If you follow menstrual cycle related content on social media, you have probably seen the recent and terrifying news about tampons containing heavy metals. Even if you don't specifically search for content like this, the outcry is now big enough to have made it to mainstream news sites like CNN. We looked into the facts behind the fear for you (and linked our sources of course!)
Sadly, this is not really "news"
Toxins have been found in tampons before.
A study conducted between 2000-2004 already raised concerns about forever chemicals being found in tampons. The issue with those chemicals is that they can negatively affect your mood, fertility, sleep, and your menstrual cycle because they are endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors may mimic, block or interfere with our hormones.
Tampons help us manage our periods while also exposing us to hormone disrupters that wreck havoc with our sleep, mood, fertility and our nervous system.
Leading to: How bad are the findings?
We acknowledge that the sample size was small and there needs to be lots more research. The fact that it's taken until 2024 for a study like this to come along is crazy in itself. It highlights how underfunded research for topics concerning the health of women and people who menstruate really are. For perspective: the first commercially available tampons were sold in 1934.
The results of the 2024 study are bad enough to make us at the flo collection say NO to tampons forever. Here's the breakdown of the study:
What did they test?
The new pilot study tested 30 tampons from 14 brands (both organic and non organic) purchased from the US, UK and EU. They were looking for 16 different metals including really toxic ones like lead and arsenic.
Why did they test this?
Previous tests had found endocrine disrupting forever chemicals, but there had not been any big studies looking for heavy metals. Chemicals absorbed via the vagina aren't travelling via the liver to be detoxified, instead they enter our system directly.
What comes into contact with the vagina impacts the body up to 80 times more than what is ingested through the mouth. Making sure we don't load up on toxins should be a basic requirement when using tampons to plug our flow.
What did they find out?
They found measurable concentrations of all 16 metals assessed, including lead. If you're wondering: there is no "safe" exposure level for lead.
The WHO warns that "lead causes long-term harm in adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and kidney damage." When absorbed, lead is stored in bones where it replaces calcium and can be retained for decades.
And they found lead in... ALL of the tested tampons.
There is no "safe" exposure level for lead. The 2024 study found lead in 100% of the tampons tested.
What's next?
The recommendation from governments and tampon suppliers is to not use a tampon for "too long" to decrease your chances of exposure. Because of TSS we were already terrified to do that anyways.
A sidenote about TSS aka Toxic Shock Syndrome
Toxic Shock Syndrome is caused by bacteria that live in our bodies and not the toxins in the tampons. However, there seems to be a clear correlation between the use of tampons and the syndrome occurring. Tampons increase the risk for it because they may encourage the bacteria to grow if they are left in the vagina for "a long time" and because tampons can stick to the vaginal walls and create tiny abrasions when they are removed. Not great!
The bigger picture
Tampons don't just affect our own health, but also the health of our planet. A lifetime of periods using only tampons adds approx. 11'000 tampons to landfill. If the tampons are marked to be biodegradable (and cut up before throwing them out), they will break down in around 6 months. If they're not biodegradable (which the vast majority aren't) they'll linger around for 500 years.
It's astonishing that many of us have been conditioned to think that using and discarding single use and toxin laden tampons is more hygienic than using reusable alternatives. (Ew! Blood!)
Don't get us started on the ads either! Blue liquid oozing out of menstruators that can still ride a horse and wear tight white pants? Yes we can do anything you can do while bleeding, but we don't bloody want to. Give us a break!
The way forward
If you want to keep using tampons, the recommendation is to not use them for long periods of time and to be on the lookout for any signs of TSS.
If you don't want to use tampons any more, there are plenty of alternatives. For example, one period cup or one pair of period underwear can last you 4-5 years. Those reusable items can replace approx. 900 tampons over that time. Without the nasty additions.
We understand it takes a bit more planning and time to manage your flow with reusable alternatives. We don't want to shame anyone into reusables, having periods can be hard enough. What we want to do is keep the conversation going and to help normalise discussing all things menstrual openly.
Share this blog post and keep the conversation going. We need more research dedicated to topics that affect the health of women and people who menstruate.
PS: If you haven't found the period undies of your dreams yet, please give ours a try! Sign up to our newsletter and stay in the loop.