Whether we like them or not, natural laws are impossible to circumvent. So to avoid grinding to a halt one week per month, women regularly use disposable products. Most of us think that this is inevitable. At what price, however, not only on our pockets but also on the environment and our health? What are the alternatives?
Reading the instructions for using a tampon gives you cold sweats. Since Procter & Gamble's Rely tampon affair in the 1980s, all manufacturers must inform users of the risks of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). It is a rare, but potentially fatal, disease. It was also said that the process of bleaching, formerly with chlorine, produced dioxin, a product classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a carcinogen, which could cause cancer of the cervix and endometriosis.
Health Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society state that tampons today contain only negligible amounts of dioxin, which "would not present a health risk. Any risk of adverse health effects would be regarded as negligible." Note the use of the conditional. The more exposed to it you are, the more serious the danger. WHO clearly specifies that toxic levels of dioxin have not been definitively established.
What is certain is that pads irritate the skin. They contain products intended to absorb odors, even those without perfume. As for the tampons, they cause tiny cuts, which make our bodies more vulnerable to infections. What they absorb is 60 percent blood; the remainder is composed of secretions, which should remain in our vagina, to ensure its moisture and natural cleanliness. "The use of the tampons is associated with the increased risk of vaginal dryness and vaginal ulcers," explains Health Canada.
Lastly, no tampon or pad, however white they may be, is sterile. So, we are no more advanced than Egyptian women and their papyruses or our grandmothers and their rags.
All these reasons lumped together are largely sufficient to encourage women to take responsibility and seek other means of taking control of their purses, their health and reducing pollution.
For sanitary pad users, there are reusable and washable fabric towels. There are minis, midi and maxi pads, with wings. They have various very pretty designs. You can also get the patterns and make them yourself.
Tampon users have the choice between natural sponges and the Keeper. The natural sponges are small sponges cultivated in seawater farms. Hard when they are dry, you just need to moisten them, attach a string and there you have a tampon, which is soft and effective, takes the shape of your body and does not dry out your mucous membranes. You can reuse them for up to six months, boiling them between periods.
The Keeper acts like a small natural rubber receptacle, which you place in the vagina like a tampon. Held in by suction, it respects the natural balance of your body because it does not absorb, but collects blood. You just need to empty it, clean it with tepid, soapy water and rinse well before reusing it. Not practical in public toilets? You could buy two, so you always have a clean one on you.
Certain manufacturers offer a similar product with a more aggressive marketing approach. They pack it in several thicknesses of pink plastic to attract what they describe as "true women." The disadvantage of these imitations is that the product is made of transparent silicone, for aesthetic reasons.
The effects of silicone on health are still not known. Since it is a more recent product, and it is guaranteed for only one year, because it is not yet known how well it ages.
Sources: www.hc-sc.gc.ca (Canada Health), www.mum.org (Museum of Menstruation), www.bloodsisters.org , www.cancer.ca (Canadian Cancer Society)
For a list of reusable menstrual products: www.seapearls.co.uk and www.menses.co.uk
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