and she’s being inappropriate and spreading dangerous misinformation. But people are still trying to eat their food, and by extending the conversation, you robbed them of the ability to not think about vaginal fungus.
Next time, just say you’re on Team Big Pharma and these plates are so pretty, where’d you buy them, Auntie?
You said she was pressuring your mom to buy some, which screams MLM, and those essential oils are definitely not food-grade or safe for sensitive areas. You were crass, yes, but she was the one who brought up the fact that she puts essential oils where the sun don’t shine.
You didn’t allow her to advise others to do something very stupid and potentially dangerous without giving people fair warning. How bad would you have felt if someone took her advice and hurt themselves?
Gynecologists keep saying not to put things that don’t belong in your hoohaa in your hoohaa. Anf there are people like her that put essential oils in there… God have mercy…