Jessica Wynn

So if symptoms appear, remove the tampon immediately and run to the ER.

But it was really bad in the 1980s because these ultra absorbent synthetic tampons, they let bacteria thrive and toxins build up, especially when they were left in too long, which was this design failure.

And it turned convenience into a really serious risk.

until those products were pulled and safety standards changed.

That didn't happen until after several women died.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

It peaked in the early part of the 80s at about 100 deaths a year.

But they pulled the products.

And by 1989, there were zero menstrual deaths that were reported.

So today we have more options.

There's safer tampons, pads, cups, period underwear.

The cups are the healthiest because they can be worn for up to 12 hours.

They're reusable.

They're eco-friendly.

And period underwear has these built-in absorbent layers you wash and reuse, and they're game changers.

So I discourage women from using tampons at all.

Again, designed by one man, this guy Earl Haas, who didn't seem to think about how those fibers leave tiny scratches in our vaginas, which sets us up for infections.

Dump it out, rinse it and put it back in.

Yeah.