It was six months ago that the Celin Celicauar bought his last tampon and switching to a re -purpose menstrual disc.
“I was already careful with tampons from one Environmental perspective And also from a biological point of view. I felt that they were very useless and expensive to buy continuously, ”he said.
Flexible discs and other reusable menstrual products are receiving traction as an alternative to billions of billions of utilization pads and tampons that throw into landfills every year. Products such as discs, silicone cups and period underwear can be reused for years, so they are cost -effective and long lasting in addition to helping people to reduce waste. The popularity of reusable options has increased since the epidemic, when it was easy to experiment with the products of the duration in the confidentiality of the bathroom of the house, women’s Health expert.
Celikoyar said that he used tampons and pads for years because they are options that he grew up. But when he saw that his friend switched to the menstrual disc, he also decided to try it.
“Experience has been such a game changer,” he said.
Single-use products give air to landfill
About 12 billion disposable pads and 7 billion tampons go to American landfill every year, Dr. According to Luvam Semare, the head of maternity and gynecology in Kaiser Permanent Santa Clara. Pads are mostly plastic. According to the National Institute of Health, once they are in landfill, they take up to 800 years.
Single-use pads and tampons are the most popular period products so far. Women’s Health Specialist Dr. Navaya Mysore said that it is not because they are better, they are usually shown to children first.
“It was often so, ‘What did your mother use? What did your grandmother use?” And thus you were introduced into period hygiene, ”said Mysore, a primary care doctor located in New York City.
Benefits and shortcomings to switch
The most popular menstrual cup, which is very much inserted like a tampon. The disc is inserted away, so they do not disrupt sexual intercourse. Both can catch manifold more than tampons and can be inserted for 12 hours instead of four to eight hours recommended for tampons. Semare also said that the risk of toxic shock syndrome typically associated with tampons is very low with the menstrual cup and disc.
Opposition? Some techniques are required to keep the products right, and wrong it can cause mess. The cup and disc also have to be cleaned regularly with soap and water.
“It is difficult to do if you are at work and you are in a shared, public toilet. It’s not most convenient,” said Mysore.
Cups prevent leakage by creating a suction, so people who use intrauterine devices for contraceptive risk, if they take out a menstrual cup without breaking the seal.
The placement of the disc, which does not use suction, can take anything to use.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine with an epidemicist Dr. Animike van EJAC said, “It’s high, you don’t feel it, but sometimes it may be difficult for women to get them out.”
But for Celikoyar, the benefits of the disc defeated the deficiencies. He said that the long-changing window has obtained it through a back-to-back concert and red-i flight without any concern.
“There is ease of use for modern women that is much better than traditional methods,” she said.
Comparison cost
The menstrual cups and discs are usually spent between $ 15 and $ 40 and come in different sizes and sizes. They are available online and at pharmacies and large box stores.
“Ideally, you would like to experiment a little about which type of cup works best for you. And the cost may be prohibitory to do so,” said Van EJAC.
A reusable product can help save money in the long term. Celikoyar estimates that she was using three tampons every day for seven days, or about 20 per month. With a cost of 20 to 25 cents with tampons, someone who switchs into a re -appropriate product, will break even after a few months.
For those who prefer pads, the most common reusable option period is the underwear, which is comparable to regular looking underwear with an additional exploitative lining.
“They are good because we see people jealous of the use of pads,” Semre said. “Due to various materials which are in disposable pads.”
Like with pads, the negative side is inability to explain that it absorbs all that can do all this.
Mysore said that some of its patients use underwear as backup, and pairs them of cups, discs or tampons.
“You can mix and match products of different periods, it depends on how heavy your flow is and what your duration is for you,” he said.
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Kalegh Wales, Associated Press
