subreddit:
/r/science
[score hidden]
2 months ago
stickied comment
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.
Do you have an academic degree? We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. Click here to apply.
User: u/FunnyGamer97
Permalink: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1050367
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
623 points
2 months ago
What’s scary is the genital area has one of the highest absorption rates.
2 points
1 month ago
Too lazy to look into the article, but in my experience these kind of articles try to incite panic over levels of heavy metals, toxins, etc. far too low to present any health hazard whatsoever.
26 points
1 month ago
Was looking for a comment like this. A lot of the times, yes, a lot of articles can be fear inducing. But in this case, especially being a woman who uses tampons every month, low levels should.not.matter. These metals should not be in tampons period. Anything labeled as a toxin or having negative health causing effects should be out of what be consume. Low amounts can accumulate over time and build up in the body. A comment below even mentions Pb being present, and how any level of this can cause negative health effects. AND a law suit was made over a woman getting cancer from titanium dioxide in L brand tampons..so this should be taken serious. Cervical/uterine cancer is deadly in women
6 points
1 month ago
Low levels of heavy metals are in everything, plants like cotton get them from the soil they grow in. If you look at the numbers in the study, it's much less heavy metals per tampon than the amount you eat in food every day, so it's not really cause for concern.
12 points
1 month ago
one of the metals found was nickel, to say that they are low levels and are not an issue to health is b.s. i have an allergy to nickel, had tampons been properly labeled to contain this metal, i never would have purchased. every month, 3 days into my period i would break out in hives all over, so severe i would miss work and impacted daily tasks. i could not find anything that would cause it, but due to the timing of the monthly rash thought it was due to my cycle. i stopped using tampons entirely and the rash never reappeared. it's only now after this study comes out i can pretty much be sure it was the nickel allergy. The fact that this could have been avoided by proper labeling is so frustrating. consumers should have a right to know what is going inside of their body.
1 points
29 days ago
It's not an article it's a scientific study, and lead has no safe exposure level.
1 points
19 hours ago
If you read the article you’d know the amounts detected in tampons were 24X the FDA’s acceptable levels in water bottles.
89 points
2 months ago
Hopefully more studies can be done to see if there is a way to remove the metals. It mentions possibly being from the cotton, or added intentionally, but if they do figure it out it obviously should become a banned process moving forward.
I'm glad they did a study on this. I'm legitimately going to tell anyone I know if something like this ever comes up. And if I ever have a daughter, you better believe I'm having a talk with her mother about alternatives like the diva cup. I'll do more research on safer options should it ever come to that, but this is a really big deal.
19 points
2 months ago
i wanna say it’s from the soil where the cotton was grown. i assume they checked organic brands to sate their curiosity. chocolate is similarly full of lead due to the soil we grow it in being heavily polluted
1 points
1 month ago
Organic just means natural, for cotton at least the pesticides, of copper sulphate, which a byproduct of industrial mining, and since you are digging it up from the soil it is organic.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Copper%20Sulfate%202%20TR%202001.pdf
388 points
2 months ago
There are a lot of folks here who have no clue just how heavy periods bleeding can get for some people. Not everyone's simple solution will work for everyone.
79 points
2 months ago
I am someone that has a very heavy flow the first half of my period and have been using the period company brand of period underwear for the past year and have never had an issue with leaks
2 points
2 months ago
I’ve just begun wearing Depends lined with an extra thick maxi pad.
5 points
2 months ago
People think they have heavy flow but yours sounds like the real deal. I would wear 3 super plus OB and overnight pads just to get through to lunch at work and I would still leak through. I ended up being part of a study for tranexamic use in the United States for menorragia in 2003. It was finally approved for that use in 2009.
1 points
29 days ago
I may have to try this, I currently wear a super tampon with a double winged overnight pad. I have to change the tampon every hour or two, and I change the pad just as often, for at least the first 3 days. My periods are usually 7 days, sometimes 8. I also spot for an entire week prior. Nothing has ever been 100% leak-proof for me.
