Jessica Wynn

And disposable pads didn't show up until the early 20th century, designed by men who didn't menstruate.

So these early versions, they had to be pinned in place or worn with belts.

Yes, not your skin, your clothes.

Adhesive pads didn't become common until decades later.

I know, and it's almost like women should be the ones making decisions about female issues.

It was just ignored because menstrual health research was and is underfunded.

And disposable products then became insanely profitable, which discouraged more innovation.

If men bled from their balls once a month, every toilet would come with a built-in bidet and free products.

These products are expensive.

But when profit drives design instead of safety, people pay the price.

Like with the toxic shock crisis in the 1980s with these super absorbent tampons.

So toxic shock syndrome is this rare but life-threatening illness, and it's caused by bacterial toxins that enter the bloodstream.

It's historically linked to these high-absorbency tampons that were left in too long.

But it's also seen with skin infections or surgery sometimes.

It often shows as a staph infection, and it comes on fast.

You get like a high fever, vomiting, rash, dizziness.

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.