About tampons
A tampon fits inside the vaginal canal. The material that is used for the tampon is compressed. When it gets wet, it expands. The string extends outside of the vagina so you can pull it for removal.
In North America, tampons with an applicator are mostly used, whereas in Europe, the most common are tampons without the applicator.
It is important to know the ingredients of the tampons, but please be aware that organic tampons are not safer as many women assume. On the contrary, Gerard Lina, a physician and professor of microbiology at the University Claude Bernard and lead author of the study where they examined the influence of 15 currently marketed intravaginal menstrual pads (tampons), and menstrual cups, on S. aureus growth and TSST-1 production in a laboratory set-up designed to reproduce the conditions inside the vagina during use of tampons, and those of menstrual cups[1], explained that cotton-only tampons actually produced more of the toxin than did cotton blends or synthetic tampons. And the levels didn’t correspond to tampon absorbency. Space between the tampon fibers contribute to additional air entering the vagina. The team found that cotton-only tampons were less structured than synthetic ones, meaning they had more space between fibers, which allows more air into the vagina. They also observed higher levels of S. aureus growth and toxin production in menstrual cups than in tampons, potentially due to the additional air introduced into the bag by cups, with differences based on cup composition and size.
If you are repeatedly soaking through a tampon or pad every two hours even when using high absorbency tampon or pad you should talk to your doctor about your heavy menstrual bleeding.
Read more about tampons in First time tampon usage
[1] Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29678918/
https://asm.org/Press-Releases/tampons-can-cause-toxic-shock-syndrome
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