Wednesday, 13 August 2008
-
For Aunt Flo: Reusable Feminine Products?
by Mama Fox
Being a woman is an amazing thing. We are bringers of life, the nurturers of the world. Our bodies have a rhythm, in tune with the world around us. Every 28 days the moon goes through her cycle, changing. Like the moon, our bodies have a cycle. Hormonal ups and downs can reek havoc on our minds and bodies but it is natural, proof that our bodies have an amazing power to create life (with help) and carry that life until he or she can live safely outside of us. We can fight against it or celebrate being a woman with a monthly reminder. 
As a woman, you should know what is happening inside your body. Learn it. It is surprising how much we don't know about our own bodies. With knowledge comes understanding. Embrace it.
Of course it's not all that pleasant. I mean who wants to BLEED for a few days every month? There's birth control now that let you have only 4 periods a year or even none at all. Personally, I don't want to load my body up with artificial hormones. I can't have any more children anyway so it's a moot point for me.
Taking a stroll down the "women's products" aisle at the grocery store, it's easy to be overwhelmed by all the choices. There's tampons with 3 (or 4?) different kinds of absorbencies, cardboard or plastic applicator and probably a few more choices thrown in. Pads come with the difference absorbencies, with or without wings, night time, extra leak protection core and all that stuff. No wonder guys hate that aisle, it's so damn confusing. You would have to give them a detailed list just to get one box of whatever you want. I've never sent my husband down that aisle for that reason.
Of course, they are disposable. Because in this culture we are taught that anything "icky" needs to be thrown away. Toss into a land fill and forget about it. Yeah, like anyone who cares about the Earth can do that? We are polluting our parent with "women's products." But what about our bodies? Think of what tampons are. Just cotton? Nope. And you are put them inside of your body? Even pads are not all that safe.
So what is a girl to do? Go reusable of course. There's cloth pads, a menstrual cup or the sponge.
I don't know much about sponges. I do know however that they are a lot like tampons. Put one in, either change it out in a few hours or rinse and reinsert. Cloth pads can be found all over the Internet, sometimes under the name "mama cloth" or you can even make your own. This is an easy thing when you use cloth diapers, just throw them in the diaper pail and wash all together. I've heard from some women they just rinse it then throw it in with regular laundry.
Then there's the Keeper or Diva Cup. I recently bought a Diva cup (on sale) because my Keeper was the wrong size. I had bought it before a pregnancy and well, pregnancy screws with your body. Menstrual cups come in 2 sizes, before baby and after baby or 30+ years. It takes a bit of practice to get it in and out but once you get the hang of it, it's super easy. Depending on how heavy your flow is, just take it out when needed, empty it, rinse and reinsert. Except for the first aka heavy day, I can empty it twice a day without any leaking issues. Like a tampon you don't feel it.
Why switch? Many reasons, better for your health, better for the environment and better on your wallet. Think about it. How much do you spend a month on tampons or pads? Times that by 12. Every year from puberty until menopause you are spending a lot of money. What if you could spend $30 every 10+ years? I'll take that trade.
I shun disposable products. I never have to worry about running to the store because I'm on my last tampon. I don't have to think about chemicals I'm putting inside my body then flushing into the oceans or throwing into the landfill. I can sleep soundly at night knowing I am doing one little thing to save the Earth.“Not every woman can afford a hybrid car nor easily convert their home to solar power. Yet, by choosing to use a menstrual cup instead of disposable tampons and pads, any woman is able to make an environmentally responsible choice each month. This is no small matter. In the U.S. alone, billions of tampons and pads are dumped into landfills and the environment each year.” - Carinne Chambers
Something to think about.
(Of course, if you are truly opposed to this, you can make a baby step by using Earth friendly ones.)So, what do you think-- is switching to reusable feminine products something you'd consider?
-
recommend
- recs 1
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to momaroo's Momaroo Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in momaroo's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (71)
I plan on sewing my own postpartum pads, and perhaps using a divacup in the future. Disposable pads are so icky and smelly, and tampons dry me out.
I have changed just about everything in mylife/houshold to be earth friendly.
