Have you seen this about tampons?

[natalieplusone]

Oh no i use tampons!

www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/28/toxic-pesticide-levels-found-in-tampons-40-times-higher-than-legal-limit-for-water

This is not a surprise to me at all. Organic cotton tampons have been around for year available from H&B. They never caught on because

a) if you have ever tried them- they lack the absorbency of tampons, they don't expand in the same but sort of just become full, wet and more prone to leakage so not great for heavy flow

b) organic tampons were more expensive and normal tampons were already more expensive than they needed to-be due to tax.

Same with pads - you can get organic ones. Those actually aren't as bad.

Not sure if this is coincidence but my flow got lighter when I switched more to pads.

Thanks, but avoiding them is the advice of my consultant physiotherapist.

I always find it irritating as fuck when people just assume you haven’t tried hard enough to use something that actually causes you genuine, chronic pain. If you’ve dealt with chronic pelvic floor issues then you have in all likelihood tried an awful lot to work around it.

I don’t make a habit of carrying a pull bag when out and about.

I always got period pain every month and just thought that’s the way it was for me. Then about 10 years ago I changed from tampons to a moon cup and never had period pain since.

I used to use tampons, then switched to organic tampons a few years before switching to period pants.

This is awful news, I wonder how it will play out over time.

This, I have endometriosis and could never get a mooncup to stay in place. Rather expensive to keep buying different sizes and types to try also.

Hadn’t seen this but knew about it for years. Our vaginas absorb a lot of what they come into with straight into the bloodstream too. I haven’t worn a tampon for over 13 years!! Organic cotton pads only. I don’t believe sticking a silicone cup up there is a great alternative either.

Wound?

Moon cups aggravated my prolapse, so I stopped using them. Perimenopause my periods resembled Niagara Falls in terms of flow, so period pants just wouldn’t work. Nearly into menopause now, and periods very light so back to period pants. However it’s not ‘madness’ to use what you are comfortable with and works, it’s miserable enough having ruddy periods, and if disposable period wear gives more confidence or comfort then I certainly wouldn’t judge any woman/ girl from going with it.

I used them throughout my reproductive life, no period pants then and I tried mooncups but didn’t get on with them (I have prolapses and probably shouldn’t have tried them at all TBH). No problems at all and vastly better than pads for staying fresh, swimming, just getting on with every day life and far easier to change and dispose of when out and about than re-usable products.

Comparison with drinking water levels doesn’t tell us much, more research definitely needed, the human race has contaminated just about everything it seems.

Ive only used pads.

This- exactly the same for me. I wish people would stop being so ridiculously judgy and superior about this stuff. Just because something works for you doesnt mean its gonna work for everyone- are they seriously that stupid?

I wish these people would ask themselves, is there any area in life whereby a personal or medical intervention works EXACTLY the same in terms of effectiveness for every single person who tries it?- are our bodies all the exact same-no? then why would period products be any different.

Good grief. I just cant with this level of idiocy.

Period pain is caused by the uterus contracting to shed the lining. It is triggered by hormones. A lot of people on here are claiming that using a moon cup stops cramps and tampons cause them. How can this be? It doesn’t really make sense to me

Anyone who cares about the environment should move to reusable pads or a moon cup. The washable pads are much less messy than you imagine - look online. The other pads are like nappies. They'll take about 1000 years to break down.

DD says period pants have changed her life. She wears moodibodi.

The article is shocking @natalieplusone thanks for sharing

I've no idea on the science but mooncup did reduce my period pain too. Overall far more comfortable than tampons and pads.
You do have to get it right up there though!

Hardly madness to use the only protection that works for me.
I can't get along with cups or disks. Period pants is basically sitting in your own blood and pads are also not comfortable. I do use period pants as an extra security layer, but using them as the actual protection is really not for me.

There have also been concerns raised about the levels of silver in period pants causing health concerns. Silver is typically used as an antibacterial agent. I'm also not convinced that sitting in your own period blood all day (if your flow is very heavy) isnt going to give you thrush as you are basically sitting in damp conditions.

Absolutely this
Changed around 18 years ago to a Mooncup and the cramps, excess bleeding and smell disappeared.
I also used washable organic cotton pads and liners.
I remember the threads on here about how disgusting it was 🙄
Not surprised at all by this news, it was rumoured all those years ago

Moon cups are awful in my experience. Had one and accidentally threw it away about a year ago. It's so nice not having to feel I should wrestle with that thing any more. Everyone's different I guess but I'll be using disposable products for the rest of my reproductive days.

I tried a moon cup in lockdown. It was awful, like all creatures great and small and there is no way I’d leave the house with one in given the level of faffing required of you need to change it.

Daughter uses period pants but I just cannot get my head around wearing them. The hygiene, the washing, the discomfort of sitting in your own menstrual blood.

So this is one of my concessions to comfort and hygiene over the greater good I’m afraid.

Yeah, no.

Women using tampons is a literal drop in the ocean and a distraction from the real issues.

It isn’t remotely shocking. It’s a non thing.

It was awful, like all creatures great and small 😂

This is why I’ve never even bothered trying - can’t face the idea of rootling around up there, even HCPs have trouble during smears etc as it’s an awkward shape or something. Also what are mooncups made of? Silicone, thermoplastics, even pure latex isn’t 100% unproblematic.

I used tampons for a long time but always hated it, but did it because I thought it was better than the horrible pads I had in my teens. But in my 30s switched back to pads after they worked well post-partum.

No, I'll be sticking to what works for me. I don't want anything I can wash and TOTM tampons work well for me.