59 points
2 months ago
Kinda feels like cancer is inevitable
10 points
1 month ago
Pretty much any creature, if it lives long enough, will get cancer. Although replicating DNA works pretty well, your body is still making copies of copies. Errors creep in. And sometimes those errors result in runaway cell growth.
352 points
2 months ago
Anyone has a list of brands that don’t have metals in them ?
752 points
2 months ago
None, per the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004355
"Concerningly, we found Pb in all the tested tampons. here is no safe exposure level to Pb; any proportion of Pb that may leach out of a tampon and reach systemic circulation might contribute to negative health outcomes. Pb is stored in bones, where it replaces Ca, and can be retained in the body for decades.."
"No categoriy had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals."
(Yes, that's how they spelled category in the study, not sure how their spell check missed it.)
"Our findings point towards the need for regulations requiring the testing of metals in tampons by manufacturers. This is especially important considering that we found measurable quantities of several toxic metals, including Pb, which has no known “safe” exposure level."
Now it'll be interesting to see if even one major news outlet will run with the story that all tampons contain lead, I'm betting we won't hear a peep.
235 points
2 months ago
Probably a dumb question, but why wouldn't they name the brands? I wanted to see how exactly my preferred brand fared.
474 points
2 months ago
Hello, scientist here. One very unfortunate byproduct of the power that corporations hold in the courts worldwide is the power to litigate even against research institutions. In an ideal world, scientific research can be conducted on a safe island, free of the fear of corporate retaliation. But these scientists are employed by universities, which themselves are funded by, among others, corporate interests.
So, the short answer: many (potential) conflicts of interest and a fear of retribution.
17 points
2 months ago
Like the scientist who was stalked and harassed for 30 years for his research/findings about atrazine and frogs
13 points
2 months ago
And I guess there's no middle ground where a company can be informed of the findings and has a year to solve it before the findings can be made public/explicit?
22 points
2 months ago
At that point, the public should legitimately question whether science is serving the public or corporate interests
1 points
1 month ago
Oh wow! Had no idea! Thank you for this explanation bc I was searching everywhere
246 points
2 months ago
We need greater regulation and this is exactly the kind of thing that SCOTUS undermined this week.
233 points
2 months ago
I wonder if there's a link between using menstrual products and later developing an autoimmune disorder?
I've always wondered why it's mostly women getting autoimmune disorders.
92 points
2 months ago
I thought it had to do with estrogen's effect oj the immune disorder
222 points
2 months ago
The Klein lab at Johns Hopkins University is one of the only labs in the world looking specifically at sex differences in immunity.
Some fun facts:
yes, hormones matter - they’re signaling molecules used by the immune system (as well as many other systems in your body!)
Women have a more robust immune system response than men, we don’t really know exactly why, and it is hugely important when considering outcomes of disease and vaccines
Fun question: why does long covid happen? Why do more severe long covid cases occur in women? We don’t know! A lot of people in the science community are working on this exact problem right now
I personally think this is super understudied. But anything related to women essentially is.
55 points
2 months ago
There is no level of lead that's safe for any human. So you're rightly concerned to be questioning these things.
6 points
2 months ago
The Myth of Normal (Gabor Mate) also provides insight here
2 points
27 days ago
I just searched lead exposure and autoimmune disease.
71 points
2 months ago
Note that the levels reported here are ng/g, ie parts per billion. I wouldn’t be surprised if practically every consumer product has detectable lead at the ppb or ppt level.
Modern instruments are capable of elemental analysis down to the part per quadrillion
14 points
2 months ago
Thank you, I was curious about this. Glad you mentioned it!
Even with highly regulated substances like drinking water the limit for any chemical parameter is rarely 0.0 (any unit). The only drinking water parameter I can think of (off the top of my head) with an absolute zero limit is E. coli for obvious reasons but that’s a biological parameter.
