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Tampons and Toxic Shock Syndrome

FDA regulates the safety and effectiveness of tampons. Before tampons can be sold in the United States, FDA reviews and clears the product's design and materials. The only materials used in tampons sold in the United States are cotton, rayon, or blends of the two.

Other federal agencies--including the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)--also have information on this subject. For more information on the regulation of tampons, their relation to toxic shock syndrome, and menstruation, go to the links below.

Information on the FDA Website

Regulations

• Labeling Requirements for Specific Devices
• Final Rule: Labeling for Menstrual Tampon for the "Ultra" Absorbency (Oct. 18, 2000, Federal Register)
• Proposal: Labeling for Menstrual Tampons; Ranges of Absorbency, Change from "Junior" to Light" (Oct. 18, 2000 Federal Register) [PDF version]
• Proposal: Name for highly absorbent tampon (Jan. 21, 1999, Federal Register)

Consumer Information

• Tampons and Asbestos, Dioxin, and Toxic Shock Syndrome
• Tampon Safety: TSS Now Rare, but Women Still Should Take Care (March-April 2000, FDA Consumer article)
• On the Teen Scene: TSS: Reducing the Risk (January 1999, FDA Consumer reprint)
• Center for Devices and Radiological Health Referral List (Provides the name of a person to contact about TSS)

Information from CDC and NIH

• Notifiable Diseases/Deaths in Selected Cities Weekly Information (1998)
• Emerging Infectious Diseases Research: NIAID Meets the Challenge (September 1997)
• Epidemiologic Notes and Reports: Toxic Shock Sydrome--United States (June 6, 1997)
• Toxic Shock Syndrome in the United States: Surveillance Update, 1979 -1996

• Staph Bacteria are Prolific Gene Swappers, Researchers Show (July 9, 2001)
• Group A. Streptococcus (Nov. 20, 1996)
• Trends in Bacteremic Infection Due to Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus), 1986-1995 (January-February 1996)

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