The US Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will examine the potential harm to women of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic found in tampons. <\/p>\n
The FDA\u2019s action follows the July publication of a small pilot study that found arsenic and lead in organic and nonorganic tampons. Although the levels of both metals were low, there is no safe level of exposure to lead, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. <\/p>\n
Related article<\/span> Marijuana users have more heavy metals in their bodies<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The July study discovered only the presence of the metals and \u201cdid not test whether metals are released from tampons when used,\u201d the FDA said in a statement Tuesday. \u201cIt also did not test for metals being released, absorbed into the vaginal lining, and getting into the bloodstream during tampon use. The FDA has therefore commissioned an independent literature review and initiated an internal bench laboratory study to evaluate metals in tampons.\u201d <\/p>\n The FDA lab study will mimic normal use of tampons to see just how much \u2014 if any \u2014 metals may be released into the human body during their use. The literature review will examine all research in the area to shed light on the potential health impact of such exposure, the agency said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe want the public to know that before tampons can be legally sold in the U.S., they must meet FDA requirements for safety and effectiveness,\u201d the statement says. \u201cManufacturers must test the product and its component materials before, during, and after manufacturing. <\/p>\n \u201cBefore a product is allowed onto the market, biocompatibility testing is undertaken by the manufacturing company, which is part of safety testing, and is reviewed by the FDA prior to market authorization.\u201d <\/p>\n The Consumer Healthcare Product Association, a trade group, also noted in a statement that its products \u201care rigorously tested\u201d to meet \u201cstrict regulatory standards.\u201d The group said it \u201cis supportive of continued research to help ensure the safe use of these products.\u201d <\/p>\n The Center for Baby and Adult Hygiene Products, a trade association also known as BAHP, said it supports the FDA\u2019s further research on the safety of tampons in real world use and the agency\u2019s ongoing commitment to public health. <\/p>\n The July study tested 30 tampons from 14 brands purchased from major online retailers and stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece. The researchers conducted a blinded study, so they did not know the brands. <\/p>\n Researchers ran tests for 16 heavy metals: arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc, according to senior study author Kathrin Schilling, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University\u2019s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. <\/p>\n Related article<\/span> Organic and regular dark chocolate contaminated by lead and cadmium, study finds<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Organic tampons contained higher levels of arsenic, while nonorganic tampons had higher levels of lead, the study found. <\/p>\n \u201cThe average lead concentration in tampons was about 10 times higher than the maximum levels currently allowed in drinking water,\u201d Schilling said, adding that arsenic levels were five times lower than current limits for drinking water. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that arsenic shouldn\u2019t be present in tampons at all, and we don\u2019t yet understand the effects of vaginal exposure since it hasn\u2019t been studied,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no safe level of lead exposure, and it has been shown to cause reproductive health issues in women.\u201d <\/p>\n However, the mere presence of a chemical is not an indication of risk or adverse effect, according to the American Chemistry Council, an industry association. <\/p>\n \u201cI am most concerned with menstrual products that are used inside the body,\u201d said Pollack, who coauthored a review of 10 years of studies on contaminants in tampons, sanitary pads, menstrual cups and other products. <\/p>\n Related article<\/span> New bill aims to limit harmful heavy metals found in baby food<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHowever, there is no reason for people to be afraid to use menstrual products at this time,\u201d Pollack added. \u201cI would just be aware of the issue and monitor any research that develops.\u201d <\/p>\n Tampon makers and the FDA recommend that tampons not be used at night or for longer than eight hours due to a greater risk of toxic shock syndrome, a deadly bacterial infection that can cause organ failure and death if not treated. <\/p>\n That advice also applies to anyone concerned about heavy metals or chemicals in their menstrual products, experts say. <\/p>\n Other recommendations include washing your hands before and after inserting or removing a tampon to reduce bacterial spread, changing tampons every four to eight hours and using the lowest absorbency possible. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you can wear one tampon up to eight hours without changing it, the absorbency may be too high,\u201d the FDA noted on its website. <\/p>\n Signs of toxic shock, which include a sudden high fever, diarrhea, dizziness, vomiting or a rash that looks like a sunburn, need immediate medical attention. <\/p>\n In addition, \u201cif you have discomfort, pain or other unexpected symptoms like unusual discharge when trying to insert or wear a tampon, or if you have an allergic reaction, stop using tampons and contact your provider,\u201d the FDA said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The US Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will examine the potential harm to women of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic found in tampons. The FDA\u2019s action follows the July publication of a small pilot study that found arsenic and lead in organic and nonorganic tampons. Although the levels of both metals …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"loftocean_post_primary_category":0,"loftocean_post_format_gallery":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_ids":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_urls":"","loftocean_post_format_video_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_video_url":"","loftocean_post_format_video_type":"","loftocean_post_format_video":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_type":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_url":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_audio":"","loftocean-featured-post":"","loftocean-like-count":0,"loftocean-view-count":696,"tinysalt_single_post_intro_label":"","tinysalt_single_post_intro_description":"","tinysalt_hide_post_featured_image":"","tinysalt_post_featured_media_position":"","tinysalt_single_site_header_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header":"0","tinysalt_single_custom_sticky_site_header_style":"sticky-scroll-up","tinysalt_single_site_footer_source":"","tinysalt_single_custom_site_footer":"0","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Heavy metals in tampons<\/h3>\n
Why tampons would be more of a concern<\/h3>\n