A woman was shocked to find a bug inside an Always pad that she opened, leading her to question the company’s best practices.
In a video with over 4 million views posted on Oct. 16, Allie D. (@alafull87), explained her recent predicament. She opened a package of Always pads only to find larvae burrowed inside the packaging.
“OK. I need you to look at this. I’m recording ’cause this is gross. This is [an] unused pad. Tell me what that is,” she said in the TikTok video. “Dissect it and tell me what it is. ‘Cause to me it looks like a maggot.”
She told a person off-camera to take a closer look at the packaging: “Is that what that is? No. Open it. Tell me that’s not what that is,” she continued.
When the other person confirmed the presence of a small bug, Allie reacted with visible disgust. “Oh my God. It is a maggot. Are you for real? Yeah. I have had my period for like 28 years and I have never seen that,” she said.
That disgust continued as she examined the packaging even closer: “That is what that is…This goes against my [expletive]… I don’t wanna be anywhere near it.”
Why was there a bug inside her pad?
Many commenters expressed concern that their own pads might be contaminated. It’s possible that a batch or specific lot of pads could be affected during manufacturing or packaging. Pads are not completely risk-free products—because they’re made with organic materials, contamination can occur under certain conditions.
This risk increases once a pad expires, typically after three to five years. After that point, the materials can start to break down and absorb moisture from the air, which may attract bacteria or insects.
Pads are designed to absorb moisture, and their protective outer seal helps prevent contamination. However, if that seal is damaged or compromised, even an unexpired pad could become contaminated through exposure to air, humidity, or other environmental factors. That’s most likely what happened to Allie’s products.
Similar incidents have occurred in China and Malaysia in years prior, but it’s an incredibly uncommon encounter.
Viewers are shocked
Many people expressed bewilderment at the larvae showing up in Allie’s pad, expressing fears and a desire to switch brands based on the viral video.
“Sorry this happened to you. I switched to Cora pads, way better,” one commenter added.
Another said, “There’s been a lot of stuff going on with always pads. I recommend Cora pads [because] they’re so comfy or L. Organic cotton pads. Those are my [favorites]”
Others identified what type of bug was actually burrowing inside the product: “Moth larvae. it is cotton and possibly it got in there and grew from wherever you purchased the pads. Chances are the box it came in has more.”
Always responds
Allie posted an update to her platform on Oct. 17, letting her audience know how Always responded to her concerns.
She explained that she had contacted Always customer service and reached someone right away. “Super, super kind, very apologetic, but this is my experience,” she said, noting that she had been a longtime user of the brand without any previous issues.
“So like I get that this outta the norm,” she continued, explaining that representatives asked several questions about where she bought the pads, how they were stored, and whether the packaging had been opened. “I offered to send them the video, but they didn’t want it. So I guess I’ll still have it in case they change their mind.”
The company requested that she send back both the unused pads and the one containing the maggot. “They’re sending me like a prepaid shipping label to send that back,” she said. “Then, they also offered to send me a $10 coupon to buy more Always pads, which I just dunno if I’m gonna use after this, but I felt like that amount was just a little underwhelming.”
She said she understood that the coupon roughly covered the cost of a replacement pack but still found the gesture disappointing. “Like, I don’t really know what I was expecting, but maybe like more than just $10,” she said. “But that is the cost to replace the package.”
@alafull87 After probably 26 years of using @always, I found this in my pad this evening. At first glance, I just thought it was a dyed piece of the pad. Nope. A live maggot, sewn in the pad, that I JUST opened, from a package of pads I bought maybe 2-3 weeks ago. WTF. Ladies, check your shit before you put it in your undies. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if I didn’t see it. #alwayspad #maggot #ewwww ♬ original sound – Allie D
People want her to sue
Many viewers in her comments urged her to take legal action, but she dismissed the idea. “I think the big thing that a lot of comments are saying is, I need to sue them, which I’m not going to do,” she said. “And unless I find that I have some maggot larvae growing in me, I won’t be [suing them].”
The content creator said she hoped her video would encourage others to be more cautious with their hygiene products. “My hope in making these videos is that you check the stuff that you put in and around your body, that you turn on a light in the middle of the night when you change out your tampon or put in a new pad,” she said.
“Never in a million years did I think that I would find that, and it’s disgusting,” she added. She closed her message by asking for recommendations from viewers. “Take care of yourself and if you have any other pad recommendations, drop ’em in the comments below. The original post has a whole ton, so [I’m] just trying to kind of sort through them and see which one’s best. ‘Cause Always just isn’t my jam anymore.”
The Mary Sue has reached out to Allie via TikTok and Proctor & Gamble for comment.
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