Period symptoms are uninvited guests that show anywhere. However, you can prevent period symptoms like period pain by keeping the essentials at hand.

A Guide to Period Products

A handy guide to everything you need for ‘that’ time of the month. And what products are environmentally friendly.

A Guide To Period Products

Overview

It comes every month like clockwork leaving you scrambling to &lsquo;defend&rsquo; yourself before you start to &lsquo;leak.&rsquo; Periods. A word that inspires both dread and relief in girls and women across the world.&nbsp; 
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choice of period products

Menstruation or getting your period, is when a girl or a woman bleeds through her vagina for three to seven days (everyone&rsquo;s cycle is different) at approximate regular intervals every month. This bleeding is normal, it&rsquo;s the shedding of the lining of a woman&rsquo;s uterus that has been building up throughout the month in anticipation of a pregnancy. When pregnancy doesn&rsquo;t happen, oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels in a woman&rsquo;s body begin falling. Very low levels of oestrogen and progesterone tell your body to begin menstruation. The lining sheds, preparing the uterus for another cycle.&nbsp; 
 
Getting her first period is an important moment in a girl&rsquo;s life and an important marker of fertility for women, but as you age, it becomes a more and more tedious task &lsquo;dealing&rsquo; with them. Every woman&rsquo;s body is different and while some require light defences for that leaky time of the month, others require somewhat of a battle-plan.&nbsp; 
Gone are the days of cutting out strips of cloth and cotton to make leaky, dangerous, homemade period pads. Women today have access to a host of options for that time of the month.&nbsp; 
In a single lifetime, a woman will use and discard anywhere between 5,000 to 15,000 period products. That&rsquo;s a very large number when considering that most, if not all of this, ends up as un-recycleable trash. With the effects of climate change growing more and more severe with each passing day, there is a growing movement to encourage women to make more sustainable choices in their lives, and this includes their choice of period products. 
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Here&rsquo;s our lowdown on the options out there and what you can or should use: 
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	<h5 dir="ltr">Sanitary Napkins</h5>
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The commonly used option around the world. Sanitary napkins of today, with their fancy gel technology that compresses fluids expelled by a woman&rsquo;s body are a far, far cry from the leaky mess that earlier napkins &mdash; with their cotton and gauze design &mdash; used to be.&nbsp; 
 
Modern napkins come with a gel technology to minimise body fluids that have been expelled, they also come with wings to cover the sides of your underwear as well. Using them is as simple as unpacking, taking out the paper protecting the glue that helps stick them to your body.&nbsp; 
But those napkins were also &lsquo;healthier&rsquo;. Although very safe to use, modern sanitary napkins, if left for long can cause <a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/toxic-shock-syndrome">Toxic Shock Sydnrome (TSS)</a> explored further below.&nbsp; 
Make it environmentally friendly by going for reusable, washable, pre-stitched cloth napkins. They are washed and ready to use after every turn. 
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	<li>
	<h5 dir="ltr">Tampons</h5>
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One of the more commonly used products is the tampon. Shaped like a little cotton cylinder, with a string at the bottom to help pull it out, tampons are designed to be inserted into the vagina with or without an applicator. 
Most government-approved tampons are made of cotton, rayon, or a blend of both. The absorbent fibers used are created through bleaching process that is free from elemental chlorine, which also prevents products from having dangerous levels of dioxin (a type of pollutant found in the environment). 
They are the least environmentally friendly option and in terms of your health, the riskiest. Tampons if left inside the body for more than four hours can lead to an increased risk of TSS.

That&rsquo;s because tampons are often made from rayon and polyester fibers that can scratch the vaginal canal, leading bacteria that causes TSS to rest there. In addition to this, high-absorbency tampons also rob the vagina of the moisture it needs to naturally clean itself. 
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	<li>
	<h5>Menstrual Cups</h5>
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This period product, with its long-wear potential and the fact that it&rsquo;s reusable up to a couple of years each, has been at the forefront of the sustainable, environmentally friendly period product movement.&nbsp; 
It&rsquo;s made of silicone,&nbsp;and it&rsquo;s designed to be folded and inserted/removed just like a tampon. It can be worn for up to 12 hours without putting your life at risk for TSS.&nbsp; 
They also save you time. Because they are able to hold far more fluid than pads or tampons, using the menstrual cup requires fewer trips to the bathroom and you don&rsquo;t have to worry about leakage. They are a godsend for women with heavier flows.&nbsp; 
 
Out of all of the products inserted inside the vagina, menstrual cups are the safest. They do not rob the vagina of its moisture and self-cleaning abilities, nor do they cause any scratches. In Pakistan, a locally manufactured, safe-to-use menstrual cup can be bought by a sustainable brand called Recircle.&nbsp; 
For women with heavier flows, we recommend using a menstrual cup with a reusable sanitary napkin, just in case.

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	<li>
	<h5 dir="ltr">Period Panties</h5>
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</ul>

These are the latest to hit the market and are turning out to be quite popular. Sustainable and environmentally friendly, period panties are made of super absorbent, super washable fabric. It&rsquo;s hard to believe but you don&rsquo;t have to worry about leaks or even bleeding through them.&nbsp; 
For most women who have used period panties, which can be ordered online in Pakistan, they describe how nice it feels to be normal when on their period. You don&rsquo;t that additional discomfort of feeling like you&rsquo;re wearing an additional item &ndash; like a pad, tampon or cup. Or worry about it showing through your clothes.&nbsp; 
Once used, just wash and sterilise for the next cycle.&nbsp; 
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Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)

This rare, but life-threatening condition is caused by a buildup of certain brands of bacteria that produce toxins and can result in the failure of vital organs such as the lungs, liver or heart. While TSS can happen to anyone, over 50 percent of cases are menstrual-product related. The biggest culprit? Super absorbent tampons, also the least environmentally friendly option.&nbsp; 
Now why does TSS happen? It&rsquo;s caused by three main types of bacteria &mdash; staphylococcus aureus, clostridium sordelli and streptococcus pyogenes. In many of the cases, this bacterium lives on the mucous membrane or the skin without causing any problems or bad symptoms.&nbsp; 
 
However, certain conditions cause this bacterium to multiply rapidly and produce toxins that are harmful, and at times fatal, for the body. The bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, may become trapped in the vagina when highly absorbed&nbsp;tampons are used and can enter the uterus via the cervix.&nbsp; 
That&rsquo;s because bacteria may grow on the tampons if the tampons aren&rsquo;t changed frequently enough. The bacteria may grow even if the period flow is right. In addition to this, tampons can also cause tiny scrapes and cuts in the vagina through which the bacteria can enter the bloodstream.

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Bottom Line

In terms of period products, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You have to find the product that suits you. We highly recommend sticking to the environmentally friendly ones &mdash; the menstrual cup, reusable pads and the latest in menstrual wear, period underwear. Armed with this information, here&rsquo;s to a worry-free period!

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