Woman 'traumatized' after finding sharp hook inside tampon: 'I was utterly shocked'

A woman says she will no longer use tampons after finding a sharp hook inside of one. (Photo: WVEC)
A woman says she will no longer use tampons after finding a sharp hook inside of one. (Photo: WVEC)

When Harmony Grant noticed something odd on the outside of a tampon, she imagined that she’d open it up to find out that it was nothing of concern. But when she pulled the tampon out of its applicator and discovered a metal hook stuck inside the cotton, the 22-year-old was “utterly shocked.”

“I couldn’t even tell what it was until I picked at it, and opened up a hook,” Grant told Hampton, Va., news station WVEC. “I was utterly shocked that there was a hook sticking out of a tampon.”

Grant told the Virginia outlet that she found the curved piece of metal in a box of Playtex Simply Gentle Glide tampons. Grant immediately went to share her discovery on her Facebook page to warn her friends about the potential danger. Then, she contacted Edgewell Personal Care, the company responsible for making the product.

Grant took to her Facebook page to warn others about the potential danger. (Photo: WVEC)
Grant took to her Facebook page to warn others about the potential danger. (Photo: WVEC)

In an email obtained by WVEC, the company apologized to Grant for her “recent experience” and asked that she ship the box of tampons back, offering to reimburse her the $7 cost. According to the local outlet, Grant wasn’t satisfied by the company’s response.

“It was like, completely unacceptable,” she said. “I kind of felt like they brushed it off like it wasn’t a big deal. I could have seriously been injured.”

Edgewell Personal Care provided the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle:

While we wait for the customer to return the product so we can accurately evaluate the specific report incident, we are also conducting a thorough internal Quality Assurance review to ensure this is an isolated report. To date, there have been no other similar reports and Playtex tampons remain safe when used as directed.

“The health and safety of the women who use our products is a top priority for Edgewell Personal Care. We have stringent quality assurance measures in place to ensure we can deliver safe and high-quality products to our customers.”

Regardless of the company’s priority of safety, Grant told WVEC that she feels “traumatized” and will no longer be using tampons.

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