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Menstrual Alternatives

Why Choose an Alternative Menstrual Product?

There are a number of reasons, including:

  • Environmental- By not requiring new manufacturing/depletion of resources, as well as keeping it all from the landfills.
  • Economical- YOU save money by re-using your own menstrual products rather than buying new each month
  • Health- Not only can tampons be abrasive, disposable pads are made of non-breathable materials that can cause problems for chemically sensitive women. All disposable pads and tampons have some degree of dioxins which are NEVER healthy. It is our opinion that dioxins are NEVER, in ANY amounts, acceptable, especially in a product that will be touching or right next to very delicate and sensitive tissue.

Why NOT Choose an Alternative Menstrual Product?

Honestly, the only reason NOT to use re-usable products is if it doesn't work for your lifestyle. If you don't care about environmental concerns, saving money, and your health, then the extra work in taking care of your menstrual cup or washing cloth pads may be a pain to you. While you might think all this is crazy right now, a year from now you might feel differently. I know women who think their own blood and menstrual fluid is gross. At some point, many women change their beliefs, whether it's having a baby, or just accepting their own body and its natural functions. Wherever you fit in, we hope that when you are ready to try an alternative menstrual product, you try one of ours!

Menstrual Cup or Cloth Pads? Decisions...decisions...

As I stated earlier, I will share my personal decisions and how they have changed during the past year. I switched from tampons to the menstrual cup as I've never really enjoyed that "wet" feeling provided by pads. For almost two years, I used the menstrual cup exclusively with no problems. Then out of nowhere, I started getting urinary tract infections every month, at the end of my cycle, only when I used the cup. This is probably also due to hormonal issues I was having, and not fully blamed on the cup. Before I finally stopped using it, I had had about 8 infections.

I had read that using a diaphragm can sometimes lead to infections because it puts some pressure on the bladder. So I imagine that a menstrual cup can work the same way. Some tips to staying healthy if you do want to use a menstrual cup:

  • Use the cup only on your heaviest days, and use cloth on your light days. The more you use it, the more likely it is to cause infection (to those women who are susceptible).
  • Wash hands THOROUGHLY before removing the cup.
  • Wash all soap off from the cup before re-inserting.
  • If possible, urinate AFTER inserting the cup. This is almost impossible first thing in the morning, but try as much as possible.
  • Get plenty of sleep and take vitamin/mineral supplements daily. Keeping your immune system elevated is your best defense against urinary tract infections.
  • If you do feel a UTI coming on, or experience vaginal bacterial infections frequently around the time of your period, consider an internal cleanse (douche) with hydrogen peroxide. If you Google this, you will find woman after woman who found this worked for them, after years and numerous visits to the doctor. Blood changes the pH balance of the vagina, and can allow the wrong bacteria to overgrow during your period. Hydrogen peroxide helps restore balance quickly and provides immediate relief. We also use Urinari-X for UTI prevention as soon as we feel one coming on.

As I said before, our views change over time, and while I still am not a fan of that "wet" feeling, it feels a WHOLE lot better than a UTI!! Wearing cloth pads does not bother me at all, whereas I hated disposable pads. Organic cotton cloth pads don't feel like a diaper. Tampons are just not an option to me for health and environmental reasons, so I make cloth pads and the cup work for me because of that. Hopefully you will consider them as YOUR option as well!

More about Cloth Menstrual Pads

More about Menstrual Cups