Costco shopper warns about Kirkland toilet paper causing health issues: "I just returned..."

Costco is one of the most trusted retail chains in America with people buying memberships to benefit from the perks it offers such as discounts and free samples. But in recent times, the warehouse retailer has had to pull down products such as frozen meat and eggs from its shelves due to threats of contamination. Now, a Costco customer has issued a warning over health issues caused by Kirkland brand toilet paper sold at the store. The woman named Gisele (@theexrn on TikTok) complained that the product had been causing her UTI-like problems and she had to return whatever she had in stock back to the store while demanding an incident report. 

In the clip which has been viewed over 1.2 million times, the shopper shared the entire backstory of the warning. The creator says that she had been using the toilet paper of Costco's signature brand, Kirkland for years and this is the first time she faced health issues. She claimed the toilet paper had been causing UTI-like symptoms and her doctors couldn't figure out any other source of the problem. She further added that she returned all of the toilet paper to the store and filed for an incident report.

She explained that shoppers need to fill out a form sharing information about the issues they faced and if they made a doctor's appointment. “Everybody who is returning the Kirkland brand toilet paper because you are having vaginal slash urinary tract issues, ask them for an incident report so that Kirkland can figure out what the is wrong with their toilet paper," she said in the end. 

It turns out, Gisele isn't the only one complaining about Kirkland toilet papers. Another creator Jeneka (@jenekajool) shared similar concerns over the same brand of toilet paper causing chronic yeast infections. Jeneka said that she changed every possible source of contamination before coming across a Reddit forum that suggested that toilet paper was the culprit. When she finally switched brands, Jeneka says her chronic infection was gone.

Furthermore, research has found that toilet paper could also be a source of harmful cancer-causing "forever chemicals". According to a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters toilet paper from major brands sold across the world, contains PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

These “forever chemicals,” may cause a range of health issues including, hypertension, fertility problems, certain cancers, and developmental issues in children, among others, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some TikTokers have also alleged that the way these products are stored and packaged may the causing the issues. 

While creators and researchers have talked about the potential harm toilet paper can cause, defenders of Costco have denied the claims. "Canadian here used Kirkland toilet paper, never had a problem," @vanderydtsunshine wrote. 

However, there were some who also suspected that their toilet paper may be the issue after all. "Omg!!! My mom has been getting UTIs back to back without any explanation. This makes sense! We use Kirkland toilet paper," @iamhighleyfavored commented. 

Some claimed that even doctors are asking patients to switch. "I'm in Canada, and my Gynecologist told me 2 years ago to stop using Kirkland toilet paper," @nancylwr revealed. 

For more updates and interesting content follow Gisele (@theexrn) on TikTok. While creators and viewers have sounded the alarm, Costco has yet to acknowledge the issue publicly.