Dr Jen Gunter has issued a warning to women not to put ‘reusable’ sea sponges in their vagina. This warning is aimed at women who might be tempted to use a sea sponge instead of a tampon.

The medical practitioner responds: “Anyone who tells you to put a sea sponge in your vagina wants you to grow more bacteria that cause toxic shock syndrome.

“This is horrific and illegal in the US to promote sponges for periods.”

There are two things to consider, regarding sponges as a sort of make-shift sanitary product. The first is they’re a living organism, then second is, as Dr Gunter points out, sponges are one of the ingredients used in the Rely tampon, which back in the 1980s were linked to toxic shock syndrome.