Facts about tampons that you probably don’t know but definitely should

Tampons— you either love them, hate them, or find yourself sticking one up there every month without thinking, because that’s just what you’ve done since you started bleeding in 7th grade gym class. When you think about it though, we care so much about what products go on our skin and if the food we’re eating is healthy, but what about this little mystery, bullet-shaped fluff we put in one of the most sensitive parts of our body?

It’s probably not all cotton

When you think of tampon material your best guess is probably cotton…because it’s white and fluffy, and you don’t know what else it could be. Well, turns out many tampons and pads contain materials like rayon, viscose and wood fluff pulp. Rayon and viscose are known for being very absorbent which is good, because that is the point of tampons right? The only problem is these materials are more likely to get stuck to your vaginal wall, create micro tears and leave fibers in you. So if having little particles up there scares you as much as it scares me, maybe next time you’re wandering down the great feminine hygiene aisle of CVS you’ll actually turn boxes around, and figure out what’s in there.

Tampon companies kind of shame periods

It seems pretty counterproductive to sell us a product while also telling us we should be embarrassed if people see it. While commercials are all about being confident and being able to do splits like Aly Raisman even on your period, they still promote the idea that your period should be a big secret. But this message isn’t exclusive to tampon providers it’s also seen all over the media. There’s even this 2013 Women’s Health article called “9 Stealth Ways to Transport Your Tampons” including a lipstick tube and a hollowed out book— in case you want to act like your period turns you into a secret agent idk.

It might be bleached

The bleached look is great for a lot of things: Justin Timberlake’s frosted tips, Kylie Jenner’s many wigs, maybe even that upper lip, but one place you probably don’t want it is in your body. Thankfully, the FDA says you shouldn’t be affected by the trace amounts of bleach-caused dioxides in tampons, but it is something to think about adding up over time.

They don’t have to tell you what’s in it

Even if you decide to start scouring the ingredient list like a devout Whole Foods shopper stuck in the Walmart grocery section, there’s no guarantee you’re getting the full story. As of now tampon and sanitary pad manufacturers don’t have to tell you all the things they put into tampons, because they’re considered medical devices. It’s super comforting to think that we really can’t be sure what we’re putting inside our bodies.

Research on potential health risks failed in the House

In 2015, Congresswoman Maloney reintroduced her legislation that would require research on the health effects of all feminine hygiene products. She’s basically been trying to get a form of this legislation passed for 20 years and it keeps failing, maybe because congressmen just get angry when they hear the word “period.” Ingredients in tampons like bleach and added fragrance could be posing health risks, and because the vagina is so permeable there should be research about how chemicals can affect it. Maybe if we ever phase the creepy old men out of congress we’ll see some progress on this!

If you eat organic, should you absorb organic?

If you try to avoid foods that have been grown with chemical pesticides for your own health reasons, you might be missing another way these chemicals are entering your body. Over $2 billion is spent every year to spray pesticides on cotton crops, and the USDA reports over 94 percent of cotton is genetically engineered. So, if you make a point to keep these kind of foods out of your diet maybe you should consider keeping these tampons out of your cycle by using organic cotton tampons or other natural alternatives.

@daniagugliaro