Why do otherwise smart women ignore the negative effects of TSS and keep using tampons?

Question

In 2005, according to the CDC, TSS caused:
- 24,564 low level TSS (L-TSS) resulting in scaring of tissue.
- 12,056 cases of fertility impact / reproductive harm in women
- 1,564 deaths, with 603 of them even when tampons were used correctly.

So are women trying to be like men by using a product that completely hides their period instead of a much safer pad?
Why do smart women makes such a foolish, careless, risky decision?

You can't rely on the manufacturers to warn you - they make $$ selling them to you. This stuff is happening even with *correct* usage.

Answer 1

i know,but tampons are cleaner they dont smell bad like pads.i see your point though but not everyone thinks the same i use both

Answer 2

You have so much information to argue tampon use, but you offer no solutions except a nasty, blood soaked pad. How about the Diva cup. Its a collection device that you insert inside you and can leave in for nearly the whole day! You dump it out, clean it off and pop it back in. I dont use it because its creepy-i tried. I like tampons for now.

This information isn't readily available to everyone, everywhere. The last time I heard about TSS was during the Rely tampon scare in the 80's.

I dont believe that women are trying to be like men by 'hiding' their period. Its just so much more convient and if used properly, changing every few hours, is so much cleaner and nicer feeling than a nasty, gooky, warm pad.

Answer 3

In the United States, annual incidence is 1-2/100,000 women 15-44 years of age.

Risk Groups: Menstruating women, women using barrier contraceptive devices, persons who have undergone nasal surgery, and persons with postoperative staphylococcal wound infections. <- all straight from the CDC website.

You are being an alarmist. TSS is very rare and only half of all TSS cases are linked to tampon use.

Answer 4

As one of the other girls mentioned, the percentage of total women using tampons who get TSS must be tiny. Yeah, 1.5 thousand deaths is a scary number, but how many is that out of? Also tampons are easier to carry around with you and more discrete, and they are much more comfortable to wear. (I'm a little sceptical about the Diva Cup but I've read about it and agree it's an interesting solution.)

Answer 5

I think it's like many things in life where we balance convenience and/or comfort versus risk. If I drive to the shops there's a small chance I will have a road accident but the convenience makes it worth it.
There are so many activities in life that have a slight risk attached to them and if we started worrying about them all we would live miserable lives and probably die early through stress related ilness. Tampons are just so much more convenient and easy to use compared to pads that I can live with the risk.

Answer 6

I use tampons...cause it's cleaner,easier and less visible... During my period I want to see as little blood as possible month in and month out...and I consider my self-smart...thank you very much...

I would like you to elaborate more on how you arrived at the conclusion that women are trying to be like men by wearing tampons...

I could see why you believe that tampons are risky. No one knows what causes TSS. But the truth of the matter is that women want options (choices) when it comes to managing their period. ( Look at the overwhelming amount of choices women have today in Birth Control...no one knows the long term generational affects of hormonal pills, patches and injections...yet women choose these options everyday!And I understand that products are guerilla marketed to women in the spirit of independent woman but it's a part of women's rights, growth, and progression...but I digress....)

And women will never stop using tampons because the aforementioned statistics are not enough to prove that tampons are killer deadly. 1,564 deaths compared to the gazillions of women living in the United States... is considered low risk.

What I can't get over is how women can actually "forget" to take out a tampon that they've inserted into their bodies...now that's just c'mon...carelessness! Did you see Oprah today? A gynocologist actually atested to the fact that at least once a month a women comes into her office with a tampon lodge between her vagina and her cervix....

Overall...women you must be in tune (loving and nurturing) with your bodies...TSS...UTI...STD's...FIBROIDS...Ovarian Cancer...Uterine Cancer....make yourself a priority!

Answer 7

The fact that you're leaving out is, how many women used tampons that year total? What is the precentage of women who died while using them correctly? I have a feeling it is very low. Many, many more "otherwise smart women" probably died in car accidents in 2005. Why does someone make any choice? Because it is what they feel is best for them. I feel tampons give me more fashion freedom, so I choose to use them.

Answer 8

its ultimately the woman's choice whether or not they decide to use it. the only thing women can do is follow instructions for using tampons. for tampax pearls they have a warning label on it saying the symptoms of TSS and precautions to avoid it. for me i'd rather use a tampon then have to worry about whether or not i leaked using a pad. or for some reason you can smell it. to me its just more hygenic. and who knows what kind of bacteria is in a pad once its used and you haven't changed it yet...yikes.

Answer 9

I agree I've always worn pads and will continue to wear them, a pad is so much ,more natural to wear. I mean I was always told that a penis is the only thing that enters your vagina.

Answer 10

beacuse the risk is rather low and most women cannot stand the whole diaper feel with the blood everywhere and would rather go swimming