Toxic Tampons: A Bigger Problem Than The Media Is Letting On

In news that should shock no one, it came out recently that tampons are full of lead, arsenic, cadmium & other toxic heavy metals.  All of them including the "organic" brands.  This is particularly bad because the vagina absorbs pretty much anything that's put into it more efficiently than other parts of the body, and tampons tend to spend several DAYS per month occupying that space.  According to Al-Jazeera, around 80% of Western women use tampons, an astoundingly high number that thankfully doesn't include me.  At least not any more.

Once upon a time I was a tampon user.  Prior to that I'd never had so much as a twinge of pain during my periods.  This was noteworthy at the time because my mom made a point of telling me how awful that pain would be compared to the "menial" pain of her ripping my dreadlocked hair out of my head while picking/combing it as a kid.  "You think this hurts?  You don't know pain until you've had menstrual cramps.  Just wait!" she'd say with an almost gleeful sense of foreboding.  (Seriously, my hair was such a problem I was only allowed to wash it once a WEEK as a kid.  Somehow it didn't look greasy until the 6th day, which was Saturday.  Thankfully.  My grandma would sometimes come over on Sundays just to pick it out & spare me the agony of having my mom yank it out.  Being extremely tender-headed AND having hair that tangles so easily is a curse.  Two seconds outside in the wind & it looked like Jurnee Smollett on Full House again.  But I digress). 

My hair circa the '90s

Well that's odd I told her, because I'd been menstruating since age 12 and never had even the slightest twinge of discomfort.  This was around age 14 when I first switched from pads to tampons, a venture that didn't last long because, as surely as if I'd jinxed myself, the ungodly pain set in and was so bad by age 15 I switched back to pads.  But by then it was too late:  the cramps were permanent & disabling.  I was later diagnosed with endometriosis. 

While I don't necessarily blame tampons for causing my endometriosis and dysmenorrhea, they definitely worsened the pain and the timing was incredibly sus.  I wouldn't be the first person to have made that connection if I were to blame them.  

Pads:  also bleached w/ dioxins & full of unnecessary filth.

For the record, pads aren't likely much better in terms of chemical composition, but they do have one big advantage:  they don't go inside your vagina where said chemicals will be absorbed directly into your bloodstream at such high concentrations.  Still, try to limit the amount of time you use pads if at all possible because yikes.




Women's Products: a Toxic Waste Dump

Beyond lead: 16 toxic metals found in popular brands

Why do women get dementia at higher rates than men, neurologists often wonder?  Must be something to do with menopause and declining hormones.  Because that's their answer for everything--those pesky "lady hormones".  So why don't hormone replacement therapies improve dementia rates in women if hormones are to blame?  

Because they're probably not.  At least not to the extent they're being blamed. 

There's likely one or more environmental/lifestyle factors that's responsible for the higher rates of dementia  in women, though to date we haven't been able to tease them out because women are exposed to so many damn unhealthy substances & habits.  One thing we do know:  heavy metals like mercury, lead & arsenic are toxic to neurons, causing them to irreversibly shrivel up and die upon contact.  We also know that women's beauty products are full to the brim with not only these toxic heavy metals but a plethora of other dangerous chemicals.  

From women's makeup to nail polish, household cleaning products, hair color, body wash, perfume, hair spray & all the other random and totally unnecessary "hygiene" and "beauty" products we slather on daily, we're slowly poisoning ourselves.  Black women have it worst of all with their toxic-sludge-masquerading-as-hair-straightener that's now suspected of being responsible for the astronomical rate of fibroids in Black women compared to whites.  Use of this straightener is often reinforced at workplaces that deem natural Black hair "unprofessional".  Many of the ingredients in our cosmetics have been banned in other Western countries, deemed "probable carcinogens" or "likely teratogens".  (My sister has now fainted TWICE in the nail salon and still isn't getting the message that those fucking chemicals are toxic AF).  

