‘Ozempic Vulva’ Is Leading Some Women To Get Labia Puffing And Surgery

“Ozempic vulva” is an unoffcial term that women have been using to describe what they’ve been noticing in their genital areas after starting Ozempic or some other glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist. (Photo: Getty)

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You may have heard of “Ozempic mouth”, “Ozempic tongue” and “Ozempic penis.” Well, here’s yet another “O” body part term that is making the rounds on social media and may make you go, “Oh my.” It’s “Ozempic vulva.” Women have been using this term to describe what they’ve been noticing in their genital areas after starting Ozempic or some other glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist. And that’s stirred up more discussions about getting labia puffing or labiaplasty to deal with these effects.

What Is ‘Ozempic Vulva’?

For those who are unfamiliar with female anatomy or think that “vulva” is a brand of cars, the term is actually the official way to refer to a female’s between-the-legs external genital parts. This is the proper anatomical terminology as opposed to the word “vagina,” which is often mistakenly used to describe what’s really the vulva. Most of your vagina—if you have one—is usually not visible from the outside as your vagina is the elastic, muscular canal that connects the uterus to the outside.

By contrast, your vulva consists of the openings to your vagina and urethra, the surrounding glands, your clitoris and the inner and outer lips of your vagina—also known as your labia. Your vulva also encompasses your mons pubis, the rounded area located in front of your pubic bones where hair typically grows.

Meanwhile, GLP-1 agonists have become the athleisurewear of medications—super-popular and mentioned seemingly everywhere. While GLP-1 agonists began as diabetes medications, the tides of their use really changed with the finding that these medications can cause significant weight loss. Speaking of tides, the active ingredient in the GLP-1 agonists end in “tide”—whether its semaglutide for Ozempic and Wegovy, liraglutide for Victoza and Saxenda, exenatide for Byetta and Bydureon, dulaglutide for Trulicity or tirzepatide for Mounjaro and Zepbound. A study published in JAMA Network Open found that weekly semaglutide injections were associated with on average a 15-pound weight loss after three months and a 27-pound weight loss after six months. If you do the math, that’s an average loss of roughly five-pounds a month. That’s got a lot of people, including, surprise, surprise, celebrities, talking about GLP-1 agonists as if it were some kind of magical drug for weight loss.

Putting the words “Ozempic” and “vulva” together and you’ve got a term being used to describe the sagging skin, weaker muscles and dryness in the vulvar region that some GLP-1 agonist users have been noticing. Some have also commented on experiencing increased vaginal discharge after starting GLP-1 agonists. ”Ozempic vulva” is not an official medical term. Your doctor won’t be saying something like, “Looks like you have Ozempic vulva,” at least he or she shouldn’t.

‘Ozempic Vulva’ Is Likely A Result Of Rapid Weight Loss

Even though the “O” word is being used, what’s being called “Ozempic vulva” is probably not direct caused by the medication itself. Instead, the sagging skin is a potential consequence of the weight and fat loss from GLP-1 agonist use. While fat may seem like the enemy, it actually serves various purposes including storing energy and giving your different body parts their volume and shape. That includes your vulva, especially your mons pubis and labia majora. And when you use GLP-1 agonists, you aren’t offered a menu where you can select where you want to lose your fat.

When the fat pads beneath your vulva rapidly shrink, they can be like Ant Man in the movie The Ant Man and Wasp, when he shrunk and then his hoodie became several sizes too large. That’s because the hoodie didn’t shrink with him. Similarly, with rapid weight and fat pad loss, your skin may not be elastic enough to reduce in size and area as well, leading to sagging skin and soft tissue.

The pelvic muscle weakness may be due indirectly to the way GLP-1 agonists work. GLP-1 agonists help with weight loss in large part by suppressing your appetite and the “food chatter” that happens in your head, often to the point that people forget to eat, if you can imagine that. If you aren’t eating enough, you could also not be getting the necessary nutrients. This could lead to loss of lean muscle mass, which, in turn, could result in pelvic muscle weakness.

