Posted by Rachel | Posted in Gourmet Coffee | Posted on 06-06-2010
Tags: coffee, cup, cup reusable, cup reusable coffee filter reviews, cup reusable coffee nz, cup reusable period, cup reusable tampon, environment, green, shopping
Do you use a menstrual cup or reusable pads?
Do you have increased infections with either product due to the reusble factor? I would prefer the pads but get frequent yeast infections and would be afraid to use them. I am interested in them for environmental reasons. Thanks!
You are at FAR less risk from infections when using re-usable options.
I use a Mooncup ( http://www.mooncup.co.uk ) and have been for 5 years now – I have never had an infection, where as when I was using commercial tampons and pads I had constant bacterial infections and yeast infections, as well as generally being very uncomfortable. I also use re-usable pads from time to time, Lunapads ( http://www.lunapads.com ), which have also not caused any infections.
Commercial options have all sorts of downsides when it comes to health, take commercial pads (Always, etc.) these are made from synthetic materials and plastics that stop air getting to your vulva/vagina resulting in a warm moist environment perfect for bacteria and yeast to thrive.
Commercial options like commercial pads are unnecessarily bleached and chemically treated, within the 1990′s this saw the dioxin scandal when chlorine gas bleaching was used resulting in dioxin being present in tampons and pads, although this method is no longer used (at least in the UK as of Nov. 1997, not sure about the US) the methods that are still used are unnecessary and because of laws protecting companies trade secrets we don’t know what exactly chemicals they use now, so there is still a real concern about what chemicals are present in commercial menstrual options. Whether we know the exact extent of the risks that come from manufacturing methods or not we do know for a fact that such products contain chemicals that are not naturally found within the vulva/vagina, as such these interrupt normal vaginal pH which in turn throws off normal levels of bacterial and yeast that lead to infections.
As such re-usable pads are far healthier and safer than commercial pads because they are made from cloth that is not treated with chemicals, this means that you are kept dryer and no chemicals are present to interfere with your vaginal pH – more so if you go for plain white 100% organic cotton cloth pads, think about it like your underwear; it is recommended you wear plain white cotton underwear rather than underwear made from synthetic materials to help prevent yeast infections, the same go for your pads wearing cotton pads rather than synthetics.
Menstrual cups are also far safer and healthier than tampons or other commercial options because they are made from materials that do not give bacteria a place to multiply, do not contain harmful chemicals, and that allow normal vaginal cleaning.
People get a bit knee-jerk when it comes to re-usable options because there is still such a huge taboo about menstruation, menstrual product companies do a good job of playing on that making women feel that they have to use whiter-than-white disposable options in order to be clean. See some of your answers from women who are implying they are not safe or unhygienic, obviously without actually knowing anything about the issues involved.
An increasing number of women are switching back to re-usable options because as well as better for the environment, and often more convenient as well as cheaper than commercial options, re-usable options are far more hygienic and safer than commercial options.
Oh, and if you do get yeast infections it is also a benifit that cloth pads can be washed on a high heat (avoid harsh detergents) with tea tree oil or tea tree oil can be put on the pads while you’re wearing them to help treat any infection. Same goes for menstrual cups, these are not only cleaner than other internal menstrual options but the only menstrual option that can be steralized, you can also add tea tree oil to the cup to treat any infections internally. But trust me, you switch to re-usable options you will see you will have far fewer infections compaired to commercial options.
If you are a pad user I do highly recommend Lunapads because although a little more pricey than other brands or making your own pads they are very well made – trust me, they are far more comfortable than commercial pads as no horrible damp feeling or irritation from plastic edges, not to mention of course no irritation from chemicals or from yeast infections! 
)
Another idea for you would be to try organic pads, these are just the same as commercial pads and are also disposable however they don’t have the synthetics or chemicals that could be causing your yeast infections, it also makes them far more environmentally friendly. Yes they are still disposable, however they are made from 100% organic cotton where as commercial pads are made normally from a 50:50 mix of rayon (made from wood, they only use around 30% of the trees to make rayon) and cotton (which is not organic, meaning chemicals are used in farming the cotton) and contain no chemicals (commercial pads use chemicals that end up polluting the environment, bleaching methods also use extra energy). There are plenty of organic brands around and larger pharmacy stores will stock these right along side commercial options, such as Cottons, Natracare and Organic Essentials.
Re-usable cloth pads:
http://www.lunapads.com – Lunapads (highly recommended)
http://www.gladrags.com – Gladrags
http://www.reddyspads.com – Reddys pads
http://urban-armor.org/urban-armor – Urban-armor
http://www.hagrag.bigstep.com – Hagrag
http://www.perfectpads.net – Perfect pads
Homemade re-usable cloth pads:
http://www.wen.org.uk/sanpro/reports/makeyourown_web.pdf – WEN make your own pads (very good)
http://shewhorunsintheforest.googlepages.com – Adahy’s cloth pads patterns
http://bloodsisters.org/bloodsisters/images/makepads.pdf – Bloodsisters pattern
http://www.stewardwood.org/resources/DIYwashabletowels.htm – Steward community washable towels
Information on re-usable cloth pads:
http://www.scarleteen.com/pink/washable.html – 8 myths about washable pads dispelled
http://www.wen.org.uk/sanpro/reports/sanpro.pdf – Seeing Red from WEN
http://www.oxyboost.com/cleaning_pages/cloth_menstrual_pads.html – Information on cloth menstrual pads
http://www.menstruation.com.au/menstrualproducts/caringforpads.html – How to care for cloth pads
Organic disposable pads:
http://www.natracare.com – Natracare
http://www.tampontification.com – Tamponification
http://www.cottons.com.au – Cottons
http://www.organicessentials.com – Organic Essentuials
Menstrual cups:
http://www.divacup.com – Divacup
http://www.thekeeper.com – Keeper
http://www.mooncup.co.uk – Mooncup
http://www.ladycup.eu – Ladycup
http://www.lunette.fi – Lunette
http://www.softcup.com – Instead (disposable cups)
Information about menstrual cups:
http://www.menstrualcups.org – All about menstrual cups
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup – Wikipedia entry on menstrual cups
http://www.mum.org/MenCups.htm – History of menstrual cups
Information about menstrual product health/safety issues:
http://www.wen.org.uk – WEN (uncovered the dioxin scandal – see sanpro)
http://www.sanitaryproducts.co.uk – Are your sanitary products damaging your health?
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/052099/feat.nc.tampon.shtml – Seeing red
http://www.lauralee.com/news/femhygienetruth.htm – The shocking truth about feminine hygiene products
http://www.spotsite.org/village.html – Pulling the plug on the sanitary protection industry (see also Spotsite.org)
http://www.life.ca/nl/46/maxi.html – The maxi with the moxie
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