A sanitary napkin is an absorbent item worn in the underwear when menstruating, bleeding after giving birth, recovering from gynecologic surgery, experiencing miscarriage or abortion. A sanitary napkin is used to absorb a blood flow from vagina. A menstrual pad comes under the category of feminine hygiene product that is worn external of vagina, whereas tampons and menstrual cups are inserted in the vaginal opening. The napkin/pad has to be changed several times in 24 hours based on menstrual flow. In general, one should change her pads after around 5-6 hours of wearing it. If you wear the same pad for long time( more than 6 hours), then there of chances of developing vaginal infections (no matter how your flow is). Prolonged use of sanitary napkins in a day results in overgrowth of staphylococcus aureus bacteria in your vagina. Its commonly called toxic shock syndrome. Some symptoms of toxic shock are dizziness, fever, diarrhea.
In olden days, there are no sanitary napkin or tampons or anything to use during vaginal bleeding. The only choice they had is, to keep the used old cloth (folded) in their vagina externally. They use clothes and wash and then dry them for their next use as well. The cotton used in the production of sanitary napkin (pads) contains herbicides and pesticides. pesticides and herbicides are linked to thyroid malfunction, infertility and other health problems. Cotton is not naturally ultra-white. Because some girls prefer something that is purely white to make them feel they’re putting on something fresh and clean. Sanitary pad companies use chemicals to bleach the cotton. The material used to manufacture most of the pads are derived from petroleum and forestry.
There is no research to attest that the sanitary napkins sold in India are safe. But the use of some chemicals in the feminine hygiene product raise question over how safe they really are. It’s a sanitary napkin. it’s purpose is not only to absorb, hygiene matters a lot. Hygiene parameters of the product, of how safe they are, should be disclosed on the respective packets. Unfortunately, people chooses sanitary napkins based on the cost, design, and packing. But the main consideration should be hygiene. Unconsciously, we are paying a very high price for being neat freaks. Some women may think that it’s normal to have allergies and itchiness, which is a misconception. AT times, the rash can be due to the result of irritation from the cheap fragrances (chemical soup, laced with artificial colors) and chemicals used in the manufacturing of sanitary pads. Some of the chemicals used in sanitary pads are
- Polyester
- Polyethylene(PET)
- Propylene glycol(PEG)
- Dioxin
- Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins(PCDDs)
- polychlorinated dibenzofurans(PCDFs)
- Polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)
Napkins are made to absorb wetness. That’s why aside from cotton, they also contain rayon, a synthetic fiber, which is also dangerous because they also contain dioxin. Basically, when rayon is bleached, it releases dioxin.
Some shocking facts of sanitary napkins:
- Almost all the conventional sanitary pads are mimicked to look like pure cotton. But that’s not true, since some pads are made of waste paper and wood pulps.
- Since the white color is associated with purity, the waste papers are processed and bleached with chlorine to make it look sterile.
- It may look pristine and harmless, but the bleached waste paper and wood pulp will still have the residues and by-products of bleaching. The two of deadliest toxins-dioxin and trihalomethane.
- Dioxins are earmarked as No.1 human carcinogen– a substance that causes cancer in living tissues.
- Dioxin is banned in early 2001 because of its ability to cause cancer in ovaries, bladder, breasts and uterus.
- Dioxin also cause pelvic inflammatory disease and Endometriosis. The Endometriosis Association of America correlates the very high incidence of Endometriosis to dioxin in sanitary napkins.
- Dioxin can also cause infertility, hormonal imbalances and multiple menstrual disorders.
On a average, a women uses 12,000-17,000 disposable sanitary pads/tampons in her life time. Today, women are forced to believe that what they use is pure and made up of pure cotton by ceaseless advertisements through television, internet and social medias. Chemicals on your skin may be worse than eating them. Sanitary napkins are often thrown into ponds, rivers, lakes, contaminating the water bodies and the organisms live there, or thrown in the open, choking drains and polluting the soil. While the plastic in sanitary pads doesn’t degrade easily, the menstrual waste consist of blood and body fluids, is another source of pollution that can lead to deadly disease. Trash collector often handle these sanitary products with their bare hands and can easily become infected, in case the blood belongs to an HIV infected person.
When we choose a sanitary napkin we need to be conscious of what it does to our body as well as the environment after disposing off.
Eduindex News 