No matter what route you take when it comes to "birth control" our monthly friend is usually inevitable. Or at least at some point it will be. Especially if you're going the au naturale route.
There's some mysterious "unladylike" insanity that causes us to be irked about about our own vagina's. Most people aren't even comfortable saying the word, and make it out to be some kind of innuendo.What in the hell. It's not taboo or impolite, it's a body part and a pretty important one at that!
It's time to start talking.
I know this is going to seem a bit extreme to most, but doesn't at least part of you think if there's nothing wrong with a product the ingredients should at least be on the box!? Do you think there's *maybe* a reason they're keeping it so secretive? I have never been told (or even really thought about) the dangers of tampons and pads. For most of us, there's not much of a choice so we assume they'd have to be safe, right? Kind of like toilet paper on steroids or something of that nature. At my young age I don't assume anything anymore. I'm not an anti-conformist, I just read. When I don't like what I'm reading (or lack there of -- ingredients not listed) that warrants a little caution.
It seems like the tampon and feminine pad advertising get more and more awful which is kind of humorous to me because their products are getting equally awful, and more toxic. Can we just have a moment of silence for all the amazing, favorite pair of panties that are forever ruined from Aunt Flo. REST IN PEACE.
Alright, in all seriousness not only is your skin your largest organ; but it is also the thinnest organ. There is less than 1/10th of an inch that separates your skin from potential toxins (ie: lotions, perfumes etc). (If you've followed my blog regularly I sincerely apologize for beating the dead horse)
Ladies, the skin around your vaginal area is obviously extra sensitive, which also makes it more sensitive to toxins, along with the skin inside the vagina as well.
The old saying is "don't put anything on your body that you wouldn't eat" and this needs to hold true for our feminine products. In some cases what we put on our bodies is actually worse because the enzymes found in our saliva and digestive track break down our "toxic" food to some extent and flush them out of the body. When we put things on our skin, there is no filter, the products are absorbed right into the blood stream. (This is exactly why oils work so well when applied topically). When products containing chemicals are applied this way (with no enzymes to break them down) they tend to just build up which is pretty much a ticking time bomb. Build up can cause cancers, hormonal imbalances, other deficiencies. The list is truly endless.
The average woman uses between 16,800 - 24,360 tampons in her lifetime.
This isn't counting pads or panty liners, this is *JUST* tampons.
That's a pretty high number to have the federal government merely turning the other cheek. Not to get political here and regardless of your stance on politics. The fact of the matter is that things going IN and ON our bodies NEED to be labeled correctly, and we as a consumer have every right to know what is in the products even IF we aren't one to read labels.
Isn't it just cotton anyway??
Okay now for the parts that piss me off:
Tampons & pads are considered a "medical device" & because of the way they are categorized their ingredients do not have to be disclosed to us, the consumers.
The people putting the product inside our bodies.
Ummm. About that...
A) This means companies looking for higher profits (and who isn't??) could add literally anything in order to reduce costs and make their profits. I mean products "better."
It's business, right??
B) Why doesn't my insurance cover my $15 worth of tampons and panty liners every month??
Here's the deal. Yes our grandmothers and everyone else has been using tampons forever with no problems but back in the day, they WERE just cotton. They weren't laced with chemicals. Chemicals in personal care products is pretty new-age.
So now that we know just how absurd the industry is let's add some more toxicity onto this awful idea.
I know!
Let's make them smell like flowers and things that are pretty!! What a great idea!!
Scented tampons and feminine washes are about the most reckless thing a girl could do. If you are washing your perennial area regularly you shouldn't need any "scents" down there. However, this is a sensitive area and there could be an occasional itch or funk so I understand the need for feminine wipes from time to time. Again, stay away from the scented products!!
Most feminine washes actually have adverse effects, even the fancy "pH balancing" ones.
Learn how to make your own feminine wipes here.
**Note** feminine wipes and washes are not categorized as medical devices and are categorized as cosmetics. Still a pretty lax industry, but at least we have some, not all ingredients shared with us as consumers.
