After some googling and consulting with women whod done it, I decided to give it a try.
It was a revelationsuddenly oral sex and clean linens were possibilities during my period.
(Dippy women will surely screw up their vaginas AND possibly die,a commenter concurred.
Thats when I realized: I didnt know shit about TSS.
I knew TSS was rare, but I didnt really understand what caused it.
But now I wasnt so sure.
I decided to investigatefor real this time.
Three years later, scientists discovered that the disease is brought on by a toxin called TSST-1.
Several studies in the following years made connections between tampon use and TSS.
The CDC concluded from a survey of select patients that Rely was the most commonly used tampon.
Nowadays, the rate of TSS is about 1 in 100,000.
Ask a modern woman what causes this bogeyman of a disease, and youll hear all kinds of things.
But most of their theories of what causes TSS were a version of: tampon left in too long.
Well, not exactly.
What Causes TSS?
At least 80 percent of the female population is immune to TSS by adolescence.
aureuspresent in their vaginas.
Then there has to be enoughS.
aureusfor the TSST-1 toxin to developbloods high pH exponentially multipliesS.
aureuscount, which is likely why TSS is associated with menstruation.
In only two-thirds ofthosecases, where theres a sufficient amount ofS.
Was it the chemical composition of the tampon?
Was it because Relys outer coating, known as Pluronic L92, increased toxin production?
Team Polyester vs.
It provides the ideal chemical condition maximal for the production of toxins.
After this phone call, my heart sank.
Suddenly, makeup sponges were seeming like the worst possible thing to put in my vagina.
Had I essentially had the second coming of the Rely tampon wedged up inside my body?
(Tierno believes they didnt adequately attempt to reproduce the studies.)
Actually, the first scientist I called, Dr. Patrick Schlievert, wasnt quite so diplomatic.
Hes chasing rainbows, he said of Tierno.
Hes wrong the vast majority of the time he publishes a study on TSS.
Hes wrong the vast majority of the time he publishes a study on TSS.
Hes an expert inS.
Not many people know .
aureusthan Pat Schlievert, said one scientist I spoke to.
But Schlievert says a woman on her period withS.
Menstrual blood can multiplyStaph.
aureusorganisms from 1,000 to 10 billion, he said.
That something, Schlievert said, is air.
He concedes that oxygen is a factor in determining whetherS.
aureuswill produce TSST-1 toxins, but not necessarily the main factor.
He maintains that the key factor would still be synthetic materials.
There is no justification for polyester under any condition, Tierno said.
The Cutthroat Politics of TSS Scholarship
Now I wasreallyconfused.
Schlievert called Tierno a broken record whos not keeping up with current, generally accepted knowledge and publications.
Schlievert has befuddled many cases with nonsense.
The politics of the TSS scholar community were proving to be far more cutthroat than Id anticipated.
He has befuddled many cases with nonsense.
I needed more scientists to weigh in on whether polyester foam was a major risk factor in TSS.
(Dr. James Todd, the Denver doctor who first identified the disease, declined an interview.)
But he still told me to trust Schlievert.
His work has been replicated by others and is really cutting edge, Osterholm said.
aureuswould produce the TSST-1 toxin.
These scientists testify in favor of tampon manufacturers, he said.
Whereas I testify on the side of the truth.
aureusin the vagina, oxygen could have some very, very dangerous effects.
What About Makeup Sponges?
So if oxygen is a key factor in getting TSS, where do makeup sponges fit in?
Gunter acknowledged oxygens role in her blog post, and performed an informal experiment.
I did the same experiment with a super plus tampon and I saw no bubbles.
When I followed up with Gunter after that, she expressed further disapproval and hung up on me.)
It was here that I encountered perhaps the biggest revelation in all my research.
Fischetti and Tierno said ones risk of TSS goes down if tampons are changed within eight hours.
Changing tampons frequently could even increase the chances of developing TSS.
Tierno countered by saying I could possibly fall asleep with [the makeup sponge in] given the scenario.
Your deed is done.
Theres a certain art to making love, so that art sometimes has to be expressed.
As such, you may not immediately remove it.
aureusin the vagina to cause TSS.
Schlievert said that of the more than 8,000S.
Or was Tierno throwing subtle shade at Schlievert, who is a professor at the University of Iowa?
We cant be sure.)
And hes stated in the past thatthese results could possibly be used against TSS patientssuing tampon companies.
So would any of these doctors straight-uprecommendthat one of their patients use a makeup sponge for period sex?
This is where they hedged.
In other words: Could I get an expert toendorsethis hack for mess-free period sex?
Menstrual bloods pH causesS.
Studies have shown that teens and women in their twenties more commonly develop TSS.
(Schlievert, for the record, disagrees.)
One leading expert I spoke to thinks its a major factor in causing TSS.
Once oxygen is introduced in the vagina, it takes several hours for the toxin to develop.
My risk for TSS seems to be low.
Ive continued to use this period-sex hack since I started researching this article in the summer of 2017.
But Ive definitely applied what Ive learned to reduce my risk.
Ive been taking out the sponge within an hour of insertionto prevent toxins from having any chance of developing.
Menstrual discs arent the same as menstrual cups, exactly, but they trap blood in a similar way.
And, above all, funnel more money and effort into demystifying womens sexual health.
That means educating them about diseases, sure, but it also means taking their sex-related concerns seriously.
Bleeding for a week every month is strange, inconvenient and sometimes painful.