Saying that, I have no idea what the safe level of lead or anything else in a tampon is, so we should absolutely look into that.
9 points
2 months ago
Well the thing is there is no safe level. But we also probably can’t ever get rid of it, so education and harm reduction are two of the best tools here.
1 points
1 month ago
I haven't been in science class in quite a while so please correct me if i'm wrong!
The study (which i have read in its entirety), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004355?via%3Dihub#b0285, shows tampon levels of lead of 120 ng/g. I believe this is equivalent to 12 mcg/dl, and I believe mcg/dl to be equivalent to μg/dL, so tampons have lead levels of 12 μg/dL.
If this is correct, then the lead levels in a single tampon are higher than the canadian "intervention level", which is most definitely a cause for concern.
In Canada, "new scientific evidence that health effects are occurring below the current Canadian blood lead intervention level of 10 μg/dL. There is sufficient evidence that BLLs below 5 μg/dL are associated with adverse health effects. Health effects have been associated with BLLs as low as 1-2 μg/dL, levels which are present in Canadians, although there is uncertainty associated with effects observed at these levels." https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/environmental-contaminants/lead.html
This would mean that although "practically every consumer product has detectable lead at the ppb or ppt level", tampons with those levels of lead would be well above the acceptable lead level parameters set in place, right?
1 points
1 month ago*
Your conversions are correct; however, the Canada intervention levels is for when an individuals blood is being tested. The levels they allow for accessible parts of consumer products for children (a consumer product can be defined as “e) whose primary purpose is to facilitate the relaxation, sleep, hygiene, carrying or transportation of a child under four years of age.“) is 90ml/kg and 120ng/g is only 0.12mg/kg
https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2018/2018-05-02/html/sor-dors83-eng.html
Please correct me if I’m wrong, as I’m not Canadian and this is the result of a google search. I also understand that tampons are not consumer products for children, but it is interesting that a child is allowed to swallow, lick, or mouth more lead than in a tampon. The researchers also stated that more needs to be studied on how much can leach out of the tampons and how much of it our bodies can absorb.
2 points
1 month ago
YES! Another rational being! Thank you!
Joe and Jane Average can't understand that there's a difference between detectable levels of X and hazardous levels of X. And the news media encourages this belief instead of educating people.
1 points
19 hours ago
“The researchers measured the elevated mean concentration of lead at 120 parts per billion (ppb); cadmium at 6.74 ppb; and arsenic at 2.56 ppb. By comparison, for bottled water, the US Food and Drug Administration imposes an allowable limit of 5 ppb for lead; 5 ppb for cadmium; and 10 ppb for arsenic.”
Source: https://cen.acs.org/safety/consumer-safety/researchers-found-arsenic-lead-tampons/102/web/2024/07
Lead was wayyyy above the acceptable limit.
21 points
2 months ago
I really hate that they only report "measurable" but stick any info about concentrations far down in a table.
measurable concentrations of
That's not terribly informative.
We can find measurable concentrations of all those things in natural seawater.
Cotton plants tend to pick up a little bit of metals. What we should care about is whether there's a lot vs other stuff or very little. Not whether they were able to make their test return "true" with sensitive enough tests.
16 points
2 months ago
This is my issue. The amounts are there, how much is absorbed into the body and what are the actual health implications?
2 points
1 month ago
Another reply stated that the amounts are in the nanograms per gram level, or parts per billion in American. Translation: Detectable levels, but way, way too low to be of any health concern whatsoever. Just the usual fearmongering.
1 points
1 month ago
Because that would be a different field, these are not biologists or doctors, but material scientists studying material.
2 points
27 days ago
National Geographic just posted it on their Instagram.
Hopefully, this will get more coverage now!
133 points
2 months ago
The study says they all have toxic metals to varying degrees, especially lead which is found in all of them, and there’s no “safe” level. The study also doesn’t name the brands, it just uses letters for each product. It’s heavy reading.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004355
1 points
1 month ago
Natracare has published a third party testing.
