Tampon or menstrual cup - which is safer? There is no clear answer to this question: Both products are mostly pleasantly free of pollutants. There are at most defects in the details.
Frankfurt / Main (dpa / tmn) - Tampons rarely show harmful substances or other defects. The same applies to menstrual cups - the reusable alternative to tampons and sanitary napkins. The magazine "Öko-Test" (issue 4/2020) found this out when examining 23 tampons and 20 menstrual cups.
The products have weaknesses in the details in particular: for example, the return thread tore too quickly with one tampon, another was a little too soft. And some menstrual cups lack important information on the packaging, for example about the risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS). This is less common with a menstrual cup than with tampons, but it can still happen. A warning is therefore mandatory, according to the testers.
There were hardly any pollutants: A menstrual cup therefore only achieved an "overall" rating, three more cups are no better than "satisfactory". All other test candidates are either "good" or - in most cases - even "very good".
Buyers can therefore confidently orientate themselves on the price: very well-rated tampons are already available in discounters or drugstores at a converted unit price of 3 cents. Menstrual cups with the top grade are already available for just under 10 euros - and thus the clearly cheaper alternative: If you properly care for and clean the cups, you can use them after a few years.