Breast cancer rates in the U.S. increased so much in 2nd half of the 20th Century it's mind-boggling, more than doubling by 52% from 1950 to 1990, a horrifying fact they try to bury under "improved survival rates" (which only rose a measly 4% in that time.  Impressive, but significantly less so when combined with those horrifying incidence rates).  But is this truly all that "mind-boggling"?  Much of the poison in these products is endocrine-disrupting in nature, meaning it mimics our body's own hormones like estrogen and progesterone.  A whopping 80% of female and 90% of male breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive these days, meaning estrogen or anything resembling it fits into the receptors on these tumors & causes them to grow.  This is what you don't want when dealing with cancer--unrestricted growth.  And there's no shortage of estrogen impersonators in our environment nowadays, from hormonal contraceptives to Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, atrazine, PCBs and the dioxins mentioned in the 1st linked article.  Yes, dioxins have been known to exist in tampons for decades due to to the bleaching methods used.  Because God forbid our tampons are off-white.  🙄

Worse, body fat/adipose tissue produces estrogen, increasing overall levels of this potentially harmful hormone in the body.  With overweight and obesity levels rising astronomically in the West, you can hopefully see why this is a problem.

Yuschenko before & after dioxin poisoning.

If you aren't familiar with dioxins as a class of super-poisons, perhaps Vladimir Putin & his KGB minions could school you on them.  He used them to poison his political opponent Viktor Yuschenko in 2004, resulting in permanent disfiguration of his face among other horrific side effects.  (See photo above).  Tampons have already been found to contain PFAS, aka "forever chemicals," a common and persistent type of endocrine disruptor.  What are they gonna find in them next?  Agent Orange?! 

Agent Orange contains dioxins.  Tampons are bleached with dioxins.

Oh.

In case you aren't up on the effects of heavy metals, they're no better.  Lead is stored in the bones, displacing calcium and leaching out when bone mass is lost due to aging.  This releases it into the bloodstream causing deleterious effects like high blood pressure, mood disorders, joint pain, headache & stomach pain, infertility in men/miscarriage in women and cognitive problems.  And this is in adults--the effects are far worse in children & can include mental retardation, personality disorders or other irreversible damage.  Acute arsenic toxicity can cause vomiting, diarrhea & tingling in the hands and feet.  Long-term exposure may lead to cancer of the skin/bladder/lungs, hyperpigmentation of the skin, diabetes, heart & lung disease.  Mercury might be worse than either of those, causing... well, just see for yourself:   

Systemic Toxicological Effects & Symptoms of Mercury Poisoning

Taking Back Our Power

I understand the persuasive power of advertising on the collective psyche & individual purchasing choices, but at what point do you say enough is enough; that trading your health and eventually your very LIFE and maybe that of your developing fetus for a few hours of smelling good or a few weeks of having pretty nails is not fucking worth it?  Am I REALLY such a Josie Grosie weirdo for not wasting my money on this toxic sludge--for seeing it as the poison it is from a young age & erring on the side of caution instead of microdosing poison to "fit in"?  I guess that's a stupid question when so many gorgeous, perfectly-built women are dropping dead from Brazilian Butt Lifts and having their faces rearranged to look like an Instagram filter.  When every feature down to eyebrow thickness is determined by celebrity trends, we have a problem, ladies.   🙎🏻‍♀

We can blame our regulatory agencies all day, but when it comes down to it, we have the final say in what goes in and on our bodies (at least in this regard).  Not nearly enough research or critical thinking is happening with this particular aspect of our health.  The skin is the body's largest organ, and it's very absorbent.  What you put on it goes IN your bloodstream, and anything you put in your mouth, vagina or rectum has an even more direct route to the brain & other organs.  Breathing caustic fumes is likewise harmful.  Just because the effects aren't visible immediately doesn't mean harm isn't being done.  