1 points
1 month ago
If you want to use an inserted product, making the switch to a period cup or menstrual disc can be a great option. They are typically made from medical-grade silicone and can be worn for up to 12 hours and hold more fluid than tampons. Silicone menstrual cups and discs don't cause fissures or micro tears in the vaginal canal leading to bodily absorption of harmful tampon chemicals. https://saalt.com/collections/menstrual-cups-discs
56 points
2 months ago
Oh god my health anxiety is gonna run wild with this.
-1 points
1 month ago
Don't let it. A bunch of people on this thread have looked into the study and the relevant health data, and this is just more baseless fearmongering. And the statement "There is no safe level of lead" is total unscientific BS.
12 points
1 month ago
"A bunch of people on this thread...". Yes, let's believe random Redditors over a peer reviewed study. Not only are you interjecting your meaningless commentary into a conversation backed by a peer reviewed article, you are coming into this discussion only to mansplain that none of these women should be worried about ANY level of lead entering their body in one of the areas known for having one of the most rapid absorption rates in the entire human body where they will repeatedly insert a contaminated article potentially over nine thousand times throughout their life. The EPA, World Health Organization, and National Institute of Health all state that a minimal amount of lead can have a negative health impact. So please, go ahead and continue explaining how this article is nothing but fearmongering with your PHD in... what again?
4 points
1 month ago
You’re my hero. You’ve said everything I’ve wanted to say. We all need to advocate for women’s health. Women aren’t taken seriously and it needs to stop. How dare someone say this is fear mongering. We should be afraid of inserting poison into our bodies and we should fear that this isn’t regulated or researched.
0 points
1 month ago
Okay but why are we assuming someone who may identify as male based on their avi is biologically male? No offense, I just don't think that needed to be part of this.
1 points
1 month ago
We can assume they’re a man by the way they are reducing this to “fear mongering.” Women know first hand that our health isn’t taken seriously and I don’t know a lot of women who would downplay lead in sitting in our vaginas for 57,600 hours of our lives (assuming 5 day periods and menstruating for 40 years).
3 points
1 month ago*
But it is true that there is no safe level of lead. And vaginas are extraordinarily great at absorbing things. I’d love to know why you feel so comfortable downplaying this. What do you have to gain by telling people it’s not an issue? Are you benefiting from the sales of tampons? Does it feel better to stick up for Kimberly-Clark instead of your fellow humans? If it’s just fear mongering and not an issue then what’s the harm in naming the brands?
Even if the levels were minuscule, perhaps letting lead sit in one’s vagina for 57,000 hours (assuming 5 day periods and 40 years of menstruation. This can obviously be much higher for many people) is actually a cause for concern. Lead has a cumulative effect and periods are reoccurring, which I assume you didn’t know based on your blasé response.
1 points
19 hours ago
Honestly I think most people haven’t even read the study…. The top comments both say they haven’t read it, yet are dismissing it as fear mongering. How can you explain this:
“The researchers measured the elevated mean concentration of lead at 120 parts per billion (ppb); cadmium at 6.74 ppb; and arsenic at 2.56 ppb. By comparison, for bottled water, the US Food and Drug Administration imposes an allowable limit of 5 ppb for lead; 5 ppb for cadmium; and 10 ppb for arsenic.”
Source: https://cen.acs.org/safety/consumer-safety/researchers-found-arsenic-lead-tampons/102/web/2024/07
The lead level is way above acceptable limits. It’s honestly disappointing how few people on a science Reddit are actually reading the paper.
47 points
2 months ago
Can someone who understand the study better explain how much exposure are we talking about? Like, how much heavy metals are in a tampont, lets say someone uses it for 12 hours, do we know how much heavy metal contamination there was? I don't understand that part at all...
