toxic shock syndrome

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by freedomdove

Thank you for that information since it's important. I still think that women should avoid conventional tampons for the reasons outlayed in the original article I posted. I most certainly wouldn't have been inserting normal tampons in my vagina had I known what I know now.

I think menstrual cups are a safe, convenient, and in the long run cheaper and more environmentally friendly option than tampons for many women, and I wish they were more widely available and discussed. Unfortunately, they don't work well for every woman. A retro vetted (tipped) uterus can prevent them from fitting well, and as Hedgehog_Mom has said, the woman has to be really comfortable with touching herself "down there" (sadly, some just aren't).

Where can women buy organic tampons? Are they available online? I know you can buy menstrual cups online, and I am starting to see them for sale in the larger drugstores (hurrah!).

[suzy_q2010]

Originally Posted by freedomdove

I'm sorry...where is your evidence for this? How exactly do you know that the materials and chemicals used in tampons aren't causing harm?

AGAIN....this is NOT a thread about Mercola; it's about TSS. And please, don't post links to quack sites like that since they are extremely biased and written by pharma and GM trolls--folks who are *obviously* losing money due to the natural and organic movement.

Getting into a pissing contest isn't very useful for a woman wanting to avoid TSS. They just need to know all the different ways to avoid it. Why can't you people just let me try to help others? Why do you have to troll every thread I post in or create? Go back under your bridges, for pete's sake.

When you quote a source in a post, it becomes fair game for anyone to critique. Neither source I referenced has anything to do with "pharma and GM", and unlike Mercola, neither site tries to sell anything.

When you say things that are untrue or misleading (and the Mercola article you referenced is misleading because it conflates potential toxins in tampons with Toxic Shock Syndrome), I get to refute them. You do not own CD.

Every box of tampons contains a warning about TSS. It says to not wear tampons continuously, not wear them at night, and to be careful inserting and removing them to avoid injuring the vaginal lining. Doing that greatly reduces the risk of TSS but does not eliminate it totally, no matter what material the tampon is made from. The only way to completely eliminate the risk is to not use tampons at all - and that does not eliminate the risk from other causes of TSS, obviously. TSS has been reported in conjunction with the contraceptive sponge, contraceptive diaphragm, and menstrual cup. It can happen from causes totally unrelated to menstruation, in males and females.

TSS is not caused by toxins in the tampon itself. It is caused by toxins produced by bacteria. The tampon just makes the vagina a favorable place for those bacteria to grow, and tampons may produce microscopic abrasions of the vaginal lining that facilitate invasion by bacteria and absorption of the toxin into the blood. Mercola implies that toxins in the tampon cause TSS. That is not true. It is related to the fact that some materials are more absorbent and hold more blood. It's the infection that causes the TSS.

For those who want an unbiased link:

Tampons and Asbestos, Dioxin, & Toxic Shock Syndrome

[in_newengland]

This is a confusing topic since it is not really about toxic shock syndrome. If someone wants to discuss actual toxic shock, start a thread on it. If someone wants to discuss chemicals in tampons, start a thread on that. This thread is closed.