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Boys may want to leave the internet.

Aunt flo, silent hill, T.O.M., red tide, maid doing cleaning in the vagina hotel call it what you wish but its a fact of life.

So periods, they are a wonderful, healthy, an annoying part of the female condition. To not have it is a sign of poor health, so revel in your ability to menstruate and embrace your femininity.

I say this mostly because their is a social taboo, stating that periods are unclean and we should speak not of the process, Hell its even in the bible, and insinuated by the global feminine hygiene conglomerates. Using words like "hygiene", and "sanitary". Some cultures went without something to catch the blood, and saw the blood on the leg as a sign of health and fertility, very desirable traits, but I digress. The point is you shouldn't feel ashamed, or feel there is too much information among sisters. After all, more then half of the population will, have, or had a period.

The bad thing about all this sisterly sharing of blood though is every month we buy a 8 dollar box of disposables. Use one every four hours because of fear of leaks, and toss it away. Their is plastic in the pad, paper boxes, paper pamplets, plastic applicators, plastic around the pad, and every month we wear a few extra just for the spot days. That is a huge, amount of waste for every month, of every year, for 40+ years.

Not to mention all this plastic and 'sanitary' precautions is so far from the truth its staggering. Rayon and cotton, are two crops which use pesticides heavily, it then gets shipped off to a dirty plant, to be touched by people, bleached the hell out of to make it appear clean and then overpackaged for the illusion of being sanitary.

Pads and tampons are made from rayon which is a fibrous fiber that leads to TSS. Since the tampons are inside you, the fibers can be left behind causing complications such as infections and TSS. Very hygeinic, no?

But what is the worst is rayon is a fiber that requires heavy bleaching to get it that virginal white. The chemical they bleach with is called dioxin, a potentially carcinogenic chemical that builds up in your system if you have repeated contact with it, leading to cervical cancer or endimetrioitis.

I would think five tampons a day, for five days, for 40+ years is repeated contact. Don't you? The worst part is the tampon industry is not required to list the chemicals on their package. These chemicals are not good for us, they make our vaginas sad and unhealthy. Also on the same lines as the fibers left in you, these leads to even more exposure of dioxin.

upon further research I have found a great divide in just how much dioxin is in pads. When the dioxin in feminine products came out the FDA did tests of all the major brands and found normal, trace amounts of dioxin which they say is safely below the maximum the human body can process. While, other research disagrees. I found the FDA trace amount theory on SNOPES [link] I trust snopes. I find their information to be well researched and substantiated, so I will concede there may be no toxic levels of Dioxin in pads. However, due to the plastic, rayon fibers and bleach I still don't want to use commercial pads and tampons. Sorry for the misinformation, but I still stand by menstrual alternatives

also disposables use plastic as a water proof layer, which doesn't allow our vagigidies to breath. this leads to bad smells, and on occasion enough of humid environment you can be prone to even more infections, or after period goop which most women experience from time to time. Not good.
Allow air in and you will notice how comfortable you feel.

There are disposable alternatives. When searching for pads, search for pure unbleached cotton. This comes in pads and tampons, more expensive and can only be found in health food stores, but in the long run you'll find your happy vagina can breath and won't have harmful chemicals invading it.

For a more economical tampon alternative. Many women swear by the keeper, which is a medical grade plastic cup that catches blood as opposed to absorbing it. This has the added bonus of not absorbing to much liquid, thus throwing off the health of your uterus. How it works is you insert it and it will catch the blood, every few hours you empty it into the toilet bowl. This is completely sanitary because your blood is not what makes you sick, it is the rayon fibers. They usually run 25 dollars and can last five to ten years. Already much cheaper then any disposable. They have disposables ones at walgreens if you wish to give it a try, but really the main three (the keeper, moon cups, and diva cups) have gotten the best all around reviews. They come in two sizes, and they are just shaped better, most women report no discomfort. Just invest once in the good ones.

Next is the reusable pad option which I opted for. I will probably try the keeper one day. I am just enjoying my halloween and fish print pads I made for myself right now.

You can buy them, a whole set cost about 75 at luna pads, but really if your handy at sewing it can be a fun project. Who wouldn't want a wardrobe for your twat? They are made out of 100 % cotton flannel I bought in prints from the joanns scrap fabric bin (several kinds only 4 dollars overall woohoo). After that all you need is an old towel you accidently destroyed (oops). I find that the pads are very comfortable, like wearing a thick underwear, as opposed to a thick hunk of humid plastic. The cotton feels nice against my hoohoo, and doesn't bunch or shift so I was amazed I had no leaks even on my heaviest day. I can go all whole day with this pad without changing, so thats nice.

I am a medium to heavy gal, and a size 10. So since most pads are made for size six I did have issues with leaking at the front and back. But by merely using tutorials on the internet and making your own patterns, you can make a pad especially for you. For example, during the day I used adahys 11 inch pattern, it works like a dream. But as usual at night a little blood creeped towards the front because I roll around like a freaking badger at night. My remedy. I measured from the front to back from where 'I' needed coverage and made myself my own overnight pad. It worked perfectly. I have never felt so comfortable with my period.

Yes you do have to clean them, but all that consists of is tossing it in a container of cold water under the sink (cold water breaks down the protiens that cause staining) and either quickly handwash, or toss it in with your towels. Best thing is they get softer the more you wash them.

its odd. The disposable pads leak so much, and bunch and ride. They have to be changed constantly because I thought I bled a lot. Now I am wondering, is it the pads ineffectiveness that made it appear like more blood? I am not sure but it does feel like I am bleeding less. also I always thought the smell was me during my period, now it kind of freaks me out it wasn't. What in the world is in the plastic pads that make that smell? I am sure its not healthy.



But oof what a long journal, I hope 'someone' reads this. I want people to stop using the dioxin riddled tampons and pads, not just for the environment but for your health. I am so angry at the companies who make their money on poisonous products. Poisonous products that come in contact with one of the single most absorbent part of a women's body, its infuriating

I urge you to be informed and research on your own, there are even more alternatives then listed her.

When we were given the talk in grade school about our period and puberty we weren't given all the facts. We were given a veiled insinuation that our periods are unclean and we should be thankful that 'tampax' and 'always' are now here to make our periods bearable. When in reality they are poisoning us and our planet. While giving little plastic bags containing their products and a quick booklet about our period.

Be informed, be healthy, and revel in your period.

more info:
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Communities:
Livejournal [link]

Places to buy reusable pads:
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Links to tutorials to make them:
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craftster.org (search cloth pads. Lots of real women talking openly about thier periods and how they feel about the pads they created. It made me more comfortable, and excited about my period)
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