I find it insane and a bit disturbing that women will put themselves & their pets on a whole-ass raw vegan diet or go around rubbing their vaginal secretions on things if a TikToker calls it a catchy name like "vabbing" & extolls its virtues, but cutting back on the unnecessary, expensive & TOXIC cosmetics is apparently a bridge too far.  That's your call, but just like the tanning bed trend and other destructive habits women have succumbed to (literally) over the years, it's your real life & health you're gambling with.  It's clear these unregulated industries aren't looking out for us--just the opposite.  The FDA & EPA are in the pocket of chemical companies, Big Ag and Pharma giants, so good luck getting any actual "regulation" out of them by passively waiting or politely asking.  

If I were a tampon user, here's what I would do: 

1.)  Sit down and pen a quick but direct letter to the manufacturer of my favorite brand letting them know how these findings make me feel & inquiring what they're doing to ensure safety going forward.  Then I'd post it on their social media, Yelp, LinkedIn or other public online page.  Or you can write the same type/tone of letter to your state representative or directly to the FDA.  As long as you make your voice heard somewhere other than social media where it actually counts.

2.)  Next, I'd look into tampon alternatives (by Googling "tampon alternatives") & choose one that's a good fit for me.  There are many options, a few of which include:  traditional pads, menstrual cups, menstrual discs, reusable pads & period panties.  The only one I'd suggest staying away from are sea sponges, as the FDA has categorized them as "significant risk" products* (though their credibility is a tad strained due to all the other deadly 'oopsies' they've overlooked or greenlighted since their inception, including metal and dioxin-laced tampons). 

3.)  Talk about this issue any time you have the chance, educating your friends & loved ones about the scale & impact of the problem.  You needn't become a menstrual product crusader, but this shit has affected far too many women for way too long to be brushed off as no big deal, which is exactly what reporters & health officials are trying to do now.  I've seen countless articles that essentially pat women on the head & tell us to "calm down," which is really insulting to my intelligence.  Yeah, lead-laced tampons by themselves might not kill me tomorrow, but there are many more types of harm than sudden unexpected death.  Chronic pain, fatigue, mental illness, cognitive impairment, pandemic-level ailments like hypertension & heart disease that kill you slowly & painfully... these are some of the effects of heavy metal exposure over time. 

And they are cumulative--the lead/arsenic/whatever else in tampons just adds to the toxic sludge bucket that's already full from the other poisonous products we're exposed to every day, which is a lot because so many of our consumer products are made in countries like China with zero regulatory oversight.  And that's not even getting into our toxic air, water & food.  This all adds up to a BIG FUCKING PROBLEM.  You have a right and, quite frankly, a responsibility to get angry about this.  Not just women but men too.  This affects everyone who has a wife, sister, mother, daughter, female friend or cares about a female person.  Scratch that:  everyone who cares about the safety of widely used consumer products in the U.S.  Where's Ralph Nader when you need him?  Oh yeah, voters tarred & feathered him when he ran 3rd party in 2000.  Guess we shat our own nest on that one.  💩 🪹

The media's right about one thing though:  We shouldn't worry.  Worrying solves nothing.  Get mad and then resolve to boycott these scumbag poison peddlers instead.  Then get as many of your friends onboard as possible by educating them on the problem (Pssst, share this article!) and the alternatives to toxic tampons.  I'd be all over a class action lawsuit if somebody wanted to get one rolling too.  We need to start speaking the only language these greedy corporations understand:  money.  This country has a dark history of selling blatantly unsafe products & procedures to women specifically and it will never stop if we don't use our collective purchasing power & take a stand.  (See:  Advertising Lysol/Listerine as a douche; radioactive skin care products; make-up comprised entirely of lead; Rely tampons & the toxic shock scandal; talcum powder with and without asbestos causing ovarian cancer; DES (diethylstilbestrone); Fen-Phen, & the Brazilian Butt Lifts of today to name a FEW).  Instead of "cancelling" celebrities over stupid offensive comments they make on Twitter, use your purchasing power to boycott these toxic companies & make a real difference.  

*Seriously though, avoid shoving a sea sponge up your hoo-ha unless you're cool with introducing "sand, grit, bacteria, yeast & mold" including Staphylococcus aureus into your most intimate parts).  👍

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