This video is pretty much all we need to know.... (If you're on mobile click here for the video)
Foam. In pads. That are touching our sensitive areas. Good idea!
I know this all doesn't seem like a big deal because it's only *touching* your skin. But remember what I said before about how that can be so much more dangerous.
Because this toxic concoction isn't enough... the fibers of our feminine products are BLEACHED so they're white and "clean."
Using chlorine bleach creates dioxin. Studies have shown that dioxin collects in your fatty tissues. Dioxin is considered a serious public health threat with NO SAFE LEVEL OF EXPOSURE. But I'm sure after 16,000+ tampons you'll probably be fine.
Dioxin is kind of the least of your worries, though.
Most name brand tampons are made from cotton (I mean, duh) and actually contain pesticides (Cotton crops are only 2.4% of the worlds land, yet $2 billion is spent on pesticides for the cotton crops). Since most of our cotton is genetically modified, you can likely count on your tampons containing GMO'S (again-- more dangerous than eating GMO's)
Tampons and pads with neutralizers and artificial fragrances are basically a toxic slurry. The ingredients used to make neutralizers and fragrances are known to cause birth defects, hormonal disruption, cancer, dryness, and infertility.
It's kind of funny to me how tampax, kotex and every other brand out there gives you an entire page warning you of TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) which is incredibly rare, yet we have no warning about the dangers lurking in their products literally all the time. The real kicker though is that WE DON'T EVEN KNOW ALL THE DANGERS BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE IS IN THEM!!
You might be terrified to ever use a tampon again and of course I wouldn't share something so horrific without providing you with a safer, better alternative.
As a consumer, every time you purchase a product you are essentially casting your vote. For example, when you purchase products like tampons and pads you're basically telling the manufacturers "it's okay, we don't need to know what kind of chemicals are in your products."
You'd think an ethical company would just disclose the ingredients to begin with, right?
Never mind the discomfort associated with tampons and how at some point every single brand will eventually leak at the most inconvenient time or just feel like a dried cactus grinding on your vaginal wall. And I'm not saying that the 16,000+ tampons you use in your lifetime are going to kill you, because they've been around forever. But what they are likely going to kill is your dreams of having a family, your hormones, and potentially if they do enough disrupting and cause a terminal cancer, then yes they very well could KILL YOU.
So what do we do?
Feminine cups.
Ever heard of them?
I'm only going to speak about the one that I have used but I am sure there are other equally great ones out there.
So about 3 months ago we were heading on a road trip and of course my cycle decides to show up.
I mean the timing couldn't be better, right?
I don't know about you but the thought of riding in the car for hours with a tampon just sounded like torture. I had been looking into feminine cups, reading reviews and was basically desperate.
I purchased The Diva Cup
They have 2 models, one is for before kids and one is for after kids (regardless of the way you gave birth). I'll save you the full the story about how I purchased the wrong one, got home and realized it, and how the poor innocent man at the counter exchanged it with absolute horror on his face -- don't worry it was still sealed in the package.
...THAT WAS AWKWARD
Anyway, if you plan more ahead than I did they're a whole lot cheaper than they are at the store. Most major retailers don't even offer them as a matter of fact, I got mine at a pretty much organic grocery store and paid almost double what they sell for on Amazon.
So I'm not going to lie to you, it's a little intimidating and kind of awkward at first but oh MAN are they completely worth it.
Guess how many pairs of underwear I have ruined since switching??
ZERO.
It is entirely more comfortable. Most days I don't actually even remember that I am menstruating.
You can pee without having to change it and depending on your flow you can change it as few as 2x per day without ANY risk of TSS or anything else.
It doesn't feel like you have a dry cactus in your crotch on the last days of your cycle, either.
The diva cup is made of silicone and it's free from chemicals, BPA, artificial dyes etc. It's reusable, month after month and you will NEVER miss tampons, unless you really like cactuses... in your crotch.
I've been dying to write this blog but I had to make sure I was never going back to tampons, because I wouldn't want to lie to my lovely followers!
Pms problems? Check out this awesome study!
We can't raise awareness alone. SHARING IS CARING <3
No comments:
Post a Comment