Your Social Media Feed May Be Selling You Women’s Health Products That Don’t Work

If you’ve ever seen a TikTok about boric acid suppositories, a sponsored post for a home fertility test, or an influencer recommending hormone supplements for menopause, you’ve encountered a problem researchers are now formally studying.

A new protocol published in JMIR Research Protocols by a team at the University of Sydney outlines a large content analysis of social media posts across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. The focus: how women’s health products and interventions that lack solid evidence are being marketed to women,  and how persuasive those marketing tactics are.

The study is still underway, but the problem it’s investigating is already well-documented. And Canadian women are squarely in the crosshairs.

Why women’s health is a prime target

Women’s health has historically been underfunded and underresearched, leaving significant knowledge gaps. In lieu of evidence, influencers, alternative medicine practitioners, and companies are now attempting to fill this space, and social media provides the perfect vehicle.

In 2024, influencer marketing drove social media to become the world’s leading advertising channel, reaching almost US $250 billion in sales, including health and wellness products. Many of the people promoting these products have no medical credentials, and many have direct financial interests in the brands they’re recommending.

The researchers are particularly focused on five products and interventions that are widely marketed to women but currently lack robust evidence of benefit.

The five interventions under the microscope

1. Boric acid suppositories

Marketed on social media as a way to cleanse the vagina, balance pH, and eliminate odour, boric acid suppositories have become wildly popular, particularly on TikTok. The reality? There is little to no evidence to support these broader claims. Boric acid is only recommended as a second-line treatment in specific cases of recurrent bacterial vaginosis or treatment-resistant yeast infections, not as a daily hygiene product.

Overuse carries real risks: abnormal discharge, burning, itching, inflammation, and a heightened susceptibility to infection. It can also mask symptoms that actually warrant medical attention.

2. At-home fertility tests

Companies are increasingly selling hormone tests, often measuring anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), directly to women online, marketed as a way to assess fertility potential. The problem is that these tests cannot predict a woman’s chance of conceiving, time to pregnancy, or reproductive timeline. They are useful tools within fertility treatment, but they have no diagnostic value for healthy women who haven’t yet tried to conceive.

The harms are real: unnecessary anxiety, pressure to conceive before they’re ready, or spending significant money on egg freezing based on results that don’t mean what the marketing implies.

3. Perimenopause and menopause testing kits

Home testing kits to identify menopausal status are widely promoted, but clinical guidelines recommend that women over 45 with menopausal symptoms be diagnosed based on their symptoms alone, without laboratory tests. For most women, these tests are considered unreliable, unnecessary, and costly.

4. Supplements and hormone treatments for menopause

The menopause wellness market is enormous and much of it is built on claims that outrun the evidence. While menopause hormone therapy is prescribed for vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats, and increasingly for bone health, it is continuously advertised for symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, and skin dryness, for which robust evidence of effect is lacking. Topical progesterone creams are also widely sold despite no evidence supporting their absorption through the skin.

5. Hormone therapy marketed for disease prevention

This one is more nuanced than the others and it’s worth being careful about how it’s framed.

Many influencers are promoting hormone therapy specifically to prevent dementia and cardiovascular disease in older women, and current clinical guidelines do not support this as an indication for starting or continuing MHT. The concern raised by the researchers is valid: self-medicating with hormone therapy based on social media claims, without medical oversight, carries real risks.

But the science on long-term MHT use is actively evolving, and some of what was assumed in the wake of the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative trial is being revisited. A large 2024 study published in Menopause, drawing on data from more than 10 million senior Medicare women, found that estrogen therapy beyond age 65 was associated with significant reductions in all-cause mortality, breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, heart failure, and dementia, particularly when used at low doses and via transdermal or vaginal rather than oral routes.

The picture for combined estrogen and progesterone therapy is more complex, with some formulations and doses associated with increased breast cancer risk and others showing neutral or protective effects.

The key takeaway: the blanket fears about hormone therapy that shaped clinical guidance for two decades are being challenged by newer, more nuanced data. The problem isn’t MHT itself, it’s the type, dose, route, and whether it’s being used under medical supervision. As the study’s authors note, decisions about continuing or starting MHT beyond age 65 should be individualized, based on each person’s health history, symptoms, and risk profile, not social media.

If you’re in your 50s or 60s and wondering whether MHT might be right for you, the conversation belongs with your menopause-trained doctor, not your For You page.

The bigger picture

What ties all five of these together is a pattern: a genuine gap in women’s health knowledge, a community of women looking for answers, and a marketplace, often driven by celebrities and influencers with financial stakes, ready to fill that gap with products that haven’t earned clinical endorsement.

“Findings from this study will provide information that may help women become aware of the issue and resist being unduly influenced or pressured by the marketing of low-value interventions,” the researchers write.

What to do when your feed recommends a health product

A few questions worth asking before purchasing any health product promoted on social media:

• Who is recommending it? Is the person a credentialed healthcare provider, or do they have a financial stake in the product?
• What does the evidence say? A quick search on a site like Health Canada or Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency can help you assess whether a product has regulatory backing.
• Is it treating a real symptom? Products that promise to prevent vague future problems or “optimize” normal body functions are often where the evidence is weakest.
• Has your doctor mentioned it? Speak with your doctor about it. Mention the product and see what your doctor’s position is on it.

When in doubt, bring the product up with your doctor or pharmacist before spending money, or your health on it.

Subscribe to The Health Insider newsletter where you’ll find many more insights – delivered straight to your inbox.

~ Read more from The Health Insider ~

• 
  Your Social Media Feed May Be Selling You Women’s Health Products That Don’t Work
  Women’s health gaps are being filled by viral marketing. Here is the clinical reality behind 5 heavily promoted online wellness trends.
• 
  Ditching your Sunscreen? Separate Fact From Fiction
  Trading sunscreen for internet rumours exposes your skin to a proven Class 1 carcinogen — the sun. Read the risk analysis and learn about new options before heading outside.
• 
  Would You Trust AI Over Your Doctor?
  Nearly half of Canadians use AI for medical advice, but 68% would still wait two weeks for a human doctor over an immediate AI diagnosis.
• 
  Syphilis Is Surging in Ontario and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price
  Ontario’s syphilis surge has reached every corner of the province. Here’s what pregnant people need to know about screening and protection.
• 
  Red Light Therapy: Separating Science From Hype
  Beyond the wellness trend lies real clinical proof. Discover how red light therapy physically heals cells, targets chronic pain, and regrows hair.
• 
  Beyond Ibuprofen: New Tech and Natural Remedies for Period Pain
  Period pain isn’t just something you have to endure. Discover the natural remedies and Health Canada-approved tech that offer proven relief.

The information provided on TheHealthInsider.ca is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. TheHealthInsider.ca advises consulting a medical professional or healthcare provider when seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. To read about our editorial review process click here.