Kimberly-Clark has issued a voluntary product recall of some of its tampons after reports that the feminine hygiene product unraveled or broke apart in consumers’ bodies.
On Tuesday, the company issued a press release advising retailers in the United States and Canada to pull its product U by Kotex Sleek tampons, regular absorbency, off shelves due to a “quality-related defect.” Kimberly-Clark also says it has received “a small number of reports of infections, vaginal irritation, localized vaginal injury, and other symptoms” and that in some cases consumers had to seek medical attention “to remove tampon pieces left in the body.”
The company urges any customers who have experienced any of these symptoms after using this particular product to seek immediate medical attention.
HuffPost reached out to Kimberly-Clark for further comment, but the company did not offer any new or additional information. It’s unclear what caused the defect.
The company says that the defective tampons were manufactured between Oct. 7, 2016 and Oct. 16, 2018, and distributed between Oct. 17, 2016, and Oct. 23, 2018.
One can identify if they have a defective box based on the lot number located on the bottom of the package. A full list of those lot numbers are listed here on the company’s website. You can also search a lot number to see if a box is defective here.
In an online FAQ, Kimberly-Clark said it was taking steps to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future, though its plan is worded vaguely.
“The safety of our consumers is our top priority,” it stated. “We are putting systems in place to prevent the occurrence of similar issues in the future.”
This story originally appeared in the Huffington Post.