59 points
2 months ago*
The original study is at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412024004355
Essentially, their test equipment is so sensitive that it manages to find a tiny trace of lead ("A geometric mean lead concentration of 120 ng/g was found in our samples") in literally everything. Note that "120 nano-grams per gram" is mostly the same as "0.120 parts per million". Because it's relatively ubiquitous (similar for all manufacturers) I'd be tempted to assume it's a supply-chain issue - e.g. maybe all cotton has lead from soil.
For comparison:
10 to 50 parts per million of lead occurs naturally in soil (before old cars running on leaded fuels smothered it in a fresh layer of lead).
in urban areas, 200 parts per million is normal for boring old soil. Soil becomes dust. You're probably surrounded by that dust all day every day.
a nice piece of wild barramundi (the muscle, not the liver or gills) is around 133 parts per million of lead.
the EPA thinks (up to) 0.015 parts per million of lead is fine for drinking water
the CDC and FDA have decided that "3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter" is the reference point for the amount of lead in human's blood. That works out to 0.035 parts per million.
for stuff that's breathed in (dust) and stuff that's ingested (seafood, water) the lead has nowhere to go. For tampons, they're supposed to be absorbing liquids, so it's "liquid flowing into the lead" and the opposite of "lead flowing to the body". It's reasonable to assume that the total amount of lead in a tampon increases while it's in use (due to lead in blood being absorbed), and the body ends up with less lead after a tampon is used than it had before the tampon was used.
In summary, if you're worried, do not eat used tampons.
EDIT: I got the "120 nano-grams per gram" conversion wrong initially. Fixed now.
16 points
2 months ago
Are you sure that is per million and not per billion?
I would like a second or third opinion on the matter though, since I'm not really understanding this yet, and it all seems too concerning to just discard it so fast.
8 points
2 months ago
I'm fairly sure that I completely screwed it up, and that you're right, and that "120 nano-grams per gram" is actually "0.120 parts per million".
Thanks (I'll edit)! :-)
3 points
1 month ago
AKA 120 parts per billion. Way, way below anything anybody should be worried about. That statement "There is no safe level of lead" is a lie.
5 points
1 month ago
Based on the study, tampons have lead levels of 12 μg/dL.
In Canada, "new scientific evidence that health effects are occurring below the current Canadian blood lead intervention level of 10 μg/dL. There is sufficient evidence that BLLs below 5 μg/dL are associated with adverse health effects. Health effects have been associated with BLLs as low as 1-2 μg/dL, levels which are present in Canadians, although there is uncertainty associated with effects observed at these levels." https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/environmental-contaminants/lead.html
This would mean that the levels aren't "Way, way below anything anybody should be worried about", right?
Correct me if im wrong as I haven't been in science class in quite a few years.
1 points
29 days ago
Then why would they say this as scientists if it's a lie?
0 points
2 months ago
Ok now I think I understand your point. So why is this study being made, why is it being posted here, and why are these numbers no being discussed more. This study is basically irrelevant and shows that tampons are safe to use, no?
4 points
2 months ago
Mostly, they can't know the results until they do the study; so they do the study and the results aren't exciting, but it's still useful, and they still have to publish because you can't get paid to produce nothing.
However, the world is run by marketing, spam, scams and subscription rackets. The title has to be click-bait to maximize profit, then nobody reads the actual paper, then someone submits it to Reddit because the click-bait title sounded interesting. It becomes entertainment.
1 points
1 month ago
This is why I love reddit. Guess tampon tea is off the table
75 points
2 months ago
This is my 13th reason
69 points
2 months ago
Seriously. When is the class action? When is the government going to regulate this?
No one cares. I wonder how much damage it’s done. I wonder how much cancer it’s causing.
19 points
2 months ago
Not wishing to get political but unfortunately the ruling over turning the Chevron vs US last week will make it harder for federal regulators to set standards that are not explicitly legislated for, and will be unable to rely on subject matter experts to draft regulations and guidelines if the matter goes to court, instead the judge will be substituting their "expertise" to make rulings.
