Easily Removable Tampon

This invention relates to a tampon and particularly a tampon without an outer wrap and particularly to an easily removable tampon.

In copending application U.S. Ser. No. 086,808, of which this a continuation-in-part application, the inventors have determined that provising a wrapped tampon with a selected group of emollient compounds eases withdrawal, without substantially interfering with absorbency. Wrapped tampons of the type disclosed in that application utilize wrappers which also reduce the frictional drag associated with tampon removal. As disclosed therein, the difficulties incurred with tampon removal are exacerbated when the woman is experiencing light flow and the tampon is relatively dry.

Up until quite recently, attention has been directed toward providing insertion aids rather than withdrawal aids for tampons. The problems associated with withdrawal had previously not been recognized.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,340,311; 2,734,505; and 2,848,978 disclose utilization of surfactants as insertion aids for tampons. These surfactants may be used either for purposes of chemically reacting with the menstrual fluid or, in conjunction with solid waxy lubricants. The surfactants disclosed in the above patents are either of the soap class, i.e. alkali metal salts of fatty acids, alcohols, sulfonated alcohols, etc.; quaternary ammonium salts, alkanol amines or short chain polyhydric alcohols.

In U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,311 a coating is provided to aid in retention of the absorbent material in a compressed form as well as to facilitate tampon insertion. The coating includes a film forming substance to provide the binding effect which is strong enough to resist the expansive force of the compressed material and is water dispersible so that "it can readily dissolve in the body fluids, especially in the presence of surface tension depressant". The coating may also have a surface active agent used to depress the surface tension of the fluids and the surface active agents described include a quaternary ammonium salt and several other conventional surfactants such as polyhydric alcohols. Other polyhydric alcohols may be present as a plasticizer. Since this particular patent utilizes the primary insertion aid matrix as a binding material the disclosure states that it must be solid at room temperature and rapidly dispersible after contact with fluid.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,978 describes the utilization of a foamed material to provide a slippery surface for ease of insertion. These foams are designed to be of a water dispersible solid having a surface active agent. The foams are set forth as a solid separate component which is distinct from the tampon absorptive surface and is considered a separate element which does not interact with the absorptive part of the tampon.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,505 describes a tampon having a two component covering at its leading edge. One component is a water dispersible surface active agent and between the surface active agent and the tampon is a covering layer which blocks the passage of moisture to the tampon body.

Prior art lubricants can therefore be summarized in the following manner. First, there is a class of solid so-called "insertion aids" which may or may not contain surfactant. These solid generally waxlike insertion aids are designed to aid in the insertion of the tampon and either dissipate rapidly when subjected to exposure to menstrual fluid or interfere with the absorptive function of the tampon itself due to the barrier properties associated with the solid material.

As indicated previously, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,561 was the first to provide a lubrication aid which was present during withdrawal of the tampon but did not interfere with the absorbent function of the tampon. This lubricant was placed as a coating on the wrapper of a wrapped tampon.

It has now been found that the particular emollients used to aid in withdrawal of a wrapped tampon can be applied directly to the absorbent fibers to provide the tampon with enhanced withdrawal ease without interfering with the absorbency required to make the tampon functional. These selected emollients i.e. the compounds myreth-3 myristate, glycereth polyethoxy cocoate and isopropyl palmitate perform this function on a variety of unwrapped tampons. (For purposes of this disclosure the terms emollients or selected emollients refer to the above mentioned class of compounds.)

Absorbent fibers useful in the tampons of this invention are generally cellulosic such as rayon or modified rayon but may include synthetic fibers which are absorbent or can be rendered absorbent by suitable pretreatment such as polyester.

Emollients useful in this invention may be present at a level of between about 0.05 to 5% by weight of the absorbent fibers. It has been found, however, that levels much above 1% by weight of the fibers add little and therefore are essentially redundant for purposes of aiding in withdrawal. Minimum levels above 0.2% are generally preferred with a range specifically preferred between 0.5% and 1% by weight of the absorbent fibers.

Withdrawal means such as a centrally located string can be used with the tampons of this invention and any conventional withdrawal means is satisfactory for this purpose and forms no part of the inventive concept of this invention.

Tampon construction is not critical for purposes of this invention. Tampons containing absorbent fibers of the cellulosic type are generally prepared in two ways. In one process a web of material is compressed and heat set to fit within an inserter. In an alternative embodiment, a web of fibrous material is rolled or wound prior to compression. In the latter procedure the tampon web may be needled during winding to help preserve the integrity of the winding step. The effect of the emollients of this invention on absorbency is illustrated by Example 1.

According to this Example, several wound tampons were prepared and tested for absorbency on a syngina. Loose absorbent fiber was sprayed with a 1% emollient solution. The fiber was dried and formed into a web which was subsequently carded and wound without needling. A syngina is an artificial device utilized to simulate a vagina and well known to persons in the tampon art. It consists of a thin rubber membrane which holds the tampon. The membrane is within an outer case such that fluid can be introduced between the membrane and the outer case building up a pressure on the exterior of the membrane, and the tube entering the membrane at its top end such that the tube orifice in the membrane simulates the entry to the exit from the cervix. A reservoir of syngina fluid is connected to the tube with a flow regulator such that it can be admitted to the membrane through the tube at a known and variable rate. The syngina fluid utilized was an artificial fluid having a salinity equal to menstrual fluid and has 0.1 gm. of PLURONIC F-68 per 2000 ml. of solution as a surfactant. PLURONIC is a trademark of BASF Wyandotte, Wyandotte, Mich. The penumatic pressure head is constant in a static syngina which was used for this Example and the pressure head had a value of 0.45 psi. These tampons contained 100% three denier rayon with a 1% by weight add on of STANDAMUL 1414E. STANDAMUL is a trademark of Henkel, Inc. of New York, New York and STANDAMUL 1414E is a myreth-3 myristate. The results of these replicated tests can be seen in the Table below.

The average grams of fluid absorbed per gram of material for the 1% Standamul 1414E coded rolled tampon is 3.12 with no STANDAMUL 1414E present the value is 3.20.

This Example was performed in the same way as Example 1 using the same tampon made in the same manner. The only difference is that the STANDAMUL 1414E addition was only 0.5%.

The other emollients produced similar values under like experimental conditions.