What did @clittyclimaxgh actually say?
The creator described mixing cloves water as a "libido combo" that would "help you enjoy sex," "get you wet," "treat infections," and also "clean" — presumably the vagina or reproductive tract. That is a lot of work for one herbal drink. The claims span sexual desire, lubrication, antimicrobial action, and hygiene simultaneously. Before we even get to the science, stacking four distinct health outcomes onto a single homemade herbal preparation is a red flag worth naming upfront.
The video does not specify concentrations, dosing, preparation method, or which infections are supposedly targeted. That vagueness matters. "Treats infections" in a clinical context is a very different statement from "has antimicrobial properties in a lab dish." The creator appears to conflate the two.
Does the science back this up?
Partially, and only in a narrow sense. Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) contain eugenol, a compound with documented antimicrobial and antioxidant activity in vitro. A 2017 review by Cortés-Rojas et al. in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacognosy Research confirmed eugenol inhibits certain bacterial and fungal strains in laboratory conditions. That is real. The problem is the leap from petri dish to "treats infections" in a human body, which the evidence does not support at the doses found in cloves water.
On libido, the picture is even thinner. There are no robust randomized controlled trials showing that cloves water meaningfully increases sexual desire or lubrication in humans. A 2004 animal study by Tajuddin et al. in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies found clove extract increased mounting frequency in male rats, but rodent sexual behavior studies translate poorly to human sexual response. The creator is citing folk pharmacology, not clinical evidence.
What did they get wrong (or right)?
They got one thing directionally right: cloves have bioactive compounds with real pharmacological activity. Eugenol is not nothing. If the video had stopped at "cloves have antioxidant and mild antimicrobial properties," that would have been defensible.
What they got wrong is significant. First, claiming cloves water "treats infections" without specifying which infections, at what concentration, and through what mechanism is irresponsible. Bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, and STIs require clinical diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Substituting cloves water risks delayed care and worsened outcomes.
Second, the lubrication claim has essentially no human clinical backing. Vaginal lubrication is regulated by estrogen levels, arousal response, and autonomic nervous function. No peer-reviewed study demonstrates that oral cloves consumption reliably increases vaginal wetness in women.
Third, using anything internally or topically to "clean" the vagina contradicts established gynecological guidance. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has consistently advised against vaginal cleansing practices, which disrupt the natural lactobacillus-dominant microbiome and increase infection risk.
What should you actually know?
If your libido has genuinely dropped, that is worth investigating with a clinician, not a TikTok remedy. Low sexual desire in women can stem from hormonal shifts, particularly low testosterone or estrogen, thyroid dysfunction, antidepressant side effects, or relationship and psychological factors. Each of those has evidence-based interventions.
For men and women experiencing hypogonadism-related low libido, hormone evaluation is the appropriate first step. Cloves water does not address testosterone deficiency, estrogen imbalance, or any of the upstream causes of reduced sexual interest.
Repeated infections are also a clinical signal that deserves proper workup, not herbal self-treatment. If you are experiencing recurrent vaginal infections, a pelvic health provider can identify the actual pathogen and prescribe targeted therapy. An undiagnosed STI treated with cloves water is not being treated at all.
The broader issue here is that food-based remedies shared on social media often carry real bioactive compounds but are presented without the context of dose, bioavailability, or clinical evidence in humans. That gap between "this herb does something in a lab" and "drink this to fix your sex life" is where misinformation lives.