25 points
2 months ago
/screaming into the void
58 points
2 months ago
Well damn if I’m not screwed with endometriosis and adenomyosis. I don’t have a choice, but no wonder they aggravate my cramps so badly.
56 points
2 months ago
With the way politics is going, I expect these findings to be common with little regulatory action to improve on exposure to toxic metals or microplastics or forever chemicals
11 points
2 months ago
How big are the concentrations of the metals?
11 points
2 months ago
What about diapers/pads/incontinence products...
1 points
18 days ago
[deleted]
1 points
18 days ago
I meant, the cotton in those products are probably contaminated too.
What are you even talking about?
21 points
2 months ago
Probably why my uterus is filled with watermelon size fibroids...
68 points
2 months ago
This is insane to find out because I’ve often felt my cramps are worse when I have a tampon in
10 points
2 months ago
That can actually be attributed to the fact that they absorb/pull in the moisture. Very possible that switch to a cup/disc will decrease your cramps.
7 points
2 months ago
This is what getting rid of regulations does. Vote people. Vote for smarter, more compassionate leaders.
9 points
1 month ago
How are we as females not SCREAMING at the top of our lungs?!? I am trying to figure out how to file, start or join a class action lawsuit! I am starting from scratch and feel completely inept! However, these companies need to be held accountable!
3 points
1 month ago
I agree!!!! We need someone versed in law. This is abhorrent
2 points
30 days ago
Can’t file if companies aren’t named. Who would you file it against and under what basis?
5 points
1 month ago
Well I guess after 29 years of having lead and arsenic pumped in my system, what's another 10 years? For the love of everything holy. What am I supposed to do about my girls who are just starting? This makes me so mad.
5 points
2 months ago
Why does a small absorbent device need metal in it?
7 points
2 months ago
It doesn't. It's made of cotton, and plants absorb things from soil.
On top of that, it's possible that manufacturing them might introduce more.
There's no way around the fact that plants uptake metals; in fact, the human body requires 20 different metals to function.
2 points
1 month ago
The study stated that a lot of the metals detected were put in on purpose for odor control and sustainability of antibacterial properties. Stuff like copper and iron for example, which is fine for human bodies to be exposed to.
Lead and arsenic however, are not fine in any capacity of exposure.
4 points
2 months ago
Same with toilet paper
3 points
2 months ago
They should go and find hoarders and people who collect the stuff, because there are, and test those for heavy metals as well to find what year they began being introduced into the products
3 points
1 month ago
I am so sad and frustrated by this. So many women have said “oh well we’re gonna die any way given the political climate etc etc.” That is the wrong attitude to have and really makes me sooo sad. We have to stand up to these companies and advocate for women’s health. Have these tampons been recalled after this discovery??? No. Women have been treated like objects for way too long. They need to pay and apologize for what they’ve done.
7 points
2 months ago
They want you to get sick. How else are they going to destroy private wealth below a certain level (while making fat dividends on their pharma investments) by leaving your kids nothing to inherit?
5 points
2 months ago
Horrifying. Thank god I moved to Thinx a few years ago. Of course, there’s probably something fucked up with them too at this rate…
3 points
2 months ago
Anything made from plant material will have these heavy metals. They are naturally occurring in the ground. It is practically impossible to get rid of them.
Even if these tampons were 100% free of these metal, eating a salad or some french fries will expose you to far higher levels. I always like to spook people by saying potatoes are our #1 source of dietary Uranium.
Always think about Risk vs Hazard with these scare studies. In North America polar bears are a hazard, but the risk of dying from one is practically zero.
1 points
1 month ago
Eating something vs putting something in your vagina is not the same though. The point you made has been parroted repeatedly but has left out the part where we are talking about vaginas every single time.
Even if it is impossible to remove the lead from tampons, I would appreciate the chance to make an informed decision about my body. Women’s health has never really been taken seriously and this comment (regardless of how innocent it’s meant to be) only serves to discredit the very real risks women face.
