How Do You Select A Period Product?
Every day, over $300 million women worldwide experience their periods. Despite this, the cost of using period products persists for some. These costs go beyond financial, despite period equity being a grave problem which remains adamantly ignored in the US, and include health, safety, and environmental impacts.
While single-use disposable products such as pads or tampons dominate the global marketplace, reusable items like Cups (inserted into the vagina for collecting blood) and Period Panties (absorbent underwear) are gradually gaining traction. Previously, my company conducted an eye-opener study of product information regarding cost, health, safety, comfort, satisfaction, and ecological impacts within the U.S.
How can period product costs be regulated?
Scotland becomes the initial country with free Period Products for those who require them. In the us, the initial cost of pads is the smallest, being closely tied to tampons. — however, the overall prices of these period products have also significantly increased- by nearly 10 in just the past year. Reusable period cups or period pantries are generally higher priced to begin with. Around a calendar year, cups start to provide cost savings.
There are some factors that are important to take into consideration when comparing reusables.
You may require to use multiple period cups to gauge your own fit or prefer to always keep several on-hand. Savings increase the further your cycle cup lasts, which can last for two-to-ten years when properly maintained.
Period panties possess a contrasting absorbency, thus you may decide to alternate menstrual products according to the periods you experience. For instance, you could make a habit of using period pantes on lighter days and combine them with tamponers or cups on heavy days. Additionally, they may prove to have other uses, like relieving discharge and mild urinariness.
Health and safety concerns with period product use.
Long-term involvement with toxic pollutants known as dioxins may lead to cancers as well as other harmful health effects. Dioxins may be formed when whiteners are applied to pulp- and-paper products classified as organic cotton tampons. Many people haven't been subjected to levels that pose a risk for health harm.
Over time, manufacturers have changed the bleach process used to eliminate dioxins from these items. Dioxin concentrations in tampon products are significantly below FDA levels and are less than those obtained from food exposure. Period cups are typically crafted using medical-grade silicone, and period panties should also be checked for free from PFAS.
The other risk faced by some of menstrual products is associated with toxic shocked syndrome (TSS), which is caused by a toxigenic substance produced by some bacteria. TSS is reported to be present in approximately one in every 100,000 menstruated women in the US. Reports associated with TSS during period use have become increasingly rare. It tends to be associated with using high-absorbency tampones.
Due primarily to the changes occurring in the manufacturing of tampons, instances of TSS are decreasing. Avoid lingering TSS risk by refraining from remaining in tampon for over eight hours or in the period cup for over 12hours. Continually changing depends on the flow of your cycle to prevent leakage
Comfort and satisfaction have been reported with using period-related products.
Many people can comfortably and satisfactorily utilize tampons and cups irrespective of their virginity. Some individuals prefer to avoid insertion invaginally, therefore pads and period pantes are suggested. There is no shortage of options available for underwired period panties that range in colors, cut, absorbency, and style- from thigh-high to leg-high. They are available to purchase either on-line or in many large departmental stores.
Period cups may require some time to adjust to. organic cotton pads revealed that satisfaction with cup usage decreased after a month versus tampon usage but rose progressively over months 2, 3 and beyond.
The environmental impacts associated with using period products have been assessed.
The life cycle assessment of products can provide estimates of how much impact a certain product will have on the environment. This evaluates the company's footprint, which includes both natural resources used and greenhouse emissions- a major cause of global temperature and climate change. The overall impact of disposable tampons and pads is significantly greater than those of re-usable menstrual cups due to raw material, manufacturing process, and waste disposal.