Experts have warned that a wave of misinformation about perimenopause is flooding the internet, putting women at risk of unintended pregnancies and masking serious underlying health conditions. Dr Paula Briggs, a consultant in sexual and reproductive health, said she had seen women arriving for abortion care “gobsmacked” after assuming they were no longer fertile. “Everyone thinks they’re menopausal,” she told the Guardian, adding that she is “horrified” by what she sees on Instagram and other platforms. Dr Channa Jayasena, a reproductive endocrinology specialist, cautioned that “some women are being mislabelled as having perimenopause when they have other things that are wrong” — a view echoed by the campaigning gynaecologist Dr Jen Gunter.
The scale of the problem is significant. A study published in BMJ Open found that 67% of online content about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the UK was misleading, and more than three-quarters of surveyed media had a commercial conflict of interest. Social media is fuelling a “menopause gold rush”, with influencers and private clinics aggressively promoting supplements, at-home hormone tests, and treatments such as testosterone therapy. Dr Briggs described the notion that every woman needs testosterone supplementation as “bonkers”, noting that women produce the hormone naturally throughout their lives. Dr Gunter has repeatedly highlighted that claims about testosterone boosting energy and sleep are not supported by evidence.
Other widely circulated myths include the idea of a “hormone imbalance” — a term Dr Gunter says is not a medical concept — and the belief that at-home hormone tests are reliable. The British Menopause Society has stressed that menopause is a clinical diagnosis based on symptoms and health history, not a test result. There are also warnings about compounded hormones and hormone pellets, which lack the safety checks of approved medications and have been linked to blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. Terms such as “bioidentical” and “plant-based” are often marketing ploys; many FDA-approved medications already use bioidentical hormones, and “plant-based” synthesis typically occurs in a laboratory.
Marketing and personal impact
The global menopause market was valued at $20.5bn in 2024 and is forecast to reach $34.5bn by 2030; the UK market alone is projected to hit £648.1m. That growth is driving what doctors in the US have called “very aggressive” marketing of “meno-washed” products — supplements, teas, nightwear and neck fans — that make bold claims without robust scientific evidence.
For many midlife women, this constant online bombardment becomes the water they swim in. One Guardian columnist described being targeted by ads for collagen, creatine, “menopause cool moment” tea and “moisture-wicking” nighties. A frustrated menopause specialist pharmacist posted a parody on LinkedIn suggesting products such as “meno-tape” for when life falls apart and “meno-water” at a higher price. The same columnist admitted that she had recently attributed losing her keys, an inability to focus, aching hips and a pervasive sense of “what’s the point?” to hormonal depletion, but acknowledged these could simply be human experiences. As the original article notes, being tired, hot and over everything are also symptoms of “simply being alive in spring 2026”.
In the UK, supplements are regulated as food products under the Food Safety Act 1990. They must meet safety standards and cannot claim to treat, prevent or cure any disease — such claims would require approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). However, enforcement by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is often reactive, and the line between vague wellness promises and prohibited medicinal claims can be blurred. The post-Brexit regulatory landscape means Great Britain has its own framework, while Northern Ireland follows EU rules.
Centuries of dismissal
Behind the surge in online misinformation lies a much older problem: a long history of women’s health concerns being ignored or trivialised. The original article references “centuries of medical misogyny (the kind that saw women put in asylums for ‘uterine derangement’)”. That legacy persists. Endometriosis sufferers in the UK now face an average diagnostic delay of nine years and four months, according to Endometriosis UK. Many report feeling “gaslit by doctors”. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects around one in eight women of childbearing age, also remains widely misunderstood: a third of women experience delays of more than four years, and many say GPs lack basic knowledge. A recent “rebranding” of the condition as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) was an attempt to address years of poor support and confusion.
Postnatal health services are “dangerously underfunded”, the original article notes, citing a doctor’s op-ed in the New York Times about the struggle to find treatment for serious postpartum issues. A Mumsnet report based on a decade of user posts paints a stark picture: women’s symptoms are “brushed aside, treated as psychological, or simply not believed”. In a survey published with the report, 64% of women said they had been explicitly told their pain or symptoms were “normal” or “in their head”. Half felt dismissed or ignored by NHS professionals because of their sex, and 68% believed the NHS does not take women’s health concerns seriously.
NHS menopause care itself is inconsistent. GP appointments are often limited to around ten minutes, and specialist referrals can involve waiting months — even over two years in some areas. Body-identical or compounded HRT is rarely available on the NHS, leading to a “postcode lottery”. The government has acknowledged this neglect, launching a £350,000 Women’s Health Research Fund in January 2026 to support studies into menstrual and gynaecological health, menopause and pelvic floor problems. The charity Wellbeing of Women also funds research in this area. A new NHS online hospital service, accessible via the NHS App, is being developed to provide faster specialist menopause care.
But for many women, the response of an overstretched system is to default to a “wait and see” approach. When symptoms are repeatedly dismissed, women become their own detectives, relying on word of mouth, anecdotal evidence and alternative remedies. That vulnerability is precisely what the menopause gold rush exploits — capitalising on a deep well of medical mistrust to sell products and consultations that often lack scientific backing. As the original article puts it, at best this is cynical; at worst it is actively harmful. It is enough to make any woman hot under the collar — though, of course, there is a £15.99 “Menopause & Me wearable neck fan” for that.