Talk:Tampon/Archives/2013

Edited For Content | Expert Required

The following was removed from the 'history' section:

" There have been reports of modern menstrual tampons being used for the same purpose by soldiers in the Iraq War. In a 2009 episode of Spike TV's Surviving Disaster about how to survive a terrorist shooting, host Cade Courtley shows how to use a tampon as a field dressing. "

As they neither concern the general history, invention, discovery, or reasonably notable use of tampons in a general or specific capacity, and in the latter case cite a recent entertainment television show episode which apparently involved a tampon in an educational context. This is not relevant to the history of tampons. Also, their use viz. hemostat is already mentioned in the introduction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.97.89.50 (talk) 00:22, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Expansion From Stub

I just finished my expansion of this article from a stub , and I'd like opinions. I'm particularly interested in whether or not I managed to maintain NPOV in the section on alternatives, and how the references section looks. The citation styles had me a bit confused. Thalia/Karen 07:05, Dec 14, 2003 (UTC)

I think you've done a fine job with it. Much better than before. Fuzheado 07:09, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Thanks.  :-)

It's excellent. sanitary napkin is a new term to me. Menstrual cycle links to (non existent page) sanitary towel. If they're the same, then I suspect both terms are in currency somewhere (it's the old US/brit/international english trilemma) and this page should say something like "sanitary napkin (also known as a sanitary towel)". -- Finlay McWalter 01:30, 16 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Right. I'm American. Sanitary napkins are what my mom called them during those conversations. I've also heard them called sanitary pads. Not to mention pantyliners (which are a thinner version of the same thing). All the terms prefaced by "sanitary" seem to be coming out of fashion, at least among feminists. I expect that I'm going to write pages on other menstrual products, if no one else does. I'll keep the different terms in mind, and may solicit additional ones, if it seems necessary. Thalia/Karen 04:04, Dec 16, 2003 (UTC)

Also (I hate to be crude, but) I wonder how long it will be before some wag puts in a link to Prince Charles. -- Finlay McWalter 01:30, 16 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Erk. I hadn't thought of that. If somone must, I think the logical place would be in the article about him, linking to this one. But I hope no one does. It's a pity that story was released; I don't think the world is entitled to know about the intimate lives of public figures.

Oh, yes.. thank you.  :-) Thalia/Karen 04:04, Dec 16, 2003 (UTC)

At least half of wikipedia's contributors are either twelve-year-old boys or escaped mental patients. You'd be amazed at the connections folks can come up with... :) -- Finlay McWalter 04:10, 16 Dec 2003 (UTC)

No, I wouldn't. I remember what boys were like when I was 12. My poor nieces.  :-) Karen 04:18, Dec 16, 2003 (UTC)

Would it be worth it to include mention of the "asbestos in tampons" urban legend (as debunked at Snopes)? Catherine 00:52, 3 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Why not? :) Dysprosia 00:57, 3 Feb 2004 (UTC)

VAT

"In the United Kingdom they are considered luxuries and hence have VAT." In the United Kingdom, almost every product has value-added tax, including most foodstuffs, all clothes for adults etc... Apparently, VAT was introduced as a tax on luxury items, but I don't think it's NPOV to endorse this fiction when daily items such as clothes are considered luxury!

There used to be a similar phenomenon in France. In the early 1980s, cars were still taxed at 33% VAT because when VAT was introduced cars were considered a luxury item. Yet, it would be totally ridiculous to argue that in the 1980s, cars were a luxury in France (almost every household was equipped). It's just that the government went in with that fiction, in order to have a steady cash revenue. David.Monniaux 09:01, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I agree with David here - it is a political fiction that luxury items and only luxury items have VAT in the UK, picking out tampons give a distorted view of the argument - especially as the tax is on all feminine hygiene products (and not boooks for example). -- sannse (talk) 09:18, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

What I don't like about such "tongue in cheek" remarks aimed at criticizing governmental positions is that they may be taken literally. We do not want people who may not know the UK's lifestyle to believe that tampons are a luxury item in the UK, used by a minority of wealthy women. David.Monniaux 10:03, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Urban legends regarding tampons

Here is the FDA website that refutes the rumors surrounding toxic chemicals and danger associated with them in tampons:

 http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/tamponsas.html

And another FDA site that has spokespersons from the Center for Disease Control, Proctor and Gamble, and Johnson and Johnson, in which they pay to get the results they want:

 http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/200_ts.html

Would it be worth rewriting the part of this Wiki article that perpetuates the rumors about toxins in tampons?

