Pads vs. tampons: What to choose – Part 1
I am 46 years old and started my period when I was in grade 4 at not quite 10 years of age. Back in the day, there was no choice between pads and tampons. Tampons were VERY new on the market and almost considered “sinful” by our more traditional Mothers. We had Kotex, that lovely pad roughly the size of a twin mattress that you held between your legs with a garter type elastic that you wore around your waist. The vertical strap in front and back had a ring at the end where you pulled the cotton strip of the pad through to hold the pad in place. Not only did it not hold it in place but the pad did not absorb things very well and inevitably your underwear and outerwear ended up with stains. Try living that down when you are 10 or 11 years old!
Today, we have an incredible choice of products. Not only do they have an amazing absorbency but they also include adhesive to keep the pad in place and wings that help you to feel free as a bird, strong as an ox, beautiful as a blossoming flower…everything a woman can be at anytime of the month.
Lets face it, when you have your period no woman feels like the ads on T.V. Pads are not nor ever will be a great solution to our period needs. So we move onto tampons.
Tampons have been a great invention for women but they too come with complications. Some are too big, some are too small, some lose their strings, occasionally inside of you, and other than the all natural tampons they are made with chemicals very harmful to our bodies. In that vain, so do pads. Many women are allergic to pads or tampons and cannot use them whatsoever. In my case I am allergic to both. I cannot wear a cup because my periods are too heavy and I cannot take the pill because I have a endocrine/hormonal condition and in the past the pill has caused my having high blood pressure. I suffer each and every month with the effects of allergic reactions on top of my period and have done for 35years.
Is there an answer to this debate? Every woman is different thereby making her feminine hygiene choices different. Most of us learn through trial and error and what works for ourselves may not work for another. You have to wonder though, if they can invent a pill to avoid pregnancy and a pill to stop a pregnancy if you didn’t remember to take your pill to avoid a pregnancy and a pill to assist men to potentially get you pregnant, surely they can invent something to make our periods more comfortable. Today, a pill has been invented to halt our periods altogether until we want to become pregnant and then we can just stop taking it.
I suspect that if I were a young woman of today I would be on board with this new medicine and then could avoid years of pain and suffering. It may not be the most natural way to live, however, I suspect neither is the saga millions of woman play out every month in search of an easier and more comfortable solution to what exists now.