It’s not clear what may be causing the dryness and increased discharge that’s being reported on social media. Of course, when it comes to posts on social media, you can’t necessarily be sure of whatever’s being said. People may not be accurately conveying what their symptoms may be or what other things they may be doing besides taking GLP-1 medications. This can be unintentional or—here’s a shocker—some people can actually lie on the Internet. Imagine that. Therefore, using social media and other Internet posts for medical observations and advice can be kind of like listening to what’s written on the inside a bathroom stall or what’s said by some random stranger you met on the subway platform but somehow got into a conversation with about your genitals. More scientific studies are needed to confirm what else GLP-1 agonists may be doing to the vulvar region.

What Can Be Done About ‘Ozempic Vulva’

What you do about “Ozempic vulva” depends on how bothersome the symptoms may be. If the only thing that’s bothering you is the appearance of your vulva, you’ve got to ask yourself how much your expectations of the shape down there are being shaped by other people’s unrealistic expectations and unrealistic things like porn. (Yes, that’s another shocker, porn can be unrealistic.) Remember what’s considered attractive is very subjective and greatly shaped by what’s seen in entertainment and various types of media.

Also, “Ozempic vulva” could be a sign that you may be going for weight loss a little too aggressively. A slower more measured approach could allow your body and your other daily behaviors to adapt. It’s important to make sure that you are concurrently maintaining proper nutrition and exercise.

If the sagging skin is causing actual functional problems like chafing, then you may want to see your doctor to first explore non-invasive options. Depending on your situation, your doctor may suggest various moisturizers and lubricants. There’s also the possibility that you may have something else going on at the same time. For example, perimenopause can result in dryness, discomfort and other symptoms in that area, as I’ve described previously in Forbes. That’s why seeing a doctor can be better than simply Sherlock Holmsing on social media.

If you are experiencing muscle weakness, all of the above apply as well. Proper nutrition and exercise are important. Your doctor may recommend Kegel exercises and other types of pelvic floor physiotherapy to strengthen your pelvic muscles.

‘Ozempic Vulva’ May Be Prompting More Women To Consider Labia Puffing And Labiaplasty

If you are finding the sagging skin to be too bothersome to be managed via non-invasive approaches, there are procedures available. One of these procedures is labia puffing, This is where a doctor injects some kind of dermal filler, like hyaluronic acid or fat, into your labia majora, the outer lips of the vulva, to give them more volume. It’s ratehr similar to the penis filler and scrotal filler procedures that finance bros have been getting, as I’ve described previously in Forbes.

This procedure isn’t as invasive as surgery but it isn’t completely risk-free. After all, you are getting a needle stuck into your genitals. You could get swelling, bruising, pain and other types of irritation at the injection site. Infection and greater damage are risks, especially if the healthcare professional doing the injection is not skilled, not careful, not qualified or not even a healthcare professional. There’s the rare possibility of allergic reactions. The filler could go in unevenly, resulting in labial asymmetry. Or too much filler could be injected, which could lead to labia with an exclamation mark after them.

There’s also the possibility that the filler could move or change over time. This can form lumps and other not so desired appearances. These are all reasons why if you choose to get labia puffing, you shouldn’t go cheap and look for a place that will offer coupons.

A labiaplasty would be more invasive and involved. Typically, you’ll have to under some kind of anesthesia, whether its intravenous sedation plus local anesthesia or general anesthesia—which brings its own set of risks. The surgeon can do different things depending on what you want, ranging from cutting off excess tissue to reconstructing and sewing up different parts to inserting filler like fat. While this presents more options than labia puffing, it also increases all of the aforementioned risks. Remember the saying that the only minor surgery is surgery done on someone else.

“Ozempic vulva” is yet another example of how GLP-1 agonists—while potentially very effective at helping you lose weight—are not magical, wonder drugs. It remains to be seen how effective they may be for different people over longer and longer periods of time. There’s a need for more studies to better determine this as well as the different potential effects and side effects. After all, there’s already been, oh, quite a few unofficial terms with the word Ozempic in them to describe the unexpected effects that people are experiencing with GLP-1 agonist use.