Yes, There’s a Tampon Shortage: Here’s Why—Plus, 4 Tampon Alternatives to Consider
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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a slew of product shortages. Toilet paper, paper towels, disinfectant wipes, baby formula, and more have caused have caused frustration and even fear in American consumers. Well, now there’s a new one to add to the list: tampons.
There’s currently a tampon shortage happening, with people on social media noting that they’re having trouble finding their go-to brands. While some retailers, like Target and Walmart, have tampons in stock online, there’s definitely price-gouging happening at Amazon, where a 96-count box of Tampax can set you back $39.
It’s hard to say exactly what’s going on here, but Time cites the typical supply chain issues. Procter & Gamble, which makes Tampax (the country’s most popular tampon brand), said in its most recent earnings call that it’s having difficulty sourcing raw materials for feminine care products like tampons and is also struggling to ship tampons to places that need them.
“This is a temporary situation, and the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products,” a Procter & Gamble publicist tells Prevention. “We are working with our retail partners to maximize availability, which has significantly increased over the last several months.”
Even comedian Amy Schumer has been blamed for the shortage (she appeared in a popular Tampax commercial in 2020 and reportedly sales for the brand went up afterward). Schumer, who had a hysterectomy in 2021, commented last week on Instagram on being blamed for the shortage, writing, “Whoa I don’t even have a uterus.”
The tampon shortage isn’t actually a new thing—it’s reportedly been going on to some degree for months. “This has been an issue for a good part of the year,” says Jessica Shepherd, M.D., an ob/gyn in Texas, founder of Sanctum Med Wellness. “However, it just recently became more noticeable.”
Women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D., points out that this isn’t just a tampon thing, though. “There is a global supply chain issue affecting so many different products including baby formula, parts of automobiles, and even toilet paper,” she says. “Raw materials like cotton and plastic are in high demand—and this is why tampons are in a shortage.”
If you can’t find your go-to brand, don’t panic: There are alternatives. “The good news is that there are more options in 2022 than ever before from menstrual cups, to period underwear to pads,” Dr. Wider says.
Here’s what you need to know about each, plus when to use them.
Tampon alternatives:
1: Pads and panty liners
Pads and pantyliners are common alternatives to tampons and can also be used alone or with tampons to help catch leaks, points out Lauren Streicher, M.D., a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “Pads are the obvious choice, but they’re not workable for people who are swimming, athletic, or wearing certain kinds of clothes,” she says. They can also exacerbate symptoms in people who struggle with vulvar irritation, she notes.
Still, “pads are great for flexibility and accessibility,” Dr. Shepherd says. And, she adds, “they also have options for flow.”
2: Menstrual cups and discs
In case you’re not familiar with them, menstrual cups and discs are reusable devices made of medical-grade silicone or latex that are inserted into the vagina, where they collect period blood. Their popularity has increased over time.
“Many women are embracing the menstrual cup,” Dr. Wider says. “It’s also cost effective and can be reused. Once you learn to use it, many women never go back to tampons.”
But Dr. Streicher notes that there is “a learning curve” with using these. “It’s not like you can get one of these, pop it in, and you’re off wearing your white pants,” she says. Once you get the hang of it, though, Dr. Streicher says a menstrual cup or disc is a good tampon alternative for heavier flow days and when you want to go swimming.
3: Period panties
Period panties are typically reusable underwear that’s designed to soak up period blood. “Period panties great as an addition to a pad or tampon on heavy flow days and can be used alone on lighter days,” Dr. Shepherd says. “They’re reusable and great to carry for convenience.”
Worth noting: Like pads, you can’t use period panties when you go swimming.
4: Stopping your period if you’re on birth control
If you’re on hormonal birth control like the Pill or a vaginal ring, Dr. Streicher points out that you don’t need to have a period. The Pill and vaginal rings are designed to have a placebo period when you’d typically get your period, but Dr. Streicher suggests just skipping over that part. “Get rid of your period,” she says. “It’s perfectly safe to use these methods continuously. Certainly, a tampon shortage is a good reason to do it, but you can do it any time.”
Dr. Shepherd says there’s “no medical problem” with skipping the placebo portion of these birth control methods. “Then, voila! There’s no need to use tampons because you don’t have a period,” she says.
Dr. Greves said this is “safe and OK.” However, she points out that it’s good to tell your doctor that you’re doing this so that you can get another refill sooner. (If you’re on the pill, you’d be working off of a 21-day pack of pills if you skipped the placebo, vs. a 28-day pack, for example.)
Don’t create your own tampons, or try to stretch the life of a tampon
While there are tampon options out there, experts caution against trying to create your own tampon with cotton pads or rolls. “There could be a concern with some retained products in there,” says Christine Greves, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. Meaning, some of the cotton could get left inside you where there’s a risk it could lead to an infection.
You also don’t want to try to stretch out the life of your tampons to an extreme degree. “You can avoid changing your tampon every time you use the bathroom if you don’t definitely need a new one, but don’t leave a tampon in for 48 hours,” Dr. Streicher says.
Finally: If you can find tampons but they’re not your preferred brand, Dr. Streicher says you should be just fine to use what you can get your hands on. “A lot of people like their particular brand. But your vagina doesn’t care what brand of tampon you use.”
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