The links don't work, here are the right ones:

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/tamponsabs.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/200_tss.html

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tampons.html

13okt2008 from Munich —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.217.55.205 (talk) 11:08, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Derivation?

Isn't a tampon an old word for the wad of cotton pushed down the barrel of a muzzle-loading rifle to compact the charge? Clearly the modern usage derives from this by analogy - but there is currently no mention of the derivation of the word. Seems an odd ommision to me! Graham 03:48, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

The usage you describe would seem to be that of wadding. As for the etymology of tampon, it may derive from something similar, tampion. --Pascal666 13:01, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

niether of these is correct. originally, 'tampon' was an artillery term. it was the wet rag or sponge on a pole that was used to clean any burning embers out of the barrel of a cannon before loading the next charge. obviously, failing to do this could have disastrous consequences. also, in modern usage, it is the cloth pad impregnated with oil and lacquer in the wood finishing technique called 'french polishing', analogous to 'spit shining' shoes.Toyokuni3 (talk) 04:52, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Failed GA

Needs work. Specific points include:

• Needs to cite statistics and specific points. History section is a problem for example.
• Feels too list-y.
• Too much con, not enough pro. Explain the benefits of tampons and why women choose them.
• Image:Tampon inserted.png is rather vague looking.

--SeizureDog 05:17, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

history and development

There appears to be a relationship between the need for improved bandages (from the recent war--WWI), their subsequent invention and the spill-over invention of sanitary pads in the early 1920s

Of course, this period was marked by the dramatic expansion of consumer products of many kinds--and the reduction of much manual labor--the self-starter on automobiles--and the most important--woman's suffrage. Perhaps earlier concerns regarding "safe" management of cycles played a part in circumscribing women's roles.

Some of this might be incorporated.

Homebuilding 03:10, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Nosebleeds?

I'm removing the sentence on nosebleeds because, well, applying a tampon to the nostril the same way you would a vagina is pretty much impossible, as nostrils are rather small and that would probably make things worse. If someone wants to source or rephrase that statement, go ahead and add it back in. IMFromKathlene 21:45, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

The original wording was a bit out there, but tampons are indeed used to stop nosebleeds. As luck would have it, I have one in my nose as I type this. They are not the same as the vaginal tampons more commonly known. Nasal tampons are briefly touched on at nosebleed but should probably have their own section here as well. --Pascal666 12:32, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

serious health concerns? eh?

From the lead paragraph, I'm led to wonder why a perforated hymen is a serious health related issue. And just how often do tampons get "lost in the vaginal cavity"? It's not a great huge cavern, after all. How far can they go? Joyous! | Talk 00:39, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I took out the non serious ones and added a {{fact}} tag for the serious ones. --Guinnog 00:49, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Actually tampons get "lost" quite frequently. Typically this is caused by a woman forgetting she has a tampon in and either having intercourse or inserting a second one. A quick Google search yields much more information. --Pascal666 09:29, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah - well - this is one of the reasons I am now skeptical about submitting to this page since in fact tampons getting lost is a totally serious issue - as in happens to hundreds of women all the time - and they get lost for weeks or even months. And when I tried to make an addition I got told that my attempts at humor weren't appreciated. Being blunt, if you don't know something then why would you remove something added by someone who DOES know something.

I proposed adding a simple link to the excellent (but yes, rather silly) video by DocGurley about lost tampons and how to deal with them and how to tell when the health risk is serious and when it is not. DocGurley is a Harvard Grad and Fellow of ABIM. So, how about a link to this page - where the video is discussed a little more? [1]Owenl1998 (talk) 19:27, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Lacking in NPOV?

The article seems to have some POV issues. Mainly, there's like 2 paragraphs about "this is what a tampon is", followed by about 10 of "tamp0ns r t3h d3v1l". I'm not saying these points don't have merit, but important information is lacking from this article, such as:

• Why do/would women choose tampons over other forms of period stuff
• What % of women wear tampons, compared to other stuff
• Benefits of tampons over other stuff

In short, tampons must be at least somewhat popular, but this fact isn't represented in the article. Just a bunch of "don't use them" text. Someone with more experience on the subject should update it.