I've rinsed out PLENTY of poopy diapers, but I just can't bring myself to using reusable feminine products.
I guess I justify it like this....I have a 3yr old, 2 year old and 2 month old. I've breastfed all of them....I've not had many periods in the past 3 years....hehe
In terms of the rinsing thing- what if you are somewhere for awhile (as a lot of people have busy lives) and aren't going to be around private bathrooms for awhile? It's not like you can come out of a bathroom stall in a public bathroom and rinse your period product thing... eweeee.
I ran across the menstrual cup yesterday by accident when I was desperately searching online for cures for cramps, as my advil wasn't helping and I didn't want to overdoes on it just yet to only help my cramps (I just started BC... so hopefully THAT will help with these damn cramps. exercise too, of course), and I almost gagged. The thought of that thing fitting in me is terrifying. A pap smear was bad enough!
Mother nature gave me this bloody mess... so she can deal with my disposing it, as far as I'm personally concerned. haha unfortunately I don't actually believe in the personification of her... so I guess I'm a hypocrite. but whatever. sorry
I usually buy my cloth pads from work at home moms at www.hyenacart.com
Honestly, I had no idea women actually used reusable products for their periods. Now all of a sudden I'm reading about it everywhere. Honestly, I don't think I could make that leap. I use tampons (never liked pads) with the cardboard insert, have never had issues flushing them, and from what I understand they then go to a treatment plant where everything gets turned into sludge that's used as fertilizer.
Never knew such a thing existed! I wonder if CVS has some. I would definitely try it out.
@OstentatiousEloquence@xanga - You use a wet bag for the used pad (like you would for a cloth diaper), and put on a new pad. http://hyenacart.com/prod_details.php?id=62204&vid=389 A wetbag is a little waterproof pouch that is used for dirty cloth diapers (when you change cloth diapers in public, you need somewhere to store them... they are way to expenisve to just throw out!).
hmm I had never heard of these cup things. I will have to do some more research, thanks for the tip :)
I absolutely LOVE my diva cup!! Not only is it helping the earth, but it is saving me a ton of money! I did have to buy pads after I had my baby because you can't use them right after giving birth, but other than that, I haven't had to buy those kinds of products in a long time. I think my diva cup cost somewhere in the $30 range.
I highly recommend this product.
I forgot to mention - before I got the diva cup, my cramps were so bad I could hardly function on those days. After I started using the diva cup, my cramping became much more bearable and is almost non-exsistent now.
uh... yeah. don't see me EVER doing that.
It just feels like re-using a band-aid, or saving all my floss to wash and re-use... or never buying a new razor.
And those thoughts repulses me endlessly.
I use home made cloth pads. I love them and could never go back. I use cloth diapers and wipes as well, so I just throw them in the wash with the dipes. I have a really pretty wetbag, so going out isn't a big deal. Although most of the time I don't need to change while I'm out. I don't rinse mine, they are pretty absorbent (flannel and fleece), they never get over saturated or anything. One discovery I made after switching was the smell - surprisingly, disposables smell WAY WORSE than cloth! I always hated that 'period' smell, but that's totally gone now that I use cloth.
I also used my cloth pads for my post-partum bleeding. For the first few weeks I would take my clean pads and spray them with a spray bottle of water, calendula, and a tiny bit of tea tree oil, and then put them in the freezer, so when I needed one it was frozen and it felt amazing!
I don't like using disposable things if at all possible. I hate the thought of all of the things that go to landfills, especially toxic things. I also don't like how 'convenience' is so highly valued in our culture. Easier isn't always better, I think.
Have you ever thought of using cloth 'toilet paper'?
I have been seriously looking into these. I cant imagine it being much different from a tampon.
I assume you rinse before reinsterting it after emptying it. What do you do in public rest rooms? (This isnt usually a problem for me. But it could be occasionally.) That is so far the only reason I am hesitating.
I used a cup, though I don't know if it was the divacup or not a few years back. It wasn't uncomfortable, but because my period is SOOOOO heavy, I leaked a few times. I know--if that's the worst thing that could happen, then I'm set, but I was mortified! I decided never again. I will continue to use disposable tampons (the plastic ones can be recycled) with a pantiliner backup.
