Oh EW.

[permetaform]

"It is worth noting that although tampons (and increasingly sanitary napkins) may come individually wrapped, they are not sterilized; they are merely bleached white."

Is that true? It came from Wikipedia on an entry about menstrual cups, so it's possibly made by someone advertising for menstrual cups but...dude. Individually wrapped and unsterilized? o.0 my inner bio-geek is screaming for the hills. ::shudders and flails::

Comments

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

FDA requirements for a tampon

"The device materials should not, either
directly or through the release of their material constituents:
(i) produce adverse local or systemic effects; (ii) be carcinogenic;
or, (iii) produce adverse reproductive and developmental effects." (from link on health testing)

From the document itself:

"For tampon materials, we recommend that you demonstrate that the tampon, in its final manufactured form, does not:

enhance the growth of Staphylococcus aureus
increase the production of Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1 (TSST-1)
alter the growth of normal vaginal microflora.
There are no reference methods or recognized standards for testing S. aureus in tampons. We have included several methods in Appendix B. References 2-7, and 9. We recommend that you specify the test conditions, including cell culture medium and strains of S. aureus and other microorganisms used, and reference the methodology.

TSS is not a concern with the use of menstrual pads.

If clinical studies are necessary, we recommend that the studies evaluate:

irritation
allergy
effects on vaginal microflora
abrasions
ulceration
laceration
residual fiber retention.


And on labeling:

For menstrual tampons, in addition to the labeling information required by 21 CFR 801.430(d) and 21 CFR 801.430(e), user instructions should include information on:

selection of tampon size and absorbency
tampon insertion
how tampon should be worn and wear-time
tampon removal and disposal.
To avoid risk of TSS, we recommend that you include instructions that:

limit wear-time per tampon to no more than 8 hours
advise against the use of tampons “overnight.”

So, no, it does not specifically state that the tampon must be sterile. However, it does provide that the tampon's presence must not alter the natural biological state of the vagina in any way, i. e. be nontoxic and a nonirritant the way an orange seed is (it goes in you, doesn't do anything, and comes back out in your feces). The vagina is a natural opening in your body and as such, is always exposed to the external elements, so not requiring sterility doesn't seem extreme to me. No sterility does not necessarily mean that it isn't clean, or that it isn't free of infectious bacteria, which seems to be your underlying worry.

[permetaform]

nah, it's an underlying squick with the mental image of having a fuzzy petri dish stuck up my vagina. I have no such squick with edible material (blame it on asian food, I suppose), but have really bad cramps. ::wry grin:: And it's not like I don't *know* better, but it's more of the tangential associations.

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

blame it on asian food, I suppose

oooo, low blow, sister>)

mental image of having a fuzzy petri dish stuck up my vagina

Honestly, think of it as microflora, like the document says. Flora, root of florist and flowers. It's not a petri dish--it's a beautiful garden, but occasionally you have to stick stuff like drainpipes and so forth in it. Picket fences=contraceptive implants ~.0

it's not like I don't *know* better, but it's more of the tangential associations

That must be your American side then, because dude. Some of the Chinese folkmagic (and folk-medicine) I've read about seems to show there's no such squickiness on that side.

[permetaform]

oooo, low blow, sister

?? huh? It's just that after consuming Chinese medicine and bitter squash, I have a high tolerance towards wierd/icky tastes and tend to find uses for the food 'ends' that my roommates throw away or turn up their noses at.

Heh, in any case, I'll still stick to my divacup. Drainpipes I'm okay with, I'm not sure what the equivalent is for tampons tho.

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

have a high tolerance towards wierd/icky tastes

Well, I have that, too. But I have this strange reluctance to eat certain 'icky' parts of the pig just because of where they're from, though I understand those are considered delicacies. I dunno. I think I've seen too many pig's ear doggie chewtoys.

[permetaform]

Do you mean those pig ears that they marinate and slice up and serve cold? ::wistful:: they sell none by where I go to school. Nor do they sell chicken feet or boiled blood, I'd have to go to the city to get it, and even then it's sorta americanized.

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

I...maybe. I wouldn't know for sure. See, ever since the episode with the goose feet, my relatives have a pretty longstanding memo not to tell me what went into whatever I eat when I visit them. I'm okay with ignorance in this case.

...ew, blood. They culture the effin' virulent stuff in that. But to each their own, I guess.

[permetaform]

See, ever since the episode with the goose feet

?


...ew, blood. They culture the effin' virulent stuff in that.

heh, yeah. And I'm better with that concept than with the tampons thing.

I seriously think it may be because I sorta don't consider anything 'pain' or 'being sick' unless I'm incapacitated, and cramps does that like nothing else.

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

I love jellyfish. They told me it was jellyfish. Then after I'd eaten it, they were like, "Those were goose feet, kid." And earlier I'd been all, "Eee! Cute birdies!" at some park or zoo or whatever. I was...like, eight?

*pouts* Evil cousins.

[permetaform]

::blinks:: wow. yeah, that is kinda evil.

::covers eyes and grins:: er...we've tricked our younger cousin into trying boiled pig's blood by calling it chocolate?

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

Okay, you're eviler.

...though that reminds me of microbio lab, where we were using blood agar culture plates. See, those turn brown after a while and look like chocolate too, so they're called chocolate agar informally. The lab instructor told us that they were not made of chocolate, so to not try eating it. Which means sometime in the past, somebody...did.

[permetaform]

Which means sometime in the past, somebody...did.

...gurk.

Did anyone ever try to steal the 100% alcohol from your labs yet? (the one's that were distilled using benzene?)

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

I heard about one in a high school that drank some, and apparently they spent the rest of the day puking. I asked my friend how the hell the teachers failed to notice a kid constantly running into the bathrooms, and he shrugged. I'm amazed the kid didn't end up in a detox center.

[permetaform]

Yeah. Luck of the blind perhaps?

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

Don't know what else could do it, so I guess yeah.

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, and pelvic pain generally has nothing to do with the bacteria and stuff. Hell, that's the last thing they want. Cramps are intended to make you push stuff out of your vagina, and the bacteria want to stay in.

Also, I dunno if this is generalized, but for me the cramps actually seem to have roots up around my diaphragm. I usually have problems keeping food down at the same time I have pelvic cramps, they seem to be the same muscular contraction, and my memory is fuzzy but I think groin muscles are anchored way high above your hipbones? So totally different region to blame there.

[permetaform]

Oh, yeah, and pelvic pain generally has nothing to do with the bacteria and stuff. Hell, that's the last thing they want. Cramps are intended to make you push stuff out of your vagina, and the bacteria want to stay in.

yeah, I know that, intellectually, but it still makes me more paranoid about that area in general and I'm all for making myself believe in placebo effects.

For me the cramps seem porportional to how cold I am, I don't find it interferring with food intake. I just stick myself in the shower and am better after awhile.