Newsday - Tampon that tests for STIs - BBC Sounds

A tampon has being repurposed to screen for sexually transmitted infections (STI), with the at-home test aiming to encourage more women to seek treatment.

Its creators, British gynaecological-health start-up, Daye, say the tampon is used in place of a swab or speculum to check for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and other common infections.

Valentina Milanova is the founder and CEO of Daye. She told Newsday: “Women find the current set-up of having to go to an STI clinic, having to have a speculum examination in some cases, too invasive and too time consuming…about 70% of female STIs are asymptomatic so you wouldn’t know that there was something wrong unless you proactively get tested.”