See a very early Tampax ad, 1936, U.S.A.
More Tampax items: First tampon with applicator (1931-33?) box, tampon, instructions - 1936: box, tampon, patent (with a short account of the invention of Tampax by Dr. Earle Haas, and of the first Tampax president, German immigrant Gertrude Tenderich), ad, instructions, dealer's instructions, dealers' advisory
See also Australian douche ad (ca. 1900) - Fresca douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan (1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad, 1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol ad, 1938 - Midol booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone menstrual pain pills ad, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Vionell genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs (Germany) - Zonite douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
The Perils of Vaginal Douching (essay by Luci Capo Rome) - the odor page
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepageMUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

How has the meaning of tampon changed?

I'll add changing definitions of "tampon" to this page. Women probably have always used absorbent material inside their vaginas to collect menstrual discharge but intially I'll focus on the specific word "tampon."

From a British nurses' dictionary, 1900
A kind woman in the United Kingdom sent me this scan of an excerpt from the 1900 "The Nurse's Dictionary of Medical Terms and Nursing Treatment Compiled for the Use of Nurses," London: The Scientific Press.
Note what appears to me to be a French pronunciation, with the accent on the last syllable. No mention yet of menstruation, although I've been told that women sewed their own tampons in Germany at this time and I'm sure elsewhere. And there was a close connection between tampons and theater people: the show had to go on! Lox and Tamponettes mention these show-business uses.
See an American vaginal suppository with thymol; and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, of corn flakes fame, who suggested pouring pure carbolic acid on a woman's clitoris to discourage masturbation. Think about that at breakfast.

Was this the first commercial mentrual tampon with an applicator (1931-33?) (box, tampon, instructions)?

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