Tampon, Tampon

Several countries, including the United States, under the banner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate tampons as medical devices.

H. Vail, p 107 - 109 and there have been reports of modern menstrual tampons being used for the same purpose by soldiers in the Iraq War.

Earle Haas in 1931 by Dr. Earle Haas, who hailed from Denver, Colorado. Dr. Hass later sold the patent of the applicator tampon to Gertrude Tendrich, who founded the Tampax Company for the mass production of the lengthways expanding tampon.

Judith Esser-Mittag developed, during her studies on the female anatomy, the digital design of tampon.

All tampons have a cord for removal and some have an additional outer cover to aid insertion and withdrawal. Some women prefer to use a tampon which is contained within an applicator to further aid insertion.The majority of tampons sold are made of rayon, or a blend of rayon and cotton. Organic cotton tampons are made from only 100% cotton. Tampons are sold individually wrapped to keep them clean, and because the vagina is not a sterile body-cavity, and for the vast majority of women contains good bacteria, there is no need for any menstrual device to be sterilized.

The outer tube is inserted into the vagina, then the inner tube is pushed into the outer tube (typically using a finger) pushing the tampon through and into the vagina.

Thus they offer discretion and freedom to women allowing activities such as swimming to continue without interruption. It is usually not necessary to remove a tampon before urinating or having a bowel movement. However, the hanging string may need to be pulled away from the genitals to avoid becoming wet from urine or feces during urination or having a bowel movement.

There is no way to see that a woman is using a tampon when she is clothed, unlike sanitary pads, which have outlines that can sometimes be seen through fabric. As a disposable product, there is no need to wash anything in between use.

Some of the substances used to bleach tampons have been implicated in the formation of dioxin. A study by the FDA done in 1995 says there are not sufficient amounts of dioxin to pose a health risk; the amount detected ranged from undetectable to 1 part in 3 trillion, which is far less than the normal exposure to dioxin in everyday life.

Source: Wikipedia > Tampon