Tampon-demonium

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Historically, female bodies have been ignored and underrepresented in the medical industry.

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 Medical studies are geared towards men, and issues primarily affecting individuals assigned female at birth are understudied, especially reproductive issues. 

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Hi, my name is Evelyn Koski, and this is Tampon-demonium 

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Recently, new studies have found PFAs in pads, tampons, panty liners, period underwear, and nearly all other forms of menstrual products. 

PFAs are perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, and there are over 12,000 different kinds of them. 

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Due to their inability to wear down, PFAs are commonly referred to as forever chemicals, and they are not the kind of thing you would want in or around your body. 

Unfortunately, these chemicals are everywhere. From furniture, to fast food, to cosmetics, to tap water.

 These chemicals have irreparable impacts on our environment and our bodies. Many of these chemicals are even banned from production in the United States, unfortunately, they can still be in products manufactured outside of the country and easily imported in. 

These chemicals are known to cause higher cholesterol levels, lower antibody response levels to vaccines, cause birth defects, and cancer. They can be extremely dangerous. 

A study by The Institute of Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University found that of 46 different samples, 48% of pads, 22% of tampons, and 65% period underwear contained PFAs. Many of these brands claimed to be organic, and many even claimed specifically to be PFA free. The effects of these chemicals have yet to be fully understood, however there is a high likelihood that there are negative effects. Due to the proximity of these chemicals to the vagina, especially when inserted, these chemicals could potentially be absorbed by the vaginal lining. Tampons specifically, which are the most likely to cause this harmful absorption, were found to contain traces of Lead and Arsenic. 

In a study of 30 different brands of tampons, there was found to be an average of 2 nanograms of Arsenic and 100 nanograms of lead per gram. The average amount of lead in tampons is 10 times higher than what is acceptable in drinking water, and while the amount of arsenic is lower than what is considered safe to ingest, the EPA says there are no safe levels of lead or arsenic. 

 Lead and Arsenic are well known to be dangerous, so why are they in our tampons? To put it simply, they weren’t put there intentionally. Tampons are made of cotton, or at least have it mixed into its material. The cotton is able to absorb chemicals in their surroundings. Arsenic is naturally found in soil, which is then absorbed by the plants then turned into tampons. But what about the lead? Most likely it comes from factories polluting the area where these resources are grown. Many companies remain ignorant as to the true condition their materials are produced in, often by choice. In order to fully protect users of menstrual products, we need to hold global capitalism responsible. This is not an easy task, but nonetheless these systems must be dismantled in the name of public health. 

Problems with period products are not new, there have always been concerns about how menstrual products can affect a person’s health, especially when it comes to tampons. Tampons are categorized as a class two medical device, meaning they pose moderate risk for users. Tampons are given this category for good reason, and many argue their class should actually represent higher levels of danger than it does currently. The risk of toxic shock syndrome has been a widespread concern when it comes to using tampons. Toxic Shock syndrome, also known as TSS, is a bacterial infection that first became an apparent issue around 1980 as tampons started being made with rayon. Rayon allowed the tampons to absorb more, meaning users were able to use them longer. This consequently led to more frequent cases of TSS as consumers were unaware this could be an issue. In 1980, 20 people died from TSS and on average 6 in 10,000 people who menstruated got TSS. Now this number is down to 1 in 10,000. Why? Because there was a mass effort for education. Now, most tampon boxes contain a plethora of information, but at the time the boxes didn’t even tell the consumer if they were the cotton tampons or the high absorbency rayon tampons that were more likely to cause TSS. The demand tampon users had was for tampon companies to be regulated in the labels of their absorbency levels so that people could make informed decisions regarding how long they wanted a tampon in their body. The FDA heard this and began an official study in 1982, but this study did not use menstrual blood, or normal blood for that matter, or even red dyed liquid due to male scientists’ discomfort. It took an all female team of researchers independently testing to discover the true absorbances of various tampon brands, which they found to indeed be different from those in the official study. However, there are still no federal regulations on disclosure by tampon companies as to their materials. Most companies now voluntarily disclose due to pressure by activists. 

