Does the Use of Tampon cause Endometriosis or Infertility?<\/p>\n
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It has been estimated that about 34 million people of reproductive age in the U.S. used\u00a0tampons in 2020. About one in six\u00a0people have trouble conceiving.<\/p>\n
Could tampon use be causing\u00a0fertility problems? Keep Reading.<\/p>\n
A tampon is one of several products that people who menstruate can use to prevent\u00a0leakage of menstrual blood out of the vagina.<\/p>\n
Because a tampon is inserted into the vagina,\u00a0it has raised concerns that it could, in some way,\u00a0interfere with fertility.<\/p>\n
Are these valid\u00a0concerns? Let\u2019s look at a couple of these issues.<\/p>\n
Endometriosis<\/strong> – Endometriosis is a\u00a0condition in which the tissue which normally\u00a0grows inside of the uterine cavity instead\u00a0grows outside of the uterus. Most commonly,\u00a0endometriosis is found in the pelvis around\u00a0the uterus.<\/p>\n Endometriosis is a problem that\u00a0can have no symptoms or it can cause pelvic\u00a0pain or pain with periods. Endometriosis can\u00a0also lead to problems with fertility. There are\u00a0several theories about what causes endometriosis.<\/p>\n One of those theories is that during menstruation,\u00a0some of the tissue from the uterine lining flows\u00a0backward through the fallopian tubes and settles in the pelvis.<\/p>\n There is some scientific evidence\u00a0that this may be one of several reasons\u00a0why people can develop endometriosis.<\/p>\n For example, people that are born with blockages in their vagina or cervix\u00a0seem to have endometriosis more commonly.\u00a0 This study found endometriosis in over\u00a0half the people with a blockage in their\u00a0cervix.<\/p>\n Normally, endometriosis is found\u00a0in about 10% of people of reproductive age so this is five times more common than expected.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What has this got to do with tampons? <\/strong><\/p>\n There has been a theory that using a tampon would cause a\u00a0blockage which could lead to backflow of menstrual\u00a0blood and ultimately cause endometriosis and\u00a0infertility. However, this is not true.<\/p>\n First,\u00a0tampons don\u2019t actually cause a blockage. They\u00a0simply sit in the vagina and absorb the blood and fluids that leak into the vagina, like a sponge.<\/p>\n Second, this study, from 2002, surveyed over 2000 people with endometriosis and found that they were\u00a0actually two and a half times LESS likely to use tampons than people without endometriosis.<\/p>\n Another possible concern is chemical exposures. There is a rich network of blood vessels surrounding the vagina. This\u00a0allows compounds from the vagina to be absorbed\u00a0into the bloodstream.<\/p>\n As fertility\u00a0specialists at Virtual Doctors, we use this all of the time.\u00a0We have people put medications into the vagina\u00a0such as estrogen and progesterone because it is\u00a0often absorbed better than when\u00a0taking those medications orally.<\/p>\n One group of chemicals that has generated\u00a0some concern is called endocrine disruptors\u00a0which include chemicals such as phthalates and\u00a0parabens. I talked about these extensively in\u00a0this article about whether makeup as a source of these chemicals causes infertility.<\/p>\n I encourage\u00a0you to read the next article after this one.<\/p>\n Some\u00a0studies appear to show a reduction in fertility or\u00a0an increase is miscarriage risk in people with\u00a0high levels of these chemicals in their blood,\u00a0but not all studies showed an effect. In general,\u00a0the majority of the studies were of poor quality.<\/p>\n This study analyzed the levels of these endocrine disruptors in several feminine hygiene products\u00a0and found high levels. That is concerning but this study was analyzing the products\u00a0themselves. It did not actually measure levels in the people who used them.<\/p>\n All\u00a0we can say at this point is that absorption\u00a0of these chemicals is a theoretical concern.<\/p>\n Furthermore, tampons actually had lower levels\u00a0of phthalates and parabens compared to panty\u00a0liners but higher than with menstrual pads. Our conclusions from the article on makeup were this:<\/p>\n The science at this point does\u00a0not clearly show a danger but\u00a0if avoiding these exposures is easy and\u00a0inexpensive, then until we have better data,\u00a0it is reasonable to try to limit your exposure.<\/p>\n We can say the same is true for tampon use.<\/p>\n What about other toxins? Glad you asked.\u00a0 The bulk of every tampon is made of cotton.<\/p>\n Cotton is a plant that grows in the ground.\u00a0 Plants can contain pollutants from the air, water or the soil they grow in. One such\u00a0group of pollutants is called dioxins.<\/p>\n Dioxins can cause various health problems including reproductive health problems.<\/p>\n Can dioxin absorption from tampons be a problem?\u00a0 It doesn’t appear so. This study analyzed dioxin\u00a0exposure from tampons and found extremely\u00a0tiny amounts.<\/p>\n In fact, the levels that you\u00a0get from your diet are 400,00 higher than\u00a0 what would be expected from tampon use.<\/p>\n Many of the fertility concerns regarding tampons are not backed up by any science. Some concerns, such as exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals\u00a0have been studied but the conclusions are uncertain.<\/p>\n With makeup, there are easy\u00a0alternatives such as not using makeup or using a\u00a0product that does not have phthalates or parabens.<\/p>\n This may be more difficult to avoid with hygienic\u00a0products. We don\u2019t know if other alternatives are\u00a0\u00a0 better. In some cases, tampons may actually be better than other alternatives. We urge you to\u00a0\u00a0write to your congressperson and tell them\u00a0 to fund more studies on reproductive health.<\/p>\n