On a different note, under health concerns it's implied that tampons made of GM cotton are a health concern, but it doesn't state *why* this is a health concern. —71.35.85.14 12:23, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Photograph

This article requires a photograph. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.81.98.134 (talk • contribs) 02:10, 10 November 2006 (UTC).

Just because you want a way of getting off dosent mean that we will post a photo. 75.110.137.47 (talk) 02:35, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Vandalized

This has been vandalized. Needs to be reported. Don't know how or the actual info to correct it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.104.18.165 (talk • contribs) 06:29, 15 November 2006 (UTC).

Digital Tampons?

I have noticed some questionable text in design section of the artcle: are tampons without applicators really refered to as "digital tampons"? The tesxt explains that "digital" is refering to "fingers", but it all sounds like sneaky vandalism to me.--Kenn Caesius 21:30, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

A quick Google search can confirm this information. The phrase "digital tampon" is even used on the patent applications for same. --Pascal666 06:33, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

The term Digital tampon is used throughout the industry making the product, to distinguish between tampons without applicators and those with. Its nothing to do with flashing lights or cheap electronics —Preceding unsigned comment added by Valueaddedwater (talk • contribs) 13:44, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

What did women do before tampons?

Is there any history on what women did prior to them, hard to believe they have only been around 80 years. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.110.221.182 (talk • contribs) 20:52, 28 February 2007.

I think it has something to do with the vulgar saying "on the rag." Check out Menstruation. Plenty of good photographs. Also see Toilet humour. Filthy women!

That's what confuses me about this article. Tampons have been in use since ancient Egypt. Here's a source, but there are many --- http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltampons.htm. Is there some reason, which I am oblivious to, why this is absent from the article? Obviously they weren't called tampons then, but same basic thing. 24.162.244.138 (talk) 01:08, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

flushing tampons

someone wanna write up something about flushing tampons? Some say they aren't/shouldn't, some say they can/should...but from what I've seen it just depends on your toilet system...I think most tampon packaging mentions "safe for sewer system flushing" or something, and obviously, young girls don't know the difference between septic and sewer. I saw there were some good external links (2 of which, I fixed) but I think it would be alright to include something about flushing within the article. --67.34.188.252 17:10, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Considering the size that even a low absorbancy mini tampon swells up to when dropped in water, I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Also they do not disintergrate like toilet paper does, so they end up being strained out of the effluent at either the sewage works, or ending up in watercourses if the sewer outflow is directed straight into open water.

The cardboard tubes used as applicators do disintergrate, so are flushable Valueaddedwater 21:16, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Asian women and their differing physiology

from the article: Women in East Asia generally use pads. The reasons for this appear to be the result of cultural and physiological differences. What in the world is different about an Asian woman's vagina when compared to someone of European origin? Joyous! | Talk 02:31, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

I feel responsible for this, having changed the word from physiognomy (which I feel sure has nothing to do with it!) I think I was assuming that it simply meant the smaller average build of Asian women. But I can see that this is a vague and unsubstantiated comment. Feel free to take it out.

Rachel Pearce 13:11, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Tampons in popular culture

Where's the tampons in popular culture section? Has someone deleted it or something? I can't find it anywhere. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Erutluc (talk • contribs) 13:49, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Tampon Invention

Matthew Martin from Olney Maryland invented the tampon. Dr. Earle Haas tried to buy the product from Dr. Martin in 1930 and was denied. Please refrain from putting inaccurate information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.127.67.58 (talk) 05:50, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

Please provide a source for your information.--Pascal666 (talk) 20:12, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Old tags blocking the flow of this article

It's coming up on a year for some of those NPOV tags, and it looks like a lot of work has been done since then. If no one objects in the next few days, I'm going to remove the May 2008 tags. Eleven even (talk) 09:10, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Indeed. We mustn't block the flow of the tampon article. UrsusMaximus (talk) 21:37, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

[nkaknnjbkiahiknlnhV NM Mbu] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.153.211.180 (talk) 19:10, 17 October 2009 (UTC)