Tampon, menstrual, unscented: medical device reports filed with FDA

11,919 reports carry this product code, 1994–2026; 9 brands with a page.

Read first · FDA's statement on these data

Adverse event reports submitted to FDA do not undergo extensive validation or verification. Therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report. While a suspected relationship may exist, it is not medically validated and should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision making or other assumptions about the safety or efficacy of a product. Additionally, it is important to remember that adverse event reports represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product. Common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product. openFDA, FDA

FDA adds: "Although MDRs are a valuable source of information, this passive surveillance system has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data. In addition, the incidence or prevalence of an event cannot be determined from this reporting system alone due to potential under-reporting of events and lack of information about frequency of device use." And: "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices."

Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated.

Not medical advice. This site counts what was reported to FDA. Questions about a medicine or device belong with a pharmacist or clinician.

11,919
reports with this product code: 0.1% of all MAUDE reports; 463
reports, 12 months to August 2026: 453 in the 12 months before; 89.5%
classified as malfunction: 62.3% across all reports; 0.1%
classified as death, as reported: 0.9% across all reports

Product code HEB is FDA's classification for "Tampon, menstrual, unscented" (obstetrics/Gynecology panel), a class 2 device. 11,919 medical device reports carry this product code, 0.1% of the MAUDE database, from January 1994 to August 2026.

463 reports arrived in the 12 months to August 2026, close to the 453 of the 12 months before. FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases. The event types recorded are malfunction (89.5%), injury (9.4%) and other (0.8%). 9 brand names with a page on this site carry this code; the brands table is ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Brands with this product code

Brand	Reports	Latest 12 months	Classified as death	Classified as malfunction
U by Kotex Click : Tampon, Menstrual, Unscented : HEB	2,373	57	0%	99.4%
U By Kotex Sleek	1,288	0	0%	97.9%
U By Kotex Security Tampon Menstrual Unscented Heb	912	0	0%	97.3%
U By Kotex Unknown Tampon Menstrual Unscented Heb	729	0	0%	90.8%
Tampax Tampon, Version/Absorbency/Scent Unknown	610	83	0%	97%
U By Kotex Click	600	0	0%	96%
U By Kotex Sleek Tampon Menstrual Unscented Heb	504	0	0%	95.8%
U By Kotex Click Tampons	373	0	0%	97.1%
U By Kotex Security	266	0	0%	96.2%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Manufacturers named

Manufacturer (as written on reports)	Reports	Share
K-C Afc Manufacturing S De R L De C V	3,765	31.6%
Tambrands Manufacturing	2,837	23.8%
Kimberly-Clark	1,328	11.1%
Kimberly-Clark - Conway Mill	1,184	9.9%
Braun Werk Marktheidenfeld	2	0%

Reports by month, five years

FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases.

Event type and report source

Event type

Death0.1%13

Injury9.4%1,124

Malfunction89.5%10,669

Other0.8%90

Not given0.2%23

Who filed

Manufacturer report95.5%11,384

Voluntary report2.4%288

User facility report0%0

Distributor report2%244

Not given0%3

Grey bar: all 26,136,888 MAUDE reports.

Device problems coded

Device problem (FDA code)	Reports	Share
Material separation	5,523	46.3%
Insufficient device problem information	1,988	16.7%
Breakthe device broke	870	7.3%
Difficult to removethe device was hard to remove	631	5.3%
Component missing	389	3.3%
Product quality problem	321	2.7%
Detachment of device component	286	2.4%
Material fragmentation	280	2.3%
Material integrity problema problem with the device material	82	0.7%
Unraveled material	80	0.7%
Material disintegration	64	0.5%
Reactiona reaction, type not specified	59	0.5%
Sharp edges	53	0.4%
Device operates differently than expectedthe device behaved unexpectedly	51	0.4%
Patient-device incompatibilitythe device did not suit the patient	47	0.4%
Design/structure problem	45	0.4%
Component falling	28	0.2%
Device contamination with chemical or other material	27	0.2%
Device, or device fragments remain in patient	27	0.2%
Device, removal of (non-implant)	27	0.2%

Questions about tampon, menstrual, unscented reports

What is product code HEB?

FDA's classification code for "Tampon, menstrual, unscented", class 2, reviewed by the obstetrics/Gynecology panel. Every device report carries the product code of the device involved.

How many reports carry this code?

11,919 reports through August 2026, 463 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which brands appear most often?

U by Kotex Click : Tampon, Menstrual, Unscented : HEB (2,373), U By Kotex Sleek (1,288), U By Kotex Security Tampon Menstrual Unscented Heb (912), U By Kotex Unknown Tampon Menstrual Unscented Heb (729) and Tampax Tampon, Version/Absorbency/Scent Unknown (610). Widely used products collect more reports because more people use them.

Can the brands table be used to rank the devices?

No. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data." Brands differ in how many are in use, how long they have been sold and how reports are collected.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Device Adverse Event (MAUDE) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 31 Aug 2026. Brand, generic and manufacturer names are as written on the reports; product code names come from FDA's device classification. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.