I don't like the expense of buying them, but for my sanity and my husband's, I will not switch again.
@glorious_and_free@xanga - Actually yes, we are a cloth TP aka "family cloth" family.
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - @OstentatiousEloquence@xanga - For out of the house, you can always just dump and wipe it with TP and put it back in without rinsing. You will be surprised how long you can go without emptying unless it's a heavy day. Like I said, I can usually empty twice a day, mid morning and before I go to bed. I can work that around any out of the house activities.
This is the first I've ever heard of reusable products (although I guess I have heard about the cup thing) and I gotta say, the idea kinda squicks me out a little bit. I'm not sure if it's something I would ever really consider doing.
i am on my first period on the diva cup, and i can't say enough good things about it. i will never use disposables again.
also, in response to the person who mentioned a lack of private bathrooms-i live in a dorm, so that has been an issue for me. what i do is empty the cup into the toilet and stuff it with toilet paper to absorb anything left over, and wipe the outside as best i can, then flush the toilet and discreetly wash it in the sink, being sure to clean the sink after i'm done, the go back into the stall to reinsert it. i just make an effort to not look uncomfortable, and no one has ever looked twice at me.Absolutely....I have already switched to cloth diapers. And reusable woman products are the next logical step.
I didn't switch for earth friendly reasons, but for economical reasons.
I am jsut waiting till this next baby is born...I have been pregnant for basicall two years now, and so I haven't had a period. But this time around I'm going to go cloth pads and cups!!!
They are interesting concepts, and I would feel wayy better if I wasn't throwing out so much STUFF all the time while on my period..
However, I'm only fifteen. I have no idea what my mom thinks of these things, and I doubt that anyone I know very well is using any of them (not to mention... I don't even HAVE thirty dollar to spare. Everything goes towards college or food with me). I'd like to at least wait until I could get some help from a family member/friend or until I'm out on my own to try out these things.
Now that I see so much about alternative methods like this, I don't think I'll have much of a choice other than to at the very least try them out..
My own blood makes me queasy, I would not use reusable products. I don't think my husband would want to deal with that either. I try to be environmentally friendly in other ways but this is just one area where I'm going to have to be thankful for disposables and be glad I wasn't born before they were in use. On a positive side, a box of tampons lasts me about a year and I do buy cardboard applicators.
Not only are the better for the earth BUT- they are better for your body. Most disposable pads have chemicals in them that can actually cause you to bleed more heavily and have harder cramping (resulting in the more bleeding part). Your body knows it doesn't want that stuff so it is trying to "detox" by flushing out more. (I won't even go into the damage that tampons can do) I switched to cloth pads but was worried that I would bleed through the pad but I found that I actually bled much less than usual! Even postpartum my bleeding was half as much and half as painful at the least! That is reason enough for me...
I strongly care about the Earth, but this is kind of freaking me out. I see the benefits, both environmental and economic, but there is a little voice in my head going, "Ew! Ew! Ew!" I am definitely intrigued by the idea, though. Just gotta get over my perception of resuable feminine products being gross.
I have a diva cup and LOVE IT! Seriously, it's fabulous.
@der_lila_Stern@xanga -
When in public restrooms and I think my diva cup needs to be emptied, I wet a paper towel before I go into the stall. Empty the cup into the bowl, wipe it with the damp paper towel and then reinsert it.
No one is the wiser. AND depending on your flow, you can wait and change it just once or twice a day. About 12 hours. It's fabulous. Really,can't say enough good things about it.
@RoAngie467 - Before kids, I would have been grossed out about the whole thing. Now this is nothing compared to some of the stuff I've had to clean up. Haha!
no, absolutely not, sorry!
- I average $10/yr on feminine supplies.
- The cup wouldn't work properly: on some days, my flow would be FAR too heavy. Plus it's hard to empty/clean in public.
- Cloth pads can't be changed in public places. I would neither want to dispose of it nor carry it around for another several hours
- I buy disposables in bulk, so it takes a long time for me to run out (and the large container just doubly shows how few there are left).
For those of you who can do it - great! But it's not for me.