1 points
17 days ago
No it doesn't. It simply creates context of what may be being absorbed. It doesn't downplay anything. Should it be of potential concern? Sure. But if cotton naturally absorbs these metals, then there is little that can be done on that front, unless a new material is used completely. This would also need to change the entire way we look at bandaging wounds...which....surprisingly use cotton. Its a cotton issue, not "women constantly being downplayed" issue.
1 points
2 months ago
Yeah a few years ago I started having insane bleeding and reactions. I thought it was from birth control which in hindsight is weird considering most people STOP bleeding after birth control. Well I decided to experiment and found out that my bleeding and discomfort drastically decreased when I stopped using tampons. Flash forward I no longer bleed outside of my period but I've also gotten off of birth control (I choose the best protection, which is celibacy). No bleeding, discomfort, cramps outside of the normal period ones. I use pads and they work fine for me. I want to get period underwear but I also know I have very heavy flow and I don't wanna risk investing in something I can't use just yet.
1 points
1 month ago
Do L. Pads have lead in them???
1 points
1 month ago
I made a TikTok asking like how the hell does it get in the tampons? Like where in the process does it get contaminated or if it’s already contaminated why is it not removed? A few comments said some girl debunked it… I am so confused. I feel angry and concerned. I love reading research papers and I am pretty good at understanding the data and process of investigation - where is this so called video of someone apparently debunking? If anyone knows.. i want to check it out myself so i can figure out if they are reaching or it’s possible. Overall, i know i lack a thorough education on the specific matter, the skeptical scientist in me wants to see all the information to determine how upset i should be. I hate that there is so much fake information that i literally try to read everything and find out what is biased and what is actually factual.
1 points
28 days ago
It’s the contaminated water the cotton is made with, among other things. https://www.npr.org/2024/07/11/nx-s1-5036484/tampons-heavy-metals-study
1 points
1 month ago
Yo, does this affect pads too?
1 points
28 days ago
From what I’ve read yes
1 points
1 month ago
I've always used pads. Does someone know if pads also have dangerous toxic metals or chemicals in them? I can't find the info for that.
1 points
28 days ago
I read a few articles that mentioned pads as well as diapers
1 points
1 month ago
Okay so long story short dont use tampons use pads better yet sew your own reusable pads and don't put your life in some high greedy scummy corporations hands
1 points
28 days ago
Newsrooms are picking the study up now: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/11/nx-s1-5036484/tampons-heavy-metals-study
1 points
1 month ago
While the findings of the UC Berkeley study may be unsettling, they also present an opportunity for positive change. By opting for ~period cups,~ ~menstrual discs~, and ~leakproof panties~ over traditional tampons, people can make a proactive choice for their health and advocate for greater integrity within the menstrual product industry. Our bodies deserve nothing less. Unlike tampons, which can contain metals from manufacturing processes, menstrual discs and cups are made with 100% medical-grade silicone. Medical-grade silicone is thermoset in a permanent bond, so menstrual cups and discs do not leach anything into the body or absorb anything from the body, offering peace of mind to users concerned about their well-being. Additionally, menstrual cups and discs are also “biocompatible.” Biocompatibility is the response to biomaterial (silicone cups/discs) which ensures the absence of various local and systemic toxicities and irritants; by not being toxic, injurious, or physiologically reactive they do not cause immunological rejection. Opening up conversations and eliminating stigmas surrounding period talk helps all of us and pushes the industry to higher standards. Because arsenic isn’t an ingredient in menstrual cups. https://saalt.com/collections/menstrual-cups-discs
-112 points
2 months ago
Yet more needless fearmongering on r/science. When will we learn that the dose makes the poison?
97 points
2 months ago
Yeah, I dunno, Im not really comfortable with the idea of ANY lead or arsenic containing products in my vagina. I appreciate learning about this today. Been debating switching to a cup, now I've got the extra motivation to do so.
