Arsenic and lead in tampons!? Should you panic? Gynecologist Explains! #shorts

[KarenTangMD]

TLDR: tampons have less lead than water, and they had to melt the 💩 out of them to even get tiny bits of metal out! Don't get scared by click-bait headlines! 😱😵‍💫😣

* The metals evaluated in this study (including arsenic!) are naturally occurring elements. They're in the soil and water, and get absorbed into plants - including fruits, vegetables, and yes, the cotton and other plant materials that are used for tampons.

* My fellow science educators @dr.andrealove @drjenniferlincoln @drjengunter @unbiasedscipod have all pointed out that when you compare the AMOUNT of these elements that were extracted from the tampon material, it was actually *FAR LESS* than the amounts in food, drinking water, even things like marijuana!

* "The dose (and I'd add the mode of delivery) makes the poison* - EVERYTHING has a safe and a toxic level, including water. If you drink too much water it can cause hyponatremia and kill you, or if you get it into your lungs it can drown you. That doesn't mean that water is toxic or deadly under all circumstances. It's the same for all of these metals - there are safe and unsafe levels. For lead we do not have known "safe" amounts, especially for children, but we're exposed to some miniscule amount of lead all the time in the things we eat, drink, etc, and most people don't suffer health problems from it.

* THIS STUDY DIDN'T ACTUALLY SHOW THAT THE METALS GET ABSORBED INTO THE VAG!NA/BODY! They basically burned the 💩 out of the tampon samples with acid (at an acidity thousands of times that of the normal vag) and heated it to 180C / 350F to even get these tiny amounts of metal out. 😳 As Andrea said, this would be like **melting down a fork** 🍴 and getting metals out, and concluding that eating with forks causes that same amount of metal to get absorbed into your body through your mouth/gut.

I'm not sure why they didn't just do a study mimicking the physiologic conditions of the vag, same pH / temperature, and see how much of these elements came out of the material into adjacent solution. But I'm guessing that they probably wouldn't have found much, which doesn't lead to scary, click-bait worthy news headlines...

[Kdkdleeme]

I love when educated individuals try to explain the scientific facts rather than fear mongering.
Usually if it comes from a media report, I take it with a grain of salt.

[hippie]

I've used a menstrual cup for years. Leaving this here in case some didn't know it was an option!

[rachelbroughton]

Thank you for this! It’s so irresponsible of the media and social media to create mass panic about this!

[KT-zdvl]

Thank you Dr. Tang. It’s a scary time to be a woman right now 😢

[chalieamullee]

Love using my menstrual cup, it’s not only very hygienic and easy to use, I also never have to worry about what it contains because it is 100% silicone.

[miriam]

Thank you for this. I totally fell for the fear mongering this time. 👏

[lavalampjuice]

Thank you for your lovely video! You're very smart and explain it very well

[MadBunniFun]

I honestly pay no mind to those clickbait titles. I will continue to use what I need to to stay sanitary and comfortable. Thanks for making the informative video 😁

[JennyShull]

To me any amount of lead and arsenic is too much lead and arsenic.

[ChibiChidorii]

I knew it sounded way too fearmongering. Also most people are taking a lawsuit as a scientific fact. I think it is way too convenient they started fearmongering when there's a lawsuit involved