Warning: Tampons Can Be a Breeding Ground for Dangerous Toxins and Bacteria

The fact that personal care products like lotion, deodorant, and cosmetics often contain toxic ingredients is becoming more common knowledge. As a result, many men and women alike have chosen to opt for natural alternatives and some companies have even removed questionable ingredients.

The same cannot be said, however, for most feminine hygiene products, including tampons and pads. Classified as medical devices instead of personal care products by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), companies do not have to disclose the ingredients they contain.

Most tampons, for instance, are made from cotton, rayon, or another pulp fiber, but these materials may contain toxic disinfection byproducts from the chlorine bleaching process, including dioxins and furans, as well as pesticides from non-organic, often genetically modified (GM) cotton.

Meanwhile, from a sustainability perspective, disposable tampons and pads are far from being environmentally friendly, but available alternatives have not been widely accepted into the mainstream…

It May Take Centuries or More for a Tampon to Degrade in a Landfill

Feminine hygiene pads alone are a multi-billion dollar industry. Another 100 million women use tampons globally, and it’s estimated that one woman uses 11,000 tampons in her lifetime. Each of those tampons, along with pads, can take centuries to break down in a landfill, especially if they’re wrapped in plastic before being thrown away.

While many municipalities are discussing methods to discourage the use of plastic bags, plastic-laden feminine hygiene products “add the equivalent of 180 billion bags to our waste stream,” according to Naturally Savvy. Alternative reusable options include silicone menstrual cups and cloth pads and liners. Sophie Zivku, communications and education director for DivaCup, told The Guardian:

“The paper feminine hygiene industry has done a very good job of convincing women that their period is something [which] should be out of sight and out of mind, something they shouldn’t talk about…

References:

fhfn.org

mercola.com