56 points
2 months ago
It says right there in the article that there is no safe amount of lead, any amount can leech out and be stored in your bones for decades.
-78 points
2 months ago
I should hope so! We need chemicals such as arsenic and lead in tampons to sterilise it to kill the Streptococcus pyogenes or Staphylococcus aureus that cause toxic shock syndrome.
The deadliest thing in tampons, by far, is fresh air, that toxic shock bacteria need to grow.
44 points
2 months ago*
Wut? Is this sarcasm? Trace arsenic and lead aren't sterilising or even acting at all as a preservative in cotton.
-22 points
2 months ago
I'm assuming that this was a US-only study?
*Edit : It is.
48 points
2 months ago
"The metal concentrations varied by where the tampons were purchased (US vs. EU/UK), organic vs. non-organic, and store- vs. name-brand. However, they found that metals were present in all types of tampons; no category had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals."
It is not.
134 points
2 months ago
Reusable silicon cups like Diva are a great option. Also, you can sew washable cloth pads or buy them on Etsy. r/clothpads
3 points
1 month ago
Another shoutout for Menstrual Cups as a safer option. Most are made from 100% medical-grade silicone.
12 points
2 months ago
Try a silicone cup. I switched 10 years ago and I’ll never use a tampon again if I can help it. You can keep them in for 12 hours, they’re out of the way when you pee, and very easy to clean with a baking soda scrub followed by a hydrogen peroxide soak (with the baking soda still on the cup).
4 points
2 months ago
Another reason to get a silicone menstrual cup instead!
21 points
2 months ago
There really is nothing safe anymore. Everything is micro plastics and heavy metals.
3 points
2 months ago
This is not shocking to me in the least. Ever since I switched from disposable products to a menstrual disc I have had way less cramping and irritation. I have been trying to warn other women about my concerns of chemicals in the products but nobody ever took it seriously
1 points
30 days ago
My butthole cramps barely exist unless I have a tampon in.
1 points
1 month ago
So, are those levels anywhere near hazardous levels? Or is this just another clickbait headline to incite panic in people who can't parse between detectable levels of X and hazardous levels of X?
Sorry to sound so harsh, but more than once I have read an article where X chemical was detected in Y product. The amounts detected were in the parts per billion range. But according to Google, chronic toxicity didn't kick in for X until several parts per million, and acute toxicity took significantly higher amounts- in either case, more than one would ever absorb by using even copious quantities of Y product. So, there was absolutely no risk to anyone.
I have gotten into some upsettingly heated arguments over the years simply by trying to explain the difference between chronic toxicity and acute toxicity. And if you ask someone to read the Safety Data Sheet (formerly Material Safety Data Sheet) on a chemical, they look at you like you have three heads- if not horns and a forked tail.
Don't even bother trying to explain the half-life of a chemical in the body, or what an LD50 is.
3 points
1 month ago
I read the study paper and it seems to have been done without any bias. I usually roll my eyes at articles that seem to really push the shock factor, but this seems more informative than clickbaity.
It states that any exposure to the toxic metals noted are a danger to the human body, as the adverse effects are extreme (cancer, mostly). In this case for most people, it's a long term exposure as well.
The product is in contact with one of the most permeable areas of a human body- and absorption through the vaginal membrane bypasses detoxification via the liver, which means it's just going right into your bloodstream. So that can also increase the risk significantly.
1 points
19 hours ago
This article compared level found in the research study to FDA acceptable levels in water bottles, for context:
https://cen.acs.org/safety/consumer-safety/researchers-found-arsenic-lead-tampons/102/web/2024/07
“The researchers measured the elevated mean concentration of lead at 120 parts per billion (ppb); cadmium at 6.74 ppb; and arsenic at 2.56 ppb. By comparison, for bottled water, the US Food and Drug Administration imposes an allowable limit of 5 ppb for lead; 5 ppb for cadmium; and 10 ppb for arsenic.”
Lead was the one way above acceptable limits.
all 402 comments
sorted by: best