What is a tampon test?

Although not yet widely available, at-home tampon tests are a diagnostic tool to aid important research in the world of women's gynaecological healthcare - and they may well become more commonplace in the future.

The latest tampon test uses a regular menstrual tampon - the same used by many women during their periods. It's put the same way into your vagina, and this collects a sample - either of your menstrual blood, or of the bacteria in your vagina when you're not on your period (your vaginal microbiome).

Research from period blood

The idea of using tampons to collect health data from women has been around for several years¹. It is a testing tool that's already familiar to menstruating women, and therefore more comfortable and easy to self-use. In these tests, the data is collected from biomarkers in your menstrual blood. It's also sent one way - to scientists to collect and analyse in long-term research studies.

In 2019, California-based company NextGen Jane started collecting blood from tampon samples to learn more about a range of women's health issues and diseases, including endometriosis, menopause, and cervical cancer.

In 2023, a new menstrual hygiene device was invented that can also collect health data. The Emm is a smart menstrual cup that comes with an app that can record data from your period blood, as well as other things like reminders to empty, and an ovulation tracker.

This trend for collecting female sexual and reproductive health information through self-tests is growing - and it's helping to address the lack of research and funding in women's healthcare.

Personal diagnosis from vaginal microbiome

More recently, it's become possible for tampons to draw information not just from menstrual blood, but from the vaginal microbiome - the balance of good bacteria and disruptive bacteria living in your system. A healthy vaginal microbiome is one where the good bacteria keep the bad ones in check, stopping them from growing out of control and causing an infection. As a result, it's linked to a lower risk of vaginal infections, ITS (sexually transmitted infections), and reproductive difficulties².

So, a vaginal microbiome tampon test lets experts analyse your reproductive health. For example checking for microbes that can make it more difficult to conceive³ or if you're undergoing IVF treatment, whether your IVF cycle is less likely to be successful⁴. The test can also diagnose your vulnerability to vaginal infections - like candidiasis y BV (bacterial vaginosis) - as well as Infecciones del tracto urinario (ITUs) (urinary tract infections) y STIs (sexually transmitted infections).

Your results will explain the microorganisms found in your sample, whether they are at healthy or abnormal levels, and if this means you have a higher risk of the above health issues. This latest test is only available in the UK from gynaecological health company Daye, and is the first of its kind. You'll need to pay for this service, as tampon tests are not currently offered on the NHS.

This emerging area of research has also found links between specific vaginal microbiome patterns and several serious and debilitating female health conditions which are difficult to diagnose using conventional methods. This includes:

Because the vaginal microbiome shows promising links to many areas in women's health, more research and the development of new diagnostic tools like tampon tests can help drive improvements in women's healthcare and close the gender health gap - a term that describes how being female means you’re less likely to get diagnosed and more likely to have your symptoms under-estimated and under-treated¹¹.

Using tampons to diagnose conditions is a relatively new technique. As such, there's no official guidelines on tampon testing from organisations like NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) or the CDC (Centers for Disease Prevention and Control). But the research that these tests are contributing to is mounting, and with it so is the evidence that they can shorten diagnosis times - an important factor for conditions like endometriosis, which on average takes seven years and many doctor consultations to diagnose.

In the future, the tampon may become an even more versatile and useful tool in female healthcare. In 2022, a group of business school graduates created a smart tampon prototype to detect cervical cancer¹². Unlike a regular tampon, it's non-absorbent and instead has a highly sensitive camera on the tip that takes images of the cervix and feeds them into AI software to analyse.

Beyond sample collecting, experts are also looking into how tampons can locally deliver medications that work by altering the vaginal microbiome. While we're not there yet, this evolving area of research is making promising strides to innovate female healthcare and narrow the gender health gap.

1. Foster et al: The Tampon Test for Vulvodynia Treatment Outcomes Research: Reliability, Construct Validity, and Responsiveness.

2. Holdcroft et al: The vaginal microbiome in health and disease - what role do common intimate hygiene practices play?

3. Paira et al: Results from a large cross-sectional study assessing Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis urogenital infections in patients with primary infertility.

4. Haahr et al: Abnormal vaginal microbiota may be associated with poor reproductive outcomes: a prospective study in IVF patients.

5. GOV.UK: Government launches call for evidence to improve health and wellbeing of women in England.

6. Ser et al: Current Updates on the Role of Microbiome in Endometriosis: A Narrative Review.

7. Sharifian et al: The interplay between human papillomavirus and vaginal microbiota in cervical cancer development.

8. Verity: What is PCOS?

9. Gibson-Helm et al: Delayed diagnosis and a lack of information associated with dissatisfaction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

10. Gu et al: Gut and vaginal microbiomes in PCOS: implications for women's health.

11. UCL: Analysis: Women’s pain is routinely underestimated, and gender stereotypes are to blame.

12. John Hopkins Carey Business School: Could artificial intelligence in a smart tampon detect cervical cancer?