I'm excited. In November, I'll be giving two workshops to girls in a Leadership program designed and facilitated by Ceiba, USA / Grandmother's House of Herbs and Cures Education Center. In collaboration with another project called the Monthly Moon Coalition, the young ladies of high school age will be assembling and then distributing 'Moon Packs' - a month's worth of feminine hygiene supplies - to homeless women here in Denver.
Prior to that, we're giving them sessions on Defending Bodily Integrity (physical self-defense, and emotional self-defense: reporting sexual assault or abuse), Body Branding (the significance of tattooing, piercing, etc), Communication Skills for Healthy Relationships, and more. Sessions are weekly, starting this Wednesday, November 4, from 6:00 - 7:30. Contact Mavis Salazar, 720.231.4711, to enroll your daughter. The program concludes on December 13th with the distribution of the Moon Packs.
I will be sharing The Astounding History of Feminine Hygiene, in which we observe the crazy contraptions they have designed over the years for our 'convenience' -- some of which have killed a few of us.
I actually had considered that there might no longer be a need to discuss tampon safety. It has been almost ten years since I used to teach this to teens and tweens at Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver (where my curriculum was nominated for a national award in sexuality health education), and with all the new and innovative hygiene supplies on the market now - my daughter uses the Diva cup, and loves it - I presumed that toxic shock was a thing of the past. But JUST TO MAKE SURE, I did a Google search.
I was shocked and saddened to see that only just this past March, 13-year old Jemma-Louise Roberts acquired toxic shock from using tampons. Doctors misdiagnosed her condition as a simple flu -- and a week later, she died.
The doctors never asked her: Do you menstruate? Do you use tampons? Physicians need to be retrained to ask these questions. This is the recommendation of Dr. Philip Tierno, the man whose research forced the Rely tampon off the market. Symptoms reported by women included rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers. 38 women died from TSS, of the 813 cases reported to the CDC in 1980 alone.
Teens and young women especially need to be asked these questions. Dr. Tierno says that only half of teenage girls under the age of 16 have the antibodies to fight off TSS, the common staph bacteria that resides naturally in many people (estimates for its prevalence range from between 20% to 33% of the population). As women age, they may develop more antibodies, but even women in their forties have died from tampon-induced TSS toxicity.
Better yet, girls could be educated in advance on the dangers of tampon use. Why is this not part of standard health information? The Rely tampon was popular because women wanted a one-tampon solution to their periods - so they left these 'Super Absorbent' tampons in for days.
Knowing the facts changes behavior. The recommendation is that women should change tampons every 3 hours, and NEVER leave one in overnight, which gives the bacteria time to multiply. Use a pad at night!
But alas, even changing OUR behavior isn't enough. The other dangerous factor is the use of synthetic materials in tampons, creating a more favorable environment for the bacteria. The Rely tampon had polyester among its components; rayon and plastic are still in use in tampon manufacture, especially within the big three: Playtex, Tampax, and Kotex. In fact, Kotex is currently being sued by 26-year old Lauren Wassen, a former model who lost her leg in 2012 using their 'Natural Balance' tampons (ironic, no?). And she even changed them regularly, per the recommendations. Now THAT IS scary.
There has never been a case of Toxic Shock resulting from an all-cotton tampon. Dr. Tierno continues to pressure the manufacturers to convert their synthetic products to cotton - OR, he suggests, add a skull and crossbones to their labeling. Of course, unbleached cotton would be best, as we don't really need DIOXIN from the bleaching process coming into contact with what Chris Bobel, president-elect of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, describes as "the most absorbent part of our bodies".
A woman may use as many as 16,800 tampons during her menstrual career - isn't it time to make them safe?
Since 1997, Representative Carolyn Maloney has repeatedly tried to get support for legislation requiring safer tampons; her most recent effort, introduced in April 2015, is called the Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act, after a woman who died nearly 20 years ago at the age of 44, from tampon use. The bill would require disclosure of contaminants like dioxin, synthetic fibers, and other chemical additives like chlorine, colorants and fragrances. A press release from Maloney's office says, “Given the present lack of research there is no way of knowing if diseases such as cervical cancer, endometriosis, infertility, and ovarian cancer may be linked to a woman's use of feminine hygiene products.”
So far, the only studies that have been done are by the tampon companies themselves -- another case of the fox guarding the hen house. Proctor and Gamble resisted all responsibility for the illnesses and deaths of the women who used their product, sending reassuring messages out in response to letters and to the media about the safety of the Rely tampon. It may come as no surprise to you, dear reader, that some of materials published by Dr. Tierno and his colleague Bruce Hanna, following their investigation, have now 'disappeared'. But their original research still stands, and is published here (paste into your browser) :
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4454795?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Warn your daughters - and your sisters, and your friends about the dangers of tampons. Try the Diva cup instead, or other alternatives, like re-usable pads. While we wait for the law of the land to protect us (don't hold your breath, hey?), we can vote with our dollars, and throw our support behind Carolyn Maloney.
Meanwhile, I wonder if we will be stopped by the police for 'giving' to the homeless. If so, I will have to ask them how forcing homeless women to bleed in public, with no protection, is benefiting the public health.
Go with the flow,
Mrs. Kiva's Mom
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