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So what does this all mean? What do we do? In 2022, 2 billion people ages 15-49 around the world were able to menstruate. These people rely on period products like the ones now found to be potentially dangerous. There is little individuals can do to be safe from the PFAs found in menstrual products. Certain brands have been found to have fewer traces of these chemicals, however switching may not be an economically viable choice for many individuals. Using menstrual cups or other products made with medical grade silicone is also a potential option. However it should not be up to an individual to keep themselves safe from these chemicals. Lawsuits have been filed against companies using these chemicals. These suits have been successfully won in favor of the consumer, prompting companies to closely monitor the presence of PFAs in their products. New precedents are being demanded for the health and safety of people around the world. 

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There is no one way to perfectly protect individuals from potentially harmful effects of menstrual products, but that doesn’t mean we should stop putting pressure on the companies and systems responsible for our safety. 

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Thank you for joining me in this discussion, I hope you have a wonderful day or night, wherever and whenever you are. Stay safe, stay questioning, and continue demanding change. 

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2024, 24 May. “Period Poverty – Why Millions of Girls and Women Cannot Afford Their Periods.” UN Women – Headquarters, May 24, 2024. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2024/05/period-poverty-why-millions-of-girls-and-women-cannot-afford-their-periods. 

AZ;, Marroquin J;Kiomourtzoglou MA;Scranton A;Pollack. “Chemicals in Menstrual Products: A Systematic Review.” BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, September 24, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37743685/. 

Commissioner, Office of the. “The Facts on Tampons-and How to Use Them Safely.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September 10, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/facts-tampons-and-how-use-them-safely. 

Domonell, Kristen. “Toxic Shock Syndrome Is Rare. Here’s What Tampon Users Should Know.” Right as Rain by UW Medicine, March 7, 2018. https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/well/health/toxic-shock-syndrome-rare-heres-what-tampon-users-should-know. 

“How Pfas Impacts Your Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 12, 2024. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/about/health-effects.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atsdr.cdc.gov%2Fpfas%2Fhealth-effects%2Findex.html. 

Kluger, Jeffrey. “What to Know about Pfas Chemicals in Menstrual Products.” Time, February 9, 2023. https://time.com/6254060/pfas-period-chemicals-underwear-tampons/. 

LaMotte, Sandee. “Tampons Contain Lead, Arsenic and Potentially Toxic Chemicals, Studies Say. Here’s What to Know.” CNN, July 11, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/health/tampons-lead-arsenic-plastics-wellness/index.html. 

Marroquin, Joanna, Marianthi-Anna Kiomourtzoglou, Alexandra Scranton, and Anna Z Pollack. “Chemicals in Menstrual Products: A Systematic Review – Marroquin – 2024 – BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology – Wiley Online Library.” Obgyn Online Library, September 24, 2023. https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.17668. 

Masci, Genevieve. “‘tampon Tim’ or Tampon Toxic? The Fight for Safe and Well-Regulated Menstrual Products.” Ms. Magazine, September 13, 2024. https://msmagazine.com/2024/08/16/tampon-tim-menstrual-products-toxic-metals-women-health/. 

“PFAS Explained.” EPA, October 3, 2024. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/pfas-explained. 

Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: Special focus on gender – UNICEF data, 2022. https://data.unicef.org/resources/jmp-report-2023/. 

Reame, Nancy King. “Toxic Shock Syndrome and Tampons: The Birth of a Movement and a Research ‘Vagenda.’” The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies [Internet]., July 25, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK565591/. 

Segedie, Leah. “Pfas ‘Forever Chemicals’ Inside Sanitary Pads & Incontinence Pads — Report 2022.” MAMAVATION, January 17, 2024. https://www.mamavation.com/beauty/pfas-forever-chemicals-sanitary-pads-incontinence-pads.html. 

“We Had 44 Period and Incontinence Products Tested for Forever Chemicals. Many Were Contaminated.” The New York Times, August 10, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/forever-chemicals-in-period-incontinence-products/.