When did people start using sponges as tampons?

Other records indicate that the natural sea sponge was even used as one of the first female tampons, and among the many other materials – such as softened wood, ... read more

Egyptians were known to use other materials like papyrus as tampons, and were familiar with sponge for dressing wounds, so it's not too big an assumption. There are records from around the time of The Comstock Act in the U.S.A. in 1873 that suggest sponge use during menstruation. read more

One the first written references to the use of a sea sponge is found as far back as around 800 B.C. in the works of Homer in both his Odyssey and in the Iliad, where it is said that a sponge was placed into the hands of the god Hephaestus who then cleaned his hands, face, and chest. read more

Tampons in American History Sarah Kowalski, December 1999 The earliest commercial tampons were introduced in the United States around the late 1920's or early 1930's1, some forty years after commercial pads had been introduced2. read more

For as long as people have menstruated it's likely that people have used absorbent materials such as sponge as makeshift tampons to stop/absorb flow, some would have also used sponges as an early form of contraception too. read more