University Daily Kansan, October 10, 1980
Industry cover-up of tampons' hazardous effects charged
By REBECCA CHANEY Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
Toxic shock syndrome is "just another aspect of the way our culture is dealing with violence against women," according to a report that she says has researched the disease.
"They're trying to kill us with tampons. They're still saying, 'It's a rare disease, don't worry about it.'" They've said they'd be a group of about 45 women last night.
Harris, whose talk was sponsored by the. Commission on the Status of Women, said she has been researching and-documenting information released on news articles and medical journals on the issue in May. When she first heard of the disease.
TAMPON MANUFACTURERS also have deliberately designed certain brands of tampons with dangerous substances to promote bleeding and infection. They also provide the medical profession in a cover-up concerning toxic shock, she said.
Harris said she thought certain
brands contained asbestos, a known carcinogen. Asbestos was found to cause cancer because it caused bleeding in the lungs when inhaled.
Harris also said she thought certain brands of tampons were "specifically designed to lacerate the vagina, to keep you using more of them." Some brands of tampons are potentially dangerous because of curved prongs on the inserters that open up as the tampon is inserted into the vagina, she said.
TOXIC SHOCK is not a new disease, but an increasing number of cases recently has brought the disease to the public's attention. It is believed to be caused by a staph infection, Harris said.
She said the staph could grow on any slightly salty surface, such as the skin, the mouth or the vagina.
The infection results when the staph inside the body through a lacertase is broken.
Symptoms of the disease include high fever, vomiting, diarrhea and a red rash, which may later lead to gangrene. Left untreated, dysfunction of orans.
such as kidney failure and low blood pressure can lead to shock and death.
Harris said newspapers have failed to mention some of the more violent symptoms, such as gangrene of the muscles, peeling skin and loss of hair.
Rely tampons were voluntarily taken off the market by their manufacturer, Procter & Gamble, after the Food and Drug Administration determined their use may be related to toxic shock.
PROCTER & GAMBLE recently placed advertisements in the Kansas City Times and other newspapers that have had the disease have recovered.
"What they don't tell you," Harris
said, "is that even those women who do live go through a horrible experience."
THE CASTLE
TEA ROOM
Research has indicated that superabsorbent tampons could be blamed for the disease because they are so absorbent that the vagina is drained, and that they split, Harris said. The reason the specific toxin is released is not known.
Asked about the theory that germs are transmitted to the tampon before insertion by fingers and the air, Harris said he used 'rap' and a way of blaming the victim.
HARRIES SAID THAT until five years ago, toxic shock was virtually nonexistent. Early press releases claimed the rapid increase in reported
Harris suggested that women stop using tampons altogether.
cases first began two years ago, when tampon manufacturers began swit- tion all-cotton tampons to superabbreviate cotton-synthetic blends, she said.
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Since May, more than 200 cases have been documented, according to Harris.
"It's happening all around us, yet they're still calling it a rare disease," Harris said.
One woman at the meeting said the Surgeon General issued a warning a
week and a half ago suggesting true women not use tampona at all until more was known about the disease. Women in boxes of tampons within 30 to 60 days
"What it boils down to is how we'll participate in our own destruction," she said. "I don't think we should be paying $3 a month for a box of tampons when we can buy a natural sponge for 50 cents that lasts a year and a half."
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