Tampon: The Silent Killer
As a young girl growing up and becoming a woman was exciting. Everyone knew that getting your period marked the day that you became a woman and we wanted it to come so bad (now we don’t know why the hell we were in a rush). We would have the menstrual talk with our mothers and when discussing menstrual options we were told all about wearing a pad/sanitary napkin. But being the nosey little kids that we are, we knew that our mothers were wearing tampons, I mean come on now, we saw them in the bathroom cabinet in the back unsuccessfully hidden.
So as we got older most of us transitioned to using tampons because our mothers, aunts, and sisters were using them. We just knew that this was the next step up and everyone talked about how tampons were sooo much better than pads as if it were a luxury to finally wear a tampon. Much more convenient, true! But what we didn’t know is that the convenience of wearing a tampon was and is causing us harm.
What we were NOT told is that these pads and tampons are filled with TOXINS! Toxins that could cause serious health issues and potentially death. Well, we read that tiny note on the tampon box that says Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is possible but oh so very rare, as if not to be concerned with it because you are the exception to the rule, it’s not going to happen to you (and that’s if you even read the box).
So what did we do? We ignored it because hey nobody we know ever got TSS so who cares; if it’s more convenient, I’m wearing them. But what about health issues aside from TSS that they don’t tell you about or don’t even know is linked to tampons. Now we may think that pads are a safer option because it’s not inserted into the vagina, but the same is still true. The toxins are just more likely to enter your body at a faster rate when using a tampon. We call tampons the silent killer because when you are wearing them they are great and you don’t have any present side effects. However, think about how long you have been wearing tampons and how many tampons you have used throughout your life. Let’s see, I’m 33 and have been using them since I was about 14, so that’s 19 years of use. 12 periods per year. 228 periods in total. Using about 20 tampons per cycle (on the low end). That’s 5,460 TAMPONS! OMG!!! It’s almost like willingly injecting yourself with toxins but expecting to be healthy years later, very unlikely. It’s just like smoking cigarettes, the effects don’t show up until later when it’s too late.
Stop gambling with your health and ultimately your life because in this case what you don’t know will hurt you. You can’t leave it up to the distributors to protect you because what we’re just now finding out they’ve always known but yet they’re still on the market. The ingredients used in tampons are not regulated by the FDA and brands don’t have to disclose to consumers what ingredients are used. There are some newer brands that will disclose this information but come on, you're now telling us because people are demanding it isn’t really all that better and plus the ingredients we are aware of are still dangerous. We’re not going to just forget that part. Especially the ones found in stores, they are filled with chemicals, pesticides, and “other probable human carcinogens” as put by the EPA which is clearly stuff that shouldn’t enter the human body. We’re talking rayon, plastic, chlorine, procymidon, piperonyl, butoxide, methylene chloride, carbon disulfide and a bunch of other toxins that many of us (including me) can’t even pronounce.
This gives you something to think about the next time you consider using a tampon, ask yourself is it really worth it? Then you may ask, “well if not a tampon, then what will I use for my period?” Tune in to the next blog to find out the safest, easiest and most convenient option out there; the option they don’t tell you about.