Tampons And Endometriosis
Things You Should Know About Tampons That May Save Your Fertility
The link between tampon use, endometriosis and fertility problems.
Did you know your tampons may be damaging your health and fertility? In the USA, the painful condition endometriosis (where lining of the womb grows in other parts of the body) affects up to 20% of women of childbearing age. Some of these cases are severe and can cause infertility, but back before 1921 there were only 20 cases of the disease worldwide, ever recorded.
What could have caused this massive surge of disease in a society which has access to the best healthcare in the world?
Research has suggested that the cause is dioxins in our environment.
What Are Dioxins?
Dioxins are chemicals which are toxic and are usually a by-product of plastics and chlorinated products. Dioxin is the most deadly man made chemical, second in line to radioactive waste.
Dioxin is found in items which have been bleached, including paper (which is made from wood pulp and chlorine). Unfortunately tampons are also made from wood pulp and chlorine, and called rayon. All supermarket and big brand tampons are made with rayon, not natural cotton, and it is only those which state 100% cotton or organic brands such as Natracare, which are free from rayon and dioxins.
What Health Effects Are Caused By Dioxins?
According to the study 'Environmental Dioxins And Endometriosis', Toxicological Sciences 70, 161-170 (2002):
'Previous work in non-human primates has shown that exposure to dioxin..is associated with an increased prevalence and severity of endometriosis', and 'rodent studies support the plausibility for a role of environmental contaminants in the pathophysiology of endometriosis.'
Simply put, animals who are exposed to dioxins develop endometriosis, and scientists think this is why a once unheard of disease is now ravaging so many women.
Another study, 'Dioxin Concentrations In Women With Endometriosis', Human Reproduction 12: 373-375, (1997) found that infertile women with endometriosis had detectable levels of dioxin present in their bodies, unlike fertile women without endometriosis.
Toxic Tampons
Chemicals in tampons include dioxin caused by bleached rayon, aluminium, alcohol, and additives which also produce dioxin. Rayon itself is a man-made, artificial fiber which is abrasive and can actually cut the cervix and vagina, causing more vaginal bleeding and a heavier period. tampons containing Rayon placed in the vagina for any length of time can be a breeding ground for Staphylococcus Aureus, a germ which is responsible for toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Although toxic shock syndrome can be caused by other things, tampon usage amounts to 50% of all cases. In the UK in the last 10 years there were 22 deaths from tampon related TSS, the youngest victim being 13 year old Kayleigh Ann Jones, of Middlesborough, UK, who died in 1999.
Manufacturer's of tampons say that dioxin in tampons is not at a 'detectable' level, but any level is poisonous.
What Can I Do To Reduce My Dioxin Exposure?
- Don't use tampons, or if you do, choose all cotton ones, like Natracare Organic, or sea sponge tampons, and don't leave them in for longer than 4 hours. Do not use them overnight.
- Consider switching to organic disposible pads or even washable pads which can be reused for years, don't contain chemicals, are cheaper on your wallet and anecdotal evidence suggests that women who use washable pads have lighter periods.
- Switch to organic food.
- Use unbleached, recycled paper.
- Don't smoke - cigarettes contain dioxin, and if you do, roll your own on unbleached paper. Please remember that if you are considering pregnancy you should quit smoking at least three months prior to conception.
- Reduce your dairy intake - dioxins are in buttermilk.
- Get rid of chlorine bleach products in your house, use eco products instead.
