Nowadays the demand for hygienic tampons is increasing. Tampons are defined as a mass of cotton or synthetic fibers. With increased use of tampons, it was found that the use of tampons is more likely to cause toxic shock syndrome. Today, the safety of tampons is ensured, among other, through microbiological quality control. For products for vaginal use the European Pharmacopoeia prescribes the absence of pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans. These microorganisms often cause urinary tract infections, so they are not desirable on tampons. In the master's thesis we wanted to prove that the environment affects the survival of pathogens and that in the period from tampon production to its availability to end users, any pathogenic microorganisms present do not survive, due to low nutrient content and aquatic activity. In the study we included cotton and viscose fiber tampons, and testing was performed on dry and wet tampons. From the obtained results, we found that the use of hygienic tampons is safe if the instructions for use are followed, as the microorganisms on the tampon do not survive long despite the addition of water, as very few nutrients are available.
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