Menstruation.
Half of the World's population will experience it and yet it is shrouded in shame by many. Viewed as dirty, only discussed in whispered voices with a nod towards the offending area and never in polite company.
Billions of women across the world are menstruating. At an average of 4-5 days 13 times a year for 40 years. That is about 2600 days in a lifetime. 7 whole years.
Menstruation is natural. It's a healthy process of a functioning female body in preparation for childbearing.
What does bother me is how we deal with it and the devastating effect we are having on the environment and our bodies because of the way we choose to deal with it.
"Female Sanitary Products" are, for a start, not sanitary. They are NOT required to be manufactured in a sanitary environment. Whatever contaminants are in the factory are in the products. Bleaching does not sanitise. It only makes the products white thus making them look sanitary. The wrapping they come in is not there to provide a sanitary environment until you open it. It is provided for convenience (so you can pop them in your handbag) and to give the illusion of being sanitised.
Tampons cause Toxic Shock Syndrome. Google it and see exactly how devastating this disease is to the body. It is a large enough threat for each packet of tampons to be required to carry a leaflet telling you that tampons can make you sick.
But aside from the health issues there is also the landfill issue. Each menstrual cycle most women will use 4-5 tampons a day along with a few disposable pads for night use or maybe more as a back up for tampon leakage. Let's assume 2 a day. Given that they will menstruate for about 2600 days in their life that is about 12,000 tampons and 5,000 disposable pads. That is about the equivalent of a whole garbage truck's capacity for every woman who used tampons and disposable pads. And there are billions of women!
What about the cost? In Australia tampons attract a luxury tax. Yep, you read right. A luxury tax. A packet of 16 tampons cost about $5 (31c each). A packet of 14 pads costs about $5 (35c each). So over a lifetime that is $3700 in tampons and $1750 in disposable pads. A total of $5450 per lifetime.
Let me show you some alternatives.
A menstrual cup such as Diva, Lunette or Keeper Cups are made of medical grade silicon. They can remain in place for up to 8 hours. You can wear them overnight. There is zero risk of contracting Toxic Shock Syndrome from them. They are reusable and from first hand reports will last in excess of 10 years. For the initial outlay of around $55. Over 40 years the total cost would be around $250.
If menstrual cups aren't your thing try reusable pads. They come in all different sizes, some really funky patterns and need a simple rinse out, throw into a bucket of water to soak and then in with the normal wash. At around $12 each they will last until they wear out at around 3-5 years. If you have a stash of 8 pads that will work out at about $400 over 40 years.
The big bonus with these is that if you are so inclined you can make your own. There are many free patterns available on the internet along with full instructions from the materials required to how to construct them.
Neither of these products will create any landfill apart from the usually biogradeable packing they arrive in through the post.
Neither of these products will make you sick.
Neither of these products attract a luxury tax.
My personal thoughts and feedback:
The first thing I noticed was that the cloth pads and menstrual cups do NOT smell. So I can only assume that the smell that is normally associated with menstrual flow is caused by the menstrual flow reacting with whatever the disposable pads and tampons are made of or made with.
They are very easy to use.
I love that you can use the menstrual cup overnight.
I have NEVER had leakage from the menstrual cup.
The cloth pads do not irritate genital regions as disposable pads might for some. The cloth is very soft and absorbent.
Cloth pads could very easily be used for bladder leakage.
So before you reach for the next packet of tampons or disposable pads think about the alternatives. Be kind to your body and be kind to the environment. There IS another way.
