Reports of some tampons unravelling or breaking up into small pieces in people’s bodies have prompted a widespread recall of certain tampons sold by Kimberly-Clark under the Kotex brand. Kimberly-Clark issued a recall Wednesday for specific batches of tampons, warning consumers not to use them if they’ve been purchased.
The tampons affected by this recall are the U by Kotex® Sleek® Tampons, Regular Absorbency in the following formats: 18-pack, 34-pack and 3-pack.
These tampons were manufactured before Oct. 16, 2018 and distributed all across Canada and the United States, Kimberly-Clark said on its website.
There have been reports of people seeking medical attention after having pieces of these tampons stuck inside their bodies. The company also admitted some women suffered “infections, vaginal irritation, localized vaginal injury, and other symptoms” due to the problem. If you have any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention, possibly including an intervention to remove dislodged pieces of tampon.
If you have a box of U by Kotex® Sleek® Tampons, Regular Absorbency, here is what you should do.
Kimberly-Clark has provided a tool on their website to check the lot number on boxes of tampons. This will allow you to check if your tampons are affected by the recall.
If you have a box of tampons affected by this recall, don’t use it – or stop immediately if you’ve started. Then, return the box to the place of purchase for a refund. Again, if you have any vaginal irritation or other related symptoms, seek medical attention to make sure there isn’t a piece of tampon lodged inside you.
Click here to access Kimberly-Clark’s website, where you can check the lot number of your tampons.