Menstrual dressing fabrics are fabric pads used to absorb menstrual flow during a woman's period. They are a reusable type of feminine health product, and are an alternative to replaceable sanitary napkins or reusable menstrual cups. They are cheaper than disposable pads, reducing the amount of waste generated and may also have health benefits.
Generally they are made of a layer of absorbent cloth (such as cotton or hemp) worn by a woman while she is menstruating, for postnatal bleeding or other situations where it is necessary to absorb vaginal blood flow, or to protect the underwear from vaginal secretions regularly. After use, they are washed, dried and then reused.
Video Cloth menstrual pad
Current use
The majority of commercially available bearings are manufactured by work-at-home or small business mothers and can be purchased through several health food stores, specialty stores, and through Internet shops and markets. They are available in various lengths and thicknesses, similar to disposable pads, with longer pads for night use and are thinner and shorter for light use. Some manufacturers will allow buyers to choose fabric, shape and size of pad so that they can be tailor-made to fit the individual woman and as efficiently as possible.
Some women make their own menstrual cushions. These bearings range from washcloths folded to cushions similar to commercially available menstrual pads.
Menstrual cushioning fabrics may be hand or machine washed, and then dried on clothing lines or in clothes dryers, depending on the manufacturer's instructions. (Different fabrics require different treatment methods.) Some women choose to rinse their cushions with cold water before putting them in the washers with their other clothes. Others do not rinse, but place dirty pads directly into the wash. After washing it is very important that the pads are dried in hygienic areas under direct sunlight. Sunlight acts as a disinfectant and prevents microbial growth, which may occur if the pads are not completely dry.
When replacing cloth cloths away from home, some women place dirty bandages into waterproof bags or Ziploc so as not to dry and smother or prevent odors and then wash the cushion comfortably.
Stains sometimes occur. However, this is limited if the pads are rinsed or immersed in cold water immediately after use. Some women prefer dark-colored fabrics that do not show stains as well as light-colored fabrics. Causes of staining include allowing blood to dry on the pad and using hot water while washing the pad. Drying the fabric pads in the sun can help fade the stain.
The fabrics used range from 100% natural fibers to 100% synthetic. Some commonly used fabrics include terrycloth, cotton, silk, hemp, and Gore-Tex. Special fabrics such as hemp, bamboo terry, bamboo velor, French soy terry, interlock wool and polyurethane laminate (PUL). PUL can be purchased from online diaper/diaper supplies stores.
Some types of menstrual pad fabrics have a waterproof coating to help prevent the pad leaking through while other styles of cloth pad can rely on more absorbent layers and exclude waterproofing. Wool can also be used as a natural, breathable backing that provides anti-leak protection.
Developing country
In developing countries, reusable or emergency pads are still used to collect menstrual blood. Women in these countries should often choose to stay in their room during menstruation or use infectious goods such as leaves, husk, disposable cement bags, etc. This problem affects millions of women without access to women's hygiene products. These shortcomings are directly related to exploitation, dropout rates, infections, early marriage and even child trafficking. The quality of the washable menstrual pads now helps as awareness throughout the developing world is also evidenced by the global "Menstrual Day hygiene" initiative. Many NGOs coordinate volunteers to sew an effective washable pad with a moisture barrier that, unlike disposable materials, can be used from month to month.
In Somalia, where girls can be absent from school for a week each month due to menstruation, charities have trained victims of gender-based violence to sew up reusable dressings, which are then purchased for distribution to schools in Mogadishu.
Days for Girls is a global movement based in the United States that supplies girls with kits including reusable cloth cloth, stitched by volunteers around the world. Each kit is in a rope cloth bag with a zip-closing plastic bag for clean and used pads and other hygiene needs, and allows girls to continue their schooling with dignity.
Maps Cloth menstrual pad
Positive aspects
- Menstrual cushioning fabrics are environmentally friendly and do not contribute to landfill because they can be reused and do not come in or contain plastic packaging. When cloth menstrual pads (after years of use), made from natural materials can be composted while sanitary napkins made from synthetic materials can not be recycled or composted. Fewer chemicals are used by menstrual cloth products compared to disposable products. They create less waste overall compared with disposable menstrual products because they can be made from reused materials, including pillowcases and towels. Some cloth bandages use hemp as a more environmentally friendly absorbent core to grow when compared to cotton or wood pulp. Organic choices, such as cushions made from organic cotton grown without pesticides and chemicals, are available.
- In the long run, it is cheaper to buy or make with menstrual hand cloth.
- They can be cleaned in a washing machine.
- Claimed, without evidence, that some users have shorter or lighter periods or fewer cramps when using cloth pads compared to disposable products.
- Menstrual dressing fabrics, like all menstrual cushions, eliminate the risk of toxic shock syndrome associated with tampons.
- Some fabric manufacturers run or donate some of their proceeds to programs that provide reusable feminine health products (dressings or menstrual cups) for girls and women in developing countries so they can continue to attend school or work during menstruation./li>
Difficulty
- Washing the reusable pad requires water and detergent; also electric power if not washed by hand. Bloody cleaning water should be disposed of safely.
- Menstrual dressing fabrics need to be washed, dried, and treated.
- Special care may need to be taken if the user has a candidiasis infection (yeast). The pads can cause re-infection if not sterilized.
- Initial costs for reusable menstrual products are usually higher per pad than for single use, although the total cost of use is much less.
- A blood-borne pathogen such as hepatitis C is present in the menstrual cushion of an infected patient, and poses a risk of infection if not sealed in a leak-proof container.
History
For centuries, women have used various forms of menstrual protection. Women often use strips of old rags to catch their menstrual blood, which is why the term "on the cloth" is used to refer to menstruation.
Disposable menstrual pads seemed to be first commercially available starting around 1888 with the Southall pad. More widely successful single-use menstrual dressings had their beginnings during the first world war, when French nurses used Kimberly-Clark bark bandage as a menstrual cushion that could be discarded after use. Kotex's first commercial for this wood-made product appeared in 1921.
Until the emergence of disposable pads, women use various stitched or fabricated pads of various fabrics, often leftover, to collect menstrual blood, although some women have used any absorbent, to collect menstrual blood. Fabrics can generally be washed and reused. When disposable pads are introduced, they are too expensive for many women to buy. When they can be given, women are allowed to put money in boxes so they do not have to talk to the officers and take a box of Kotex pads from the counter itself. It took several years for a disposable menstrual cushion to become commonplace. However, they are now used almost exclusively in most of the industrial world.
Cloth menstrual pads made a comeback sometime around 1970. With the number of pads manufacturers and online communities devoted to these improvements in the 1990s and early 2000s, they seemed increasingly popular.
See also
- Menstruating hygiene days
References
External links
- Museum of Menstruation
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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