Rrecently on TikTok, people have been filming themselves throwing unused pads straight in the trash or talking about abandoning menstrual products. “I’m about to start my period in a few days and I honestly don’t know what to do,” a TikToker he said. “I’m seeing more and more girls saying they’re bleeding freely and I think, maybe that’s not a bad idea if the other alternative is lead.”
The wave of panic stems from a recent study that found some tampons contain toxic metals like lead and arsenic. Anti-absorbent sentiments are also rising in a big way; although tampons are still the most used menstrual product, alternatives as period cups have been gaining popularity for years. But doctors and even the study’s lead author want people to know that it’s still OK to use tampons — even though many of them acknowledge the need for more research.
Despite concerns, study did not find that tampons are unsafe
The peer reviewed to studywhich appears in this month’s edition of the magazine International Environment, found levels of 16 different metals in several brands of tampons, including those marketed as organic, sold in the US and Europe. Some of the metals, such as zinc, are normally considered safe. But others, like lead and arsenic, have raised widespread concern because they can be dangerous.
For everyone panicking, all the experts say the same thing: don’t do it.
While the study found the presence of metals in tampons, it didn’t determine how much — if any — is released from the tampon and absorbed by the body, says Nathaniel DeNicola, a gynecologist and environmental health expert at the American College. of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (who did not participate in the research).
“From what this study has shown us, there is nothing that says you have to stop using tampons,” says DeNicola. “I don’t tell my patients to stop using tampons based on this study. I really think knowledge is empowering, so I mention it now if patients ask about it as something to think about.” Tampons enter the body and there can be a “cumulative risk” because people use the products repeatedly over many years, he says.
Doctors point out that many of the metals, including lead and arsenic, are already present in many everyday products. Because arsenic can be found naturally in soil, plants can absorb small amounts, which is why the heavy metal can be found in some foods like rice. The levels of metals found in the tampons were also very low – although the US Environmental Protection Agency has stated that there are no safe level of lead exposure.
“You can also tell people to stop eating all fruits and vegetables and stop drinking water if they want to eliminate all metal exposure,” says Karen Tang, a gynecologist (who was not involved in the new research) and author of It’s not hysteria, a book on reproductive health. (Tang has done some paid campaigns for Tampax in the past.) “If you’re not worried about eating just fruits and vegetables [and] drinking tap water, you definitely shouldn’t worry about exposure on your pads because it was much less.”
Tang also points out that the study conditions do not mimic the situations for which tampons are used; researchers used acid and heat on the tampon samples, which are not comparable to the environment inside the vagina. Jenni Shearston, lead author of the study and postdoctoral fellow at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, says the goal of the study was not to mimic real-life environments, but to dissolve tampon samples to find out what’s inside them.
Shearston says she doesn’t want people to take away from this study that tampons are not safe to use, because the research wasn’t designed to answer that question. It only tested the chemicals inside the tampons.
“I don’t want to be an alarmist because we don’t know,” says Shearston. “And this is a limitation that we need to resolve.”
The need for more research
This isn’t the first time people have raised concerns about the ingredients in tampons. Previous searches found the presence of chemicals, including phthalates, in some sanitary pads, panty liners, and tampons. Phthalates, which are chemicals often used to make soft, flexible plasticscan be found at other products such as shampoo and makeup, and have been linked to reproductive health issues.
See more information: PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Are Showing Up in Menstrual Products. Here’s what you need to know
But doctors say there are few risks associated with tampons other than toxic shock syndrome (TSS), a rare infection that can become fatal if not treated.
Every now and then something triggers a new wave of panic about tampons. Previously, people posted videos on TikTok expressing concern that a brand of pads listed titanium dioxide, which they claimed may cause cancer, as an ingredient in menstrual product. Gynecologists I tried to eliminate the fear: These concerns resulted from to look for which showed that rats, not humans, developed cancer after inhaling large amounts of titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is also used in other personal care products as sunscreen.
Part of the problem, experts say, is a lack of research.
“There is a lot of confusion about women’s health in general; there is not enough research and people fill this absence with question marks and fears,” says Tang.
Shearston, who led the research for the study, says she and her colleagues are now working on a study to determine whether metals can leach out of tampons. Future areas of research could then determine whether the vagina absorbs these metals and, if so, what the potential health impacts of this are.
“What I think this study really shows is that we need to know a lot more about what’s in these menstrual products,” says Shearston. “We should be testing this and we need to understand if there are things that could be affecting our health.”
How Tampons Are Regulated
Tampons and other menstrual products are regulated as medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA spokeswoman Amanda Hils said in an email that the administration “is reviewing the study” and that “all studies have limitations.” She also highlighted that the study does not indicate whether any metal is released from tampons when inserted into the body, or whether the body absorbs any of these metals.
“We plan to evaluate the study closely and take all necessary measures to safeguard the health of consumers who use these products,” Hils said. “Overall, the FDA has not identified significant safety or effectiveness issues related to tampons based on our premarket, compliance, and postmarket oversight of these products.”
While the FDA does not test tampons as part of the administration’s required premarket review, it expects manufacturers to “conduct the necessary testing to demonstrate the safety and performance” of their products, Hils said. The FDA expects to receive a list of tampon components as part of its premarket review, among other safety information about the product. The FDA also provides recommendations to manufacturers, including that tampons be free of dioxins, pesticides, and herbicide residues.
“The FDA carefully reviews test results in premarket submissions to ensure devices are safe and effective for their intended use,” Hils said.
Hils said the FDA does not require medical device manufacturers to list materials on their product labeling — a rule that continues to cause controversy, especially regarding menstrual products. Some states, including New York and California, have approved laws aims to increase transparency and require menstrual product manufacturers to publicly disclose more ingredients.
So are tampons safe or not?
Shearston says he knows it’s “frustrating” that the study leaves people with questions, but he urges people to remain calm.
“I try to encourage people not to panic – to recognize that we are exposed to metals all the time, all around us, in our environment, and we still don’t know whether or not that is a source of any health problems,” Shearston says. . “We’ll just have to wait and find out more.”
DeNicola makes an analogy: When you’re on a plane and there’s some turbulence, look at the crew. “If they’re not panicking, then you feel better because you think, people who do this all the time, every day, this is their profession – if they’re not panicking, then maybe there’s safety here, even That seems scary to me.”
“Experts do not see this as a reason to panic,” he adds.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
