See the roughly contemporary Cashay and Dale tampons, and very early Tampax
and fax.
See a longer version of the report published
in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 1945.
 
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Tampons as "menstrual guards" ("The Dickinson Report,"
1945), U.S.A.
The report of Dr. Robert L. Dickinson, entitled "Tampons as menstrual
guards," in the 16 June 1945 issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association, was important for its promotion of tampon use and the tampon industry, and the
discouragement of the use of pads by women. Using tampons meant inserting
something into the vagina, territory mothers told their daughters to stay
away from for sexual reasons. (Interestingly, one reason Dickinson gives
for avoiding pads is the sexual stimulation of the woman by the friction
of the pad against the vulva.) Many women, even today, believed that tampons
could block the menstrual flow rather than absorb it. And there are other
reasons discussed by the doctor.
This is a version of the journal article prepared and published by Consumer
Reports, in the September 1945 issue. It is less technical than the JAMA
original, although approved by Dickinson, and contains valuable information
about American practice and beliefs from over 50 years ago.
Read the full version of this report.
Tambrands, the former maker of the Tampax tampon, kindly donated
this report to MUM.
The report is copyright 1945 Consumers Union
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See the roughly contemporary Cashay and Dale tampons, and very early Tampax
and fax.
copyright 1998 Harry Finley
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