Are tampons dangerous?

[Guest guest]

Hi listers,

I'm passing this along for everyone to take a look at.

Dr.

If you use pads, but especially if you use tampons read this and pass

on to your friends (for the men receiving this email, please forward it

to your friends, significant others, sisters, mothers, daughters, etc.)

thanks!

Have you heard that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons? Why

would they do this? Because asbestos makes you bleed more . . . if you

bleed more, you're going to need to use more. Why isn't this against the

law since asbestos is so dangerous? Because the powers that be, in all

their wisdom(not), did not consider tampons as being ingested, and

therefore wasn't illegal or considered dangerous.

This month's Essence magazine has a small article about this and they

mention two manufacturers of a cotton tampon alternative. The

companies are Organic Essentials @ (800) 765-6491 and Terra Femme @

(800)755-0212.

A woman getting her Ph.D. at University of Colorado @ Boulder sent

the following: " I am writing this because women are not being informed

about the dangers of something most of us use - tampons. I am taking a

class this month and I have been learning a lot about biology and woman,

including much about feminine hygiene.

Recently we have learned that tampons are actually dangerous (for

other reasons than TSS). I'll tell you this, after learning about this in

our class, most of the females wound up feeling angry and upset with the

tampon industry, and I for one, am going to do something about it. To

start, I want to inform everyone I can, and email is the fastest way

that I know how.

Here is the scoop: Tampons contain two things that are potentially

harmful: Rayon (for absorbency) and dioxin (a chemical used in

bleaching the products). The tampon industry is convinced that we, as

women, need bleached white products - in order to view the product as

pure and clean. The problem here is that the dioxin produced in this

bleaching process can lead to very harmful problems for a woman.

Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic (cancer-associated) and is toxic to

the

immune and reroductive systems. It has also been linked to

endometriosis and lower sperm counts for men - for both, it breaks down

the immune system.

Last September the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported

that there really is no set " acceptable " level of exposure to dioxin

given

that it s cumulative and slow to disintegrate. The real danger comes

from repeated contact ( Houppert " Pulling the Plug on the

Tampon Industry " ). I'd say using about 4-5 tampons a day, five days a

month, for 38 menstruating years is " repeated contact " , wouldn't you?

Rayon contributes to the danger of tampons and dioxin because it is a

highly absorbent substance. Therefore, when fibers from the tampons

are left behind in the vagina (as it usually occurs), it creates a

breeding ground for the dioxin. It also stays in a lot longer than it

would

with just cotton tampons. This is also the reason why TSS (toxic shock

syndrome) occurs.

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

Using feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all

cotton. Other feminine hygiene products (pads/napkins) contain dioxin

aswell, but they are not nearly as dangerous since they are not in

direct contact with the vagina. The pads/napkins need to stop being

bleached, but obviously tampons are the most dangerous.

So, what can you do if you can't give up using tampons? Use tampons

that are made from 100% cotton, and that are UNBLEACHED. Unfortunately,

there are very, very few companies that make these safe tampons.

They are usually only found in health food stores. Countries all over

the

world (Sweden, German, Canada, etc.) have demanded a switch to this

safer tampon, while the U.S. has decided to keep us in the dark about

it.

In 1989, activists in England mounted a campaign against chlorine

bleaching. Six weeks and 50,000 letters later, the makers of sanitary

products switched to oxygen bleaching (one of the green methods

available). (MS magazine, May/June 1995).

WHAT TO DO NOW:

Tell people. Everyone. Inform them. We are being manipulated by this

industry and the government, let's do something about it! Please

write to the companies: Tampax (Tambrands), Playtex, O.B., Kotex. Call

the

800 numbers listed on the boxes. Let them know that we demand a safe

product - ALL COTTON UNBLEACHED TAMPONS.

Thank you.

Donna C. Boisseau & C. Baker;

Assistants to Dr. B.S. Katzenellenbogen,

Professor University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;

Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology;

(217) 3

_______________________________________________________

R. Sooley, DC (217) 431-3290 voice

G.F. Sooley, DC (209) 797-6521 fax

Sooley Chiropractic Health Center

11 E. Fairchild St. http://www.sooleychiro.com

Danville, IL 61832-3140 mailto:drgeorge@...

" Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food. "

--Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine

" A cheerful heart is good medicine... " Prov 17:22a

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