Why tampax is used

One of the popular alternatives is the reusable pad , a better-designed version of a very old technology. Others have embraced menstrual cups , another old technology that has recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Some companies are designing underwear that absorbs period blood directly and can be washed and used over and over, while other menstruators choose to bleed freely throughout their periods, eschewing the traditional stigma that comes from visible evidence of this most basic of biological realities.

And breaking down the stigma around menstruation, says Bobel, is critical to moving toward a more socially and environmentally thoughtful future. It's not. How your toothbrush became a part of the plastic crisis. Why carrying your own fork and spoon helps solve the plastic crisis. The sticky problem of plastic wrap. This common plastic packaging is a recycling nightmare.

Cigarette butts are toxic plastic pollution. Should they be banned? How the plastic bottle went from miracle container to hated garbage. Tires: The plastic polluter you never thought about. Can medical care exist without plastic? Your shoes are made of plastic. All rights reserved. Environment The Story of Plastic. How tampons and pads became so unsustainable A combination of technology and social pressure drove us toward sanitary products shot through with plastic.

Tampon applicators are almost always made from plastic. Some companies make applicator-free tampons. This article was created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. Things you can do to be part of the solution : 1. Try menstrual cups or reusable products. Choose tampons without applicators and made from natural fibers. National Geographic is committed to reducing plastics pollution. Learn more about our non-profit activities at natgeo. Learn what you can do to reduce your own single-use plastics, and take your pledge.

How your toothbrush became a part of the plastic crisis Why carrying your own fork and spoon helps solve the plastic crisis The sticky problem of plastic wrap This common plastic packaging is a recycling nightmare Cigarette butts are toxic plastic pollution. How the plastic bottle went from miracle container to hated garbage Tires: The plastic polluter you never thought about Can medical care exist without plastic? That change required tampons to undergo more extensive testing before being marketed to the public.

Unlike cosmetics, medical devices did not need to have a list of chemical contents. As of , tampon manufacturers are not required to disclose a list of ingredients, while products like mascara and shampoo must have all ingredients listed on the label.

At the time, most tampons on the market were only meant to stay inside the body for several hours. Rely contained pellets of carboxymethyl cellulose, or CMC, a chemical which made the tampon hyper-absorbent.

Japan banned Rely for use due to its chemical ingredients, but the US did not. Because of the shifting legislation, Rely did not have to undergo extensive testing under the new law and was available for sale in the US.

Though Rely experienced commercial success for some time, use of the product revealed the dangers of leaving a tampon inside the vagina for an extended period of time. Despite that, during the late s, nearly 25 percent of tampon users were using Rely or a similar hyper-absorbent tampon.

Toxic shock syndrome is a bacterial infection, which involves bacteria in the body releasing dangerous toxins. The infection is predominantly caused by leaving tampons inside the vagina for too long.

Toxic shock syndrome can cause fever, rash, skin peeling, low blood pressure, and can be potentially fatal if left untreated. Thirty-eight of the cases reported to the CDC by were fatal. In September of , the CDC released a study that showed that the use of Rely and other tampons for extended use dramatically increased the risks of toxic shock syndrome. By June of , the CDC had received reports of over cases of toxic shock syndrome. A study by researchers Philip Tierno and Bruce Hanna revealed a link between toxic shock syndrome and the tampon ingredients CMC, polyester, polyacrylate, and rayon.

The study showed that tampons made with synthetic fibers could pose a threat of toxic shock syndrome to women who did not change their tampons within the suggested time period. Throughout the s, reproductive health advocates campaigned for tampon manufacturers to recommend women to use the minimum absorbency tampons and remove them as directed to prevent toxic shock syndrome. Following that advocacy and the findings of studies on toxic shock syndrome, tampon companies started printing warning labels on tampon boxes advertising the dangers of leaving tampons in the vagina for extended periods of time.

In , the US Food and Drug Administration required tampon companies to implement a system of distinct, labeled absorbency levels, or sizes.

