When was the tampon first invented




















The name for the company combined the word tampon with the term vaginal packs, which was used during the early s to refer to menstruation management devices. Within a year, other companies began producing similarly designed menstrual tampons.

Throughout the s, Tampax and other brands of menstrual tampons became available in stores for purchase. During World War II, tampons became more popular and sales increased. Tampax tampons specifically were available for thirty-five cents and sales increased five-fold by the end of the war. During the early s, Tampax tampons often came in discreet packages of ten and were delivered by mail.

Prior to the invention of commercial tampons, most women wore menstrual pads or something similar that restricted their physical activity. Fetters speculates that the increase in tampon popularity during World War II was caused by women becoming more physically active as well as taking labor positions in factories. During that time, according to historian Nancy Friedman, tampons were also especially popular among female athletes, actors, models, and sex workers.

However, the pad remained the most popular menstrual flow management device among women in general in the US. According to a survey from to , only one quarter of women regularly used tampons in the US. By , advertisements for Tampax tampons appeared in more than fifty magazines. In , Judith Esser-Mittag, a German gynecologist, developed a tampon that did not require an applicator, a digital tampon. The device was eventually named the O. Onhe binde is a German tern that means without napkins, signifying the replacement of sanitary napkins or pads with tampons.

That style of tampon gained popularity in parts of the US as well as many other countries. That was partially due to it being considered more environmentally friendly because it did not have plastic or cardboard applicator that would be thrown in the garbage as additional waste.

Esser-Mittag partnered with physician Carl Hahn to start the O. According to Fetters, physicians that were considered to be forward-thinkers embraced tampons and recommended them to their patients.

Still, other physicians condemned tampons. In the s, companies released novel designs for tampons and their popularity increased. Some of the common product names were Fibs, Lillettes, and Pursettes. During the s, novel tampons containing deodorants and perfumes gained popularity, though concerns about their safety emerged when some women had allergic reactions to those tampons.

In , the company Playtex introduced the first plastic, dome-tipped applicator, which some women considered easier to insert into the vagina. In the mids, Congress imposed stricter regulations on tampons made in the US. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act categorized tampons as medical devices instead of cosmetics. That change required tampons to undergo more extensive testing before being marketed to the public.

Unlike cosmetics, medical devices did not need to have a list of chemical contents. As of , tampon manufacturers are not required to disclose a list of ingredients, while products like mascara and shampoo must have all ingredients listed on the label. At the time, most tampons on the market were only meant to stay inside the body for several hours.

Rely contained pellets of carboxymethyl cellulose, or CMC, a chemical which made the tampon hyper-absorbent. Japan banned Rely for use due to its chemical ingredients, but the US did not. Because of the shifting legislation, Rely did not have to undergo extensive testing under the new law and was available for sale in the US.

Though Rely experienced commercial success for some time, use of the product revealed the dangers of leaving a tampon inside the vagina for an extended period of time.

Despite that, during the late s, nearly 25 percent of tampon users were using Rely or a similar hyper-absorbent tampon. Toxic shock syndrome is a bacterial infection, which involves bacteria in the body releasing dangerous toxins. The infection is predominantly caused by leaving tampons inside the vagina for too long.

Toxic shock syndrome can cause fever, rash, skin peeling, low blood pressure, and can be potentially fatal if left untreated. Thirty-eight of the cases reported to the CDC by were fatal. In September of , the CDC released a study that showed that the use of Rely and other tampons for extended use dramatically increased the risks of toxic shock syndrome.

By June of , the CDC had received reports of over cases of toxic shock syndrome. The new Tampax Radiant packaging introduced the first resealable wrapper for quick and easy disposal of the applicator — no more of that awkward wrapping it up in toilet paper nonsense. Next up was Pocket Pearl, a full-sized tampon in a pocket-sized applicator for on the go protection. Did you know that you can use different tampon sizes depending on your specific period flow?

Tampax worked to spread the word on this common misconception— and that only Tampax Pearl tampons have five absorbencies Light, Regular, Super, Super Plus and Ultra , so you can find the best match for your changing period flow. Not sure how to find the right size? Use our guide for picking the best tampon sizes for your flow.

Tampax recommits to making period conversations as normal as periods themselves, so we all can feel educated, empowered, and limitless every day of the month.

Are tampons flushable? How do you properly dispose of them? Find tips and more answers on flushing tampons. Tampax About The History of Tampax. From introducing a product that helped women join the workforce in the s to normalizing conversations around women's health and period care, Tampax has a long history of game-changing moments that promote well-being for all Keep reading to learn some of the most fascinating moments in Tampax and tampon history.

Timeline: Where It All Began An inventor patents a new kind of period product made of compressed cotton with a string in the center and housed in a paper tube. Fortunately, only a small portion of women have TSST-1, the particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus that causes toxic shock, in their vaginas— a Journal of Clinical Microbiology study of North American women between 13 and 40 found 1 percent of its subjects carried TSST-1 vaginally.

Less than three percent of staph aureus strains are toxigenic with TSST In , tampons went to space. At the height of the TSS scare, more than 40 percent of women were using tampons with absorbencies of But the most dramatic changes to the post-TSS tampon were virtually invisible to consumers. But according to Tierno and the CDC , manufacturers abandoned the use of CMC and polyester after Rely was pulled from shelves, and tampons containing polyacrylates were withdrawn from markets in Tampax, Friedman notes, even revived a line of all-cotton tampons it had discontinued in Viscose rayon is still commonly used in tampons; a representative for Kotex confirmed to me that viscose rayon is the only one of these ingredients still in use in its products.

After Rely, consumers began to realize just how little they knew about what was actually in tampons. None of these groups were successful. In fact, according to the CDC, no U. Still, between and , cases of menstrual TSS were reported, 51 of them fatal.

And, importantly, the product that would come to be called Tampax Pearl was to have nothing in common with the ill-fated Rely experiment. And with good reason. But throughout the industry, the new urgency of developing a better tampon—and, undoubtedly, the heightened scrutiny—resulted in a number of breakthrough discoveries.

Among them: While the tampon had been cylindrical for more than a century, the human vagina is not. And it is—but only at the vaginal opening. Radical re-engineering ensued. Today, while digital tampons like O.

Tampax Pearl was a hit when it went on sale in —especially with young women. Of course, not everybody fell back in love with tampons.

Today, Tierno estimates that 80 percent of U. For example: Outside North America, digital tampons have outsold applicator tampons for decades. Conversely, tampon users in the U. Few products in modern history have been quite as scandal-ridden—or as quietly so. But the future of tampons looks bright, if potentially a little bizarre. How about a built-in vibrator? Indeed, in the last five years, the U.

Patent Office has fielded patent proposals for new innovations including—but not limited to—a tampon with a saturation indicator , a reusable tampon applicator , a beveled tampon shaped sort of like a spool of thread to help stop leaks, and, yes, a vibrating tampon.

And if activists and legislators have a say, the tampon of tomorrow could have a less murky relationship with human consumers.



0コメント

  • 1000 / 1000