That differentiated some tampons as more absorbent than others so that women were more informed on how long they could leave their tampon inside. As of , most menstrual tampons do not contain CMC, polyester, or polyacrylate, and some researchers have demonstrated that those chemicals amplify bacteria growth. In the twenty-first century, the modern tampon design is generally similar across brands. The tampon itself is usually made of absorbent cotton and rayon, a synthetic fiber.

The shape of the tampon is a small cylindrical bullet with a string attached at the bottom. Some tampons have a disposable plastic applicator barrel that holds the tampon inside and a disposable plastic plunger that pushes the actual tampon out of the applicator when inserting it into the vagina. Tampons with a cardboard applicator have a similar design to those with a plastic applicator, but are considered more environmentally friendly because their cardboard applicators are biodegradable.

Tampons are disposable and meant for one-time use. The woman then applies pressure to the tampon plunger, inserting the tampon in the vaginal canal. Next, she removes the empty applicator. Though people have been doing it for ages, the free bleeding movement has been receiving mainstream attention since Kiran Gandhi ran the London Marathon while free bleeding in Dried blood is potentially infectious. Any surfaces coming into contact with blood need to be properly disinfected.

The biggest risk is viruses, such as hepatitis, which can be transmitted through dried blood for several days. Wearing period panties might be a good way to transition to free bleeding if you want to try it out but are hesitant. Carry disinfecting wipes with you in case blood gets on other surfaces. Washing clothes and linens in cold water as soon as possible can help keep blood stains to a minimum. Investing in a waterproof mattress protector is also a good idea.

The period game is about more than tampons vs. Consider your comfort, budget, convenience, and any other variables that matter to you when choosing your products.

Try out different options to find what works best. Many women use menstrual cups as an eco-friendly alternative to tampons. It doesn't matter if you've had a period for years or you're waiting for your first one — periods can be confusing.

We break down everything from how…. You may see red, brown, and even black blood during your period. Every major manufacturer of tampons at the time faced lawsuits. More than 80 percent were menstruating women using tampons. It took years after the outbreak for scientists to figure out how tampons caused TSS. In , Tierno, along with Bruce Hanna, published research that found a link between synthetic materials—specifically CMC, polyester, polyacrylate rayon, and viscose rayon—and toxic-shock syndrome.

The synthetic ingredients, they wrote, provided a fertile environment for the amplification of the toxigenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus , causing disease. Fortunately, only a small portion of women have TSST-1, the particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus that causes toxic shock, in their vaginas— a Journal of Clinical Microbiology study of North American women between 13 and 40 found 1 percent of its subjects carried TSST-1 vaginally.

Less than three percent of staph aureus strains are toxigenic with TSST In , tampons went to space. At the height of the TSS scare, more than 40 percent of women were using tampons with absorbencies of But the most dramatic changes to the post-TSS tampon were virtually invisible to consumers.

But according to Tierno and the CDC , manufacturers abandoned the use of CMC and polyester after Rely was pulled from shelves, and tampons containing polyacrylates were withdrawn from markets in Tampax, Friedman notes, even revived a line of all-cotton tampons it had discontinued in Viscose rayon is still commonly used in tampons; a representative for Kotex confirmed to me that viscose rayon is the only one of these ingredients still in use in its products.

After Rely, consumers began to realize just how little they knew about what was actually in tampons. None of these groups were successful. In fact, according to the CDC, no U. Still, between and , cases of menstrual TSS were reported, 51 of them fatal. And, importantly, the product that would come to be called Tampax Pearl was to have nothing in common with the ill-fated Rely experiment.

And with good reason. But throughout the industry, the new urgency of developing a better tampon—and, undoubtedly, the heightened scrutiny—resulted in a number of breakthrough discoveries. Among them: While the tampon had been cylindrical for more than a century, the human vagina is not.

And it is—but only at the vaginal opening.