Today’s post is quite different to the usual material that I post, and its to do with something that every woman has the joy of experiencing once a month (and its not payday). I am of course talking about that wonderful time known as the period, something that every woman goes through but no one really talks about – and perhaps it is exactly the lack of this conversation that means so many women are unaware of some of the dangers that conventional feminine hygiene products do not only to the environment, but to your health (ironically the very thing it seeks to improve).
The primary culprit of these implications is the tampon, a product that while more practical and arguably more comfortable than the pad, can actually pose the biggest risk to your health due to the nature of their manufacture, something that many women including myself are surprisingly unaware of the consequences. This post is therefore a little PSA on the dangers of conventional tampons, as well as a review on some alternative feminine hygiene products by Veeda.
As a relatively anxious teen when it came to tampons, I only started using them a couple years ago as an additional ‘protective barrier’ to the pad, and since then, have begun to rely on them so that I can lead the active life I do without any boundaries or fashion compromises. However, after reading articles online about the dangers of mass produced tampons, I realised that my youthful tampon anxiety didn’t count for nothing – and I soon realised tampons and other feminine hygiene products may be the biggest women’s health issue no one is paying attention to.
Increasingly, politicians, writers, women’s health advocates, and doctors alike are raising concerns about the dangers of these products, as they still exist in a regulatory grey area. Here are some of the reasons why conventional tampon brands are so dangerous:
1) Unregulated Ingredients
As a naive teen, I used to think that tampons were just made of cotton, and nothing else. In actual fact, conventional tampons from well-known brands may be made from blends of bleached cotton and/or synthetic products, as well as dioxins from the bleaching process, pesticide and herbicide residues, synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, and dyes. What’s even more shocking is that ingredients in feminine hygiene products are unregulated, meaning that continued use presents women with a huge health risk.
2) Pesticides and Bleaching can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome
You make sure to only buy organic fruit, but what about the pesticides used on the cotton on your tampons? Yes, the materials used to make your tampons are often farmed using harsh pesticides and chemicals, which may be absorbed into your body when you use tampons. The chlorine bleaching process used on the cotton that ends up is most tampons and pads also concerns many environmental and women’s health advocates, as fibres that remain inside the vaginal canal can become a bacterial breeding ground and lead to infections like Toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
TSS is the biggest threat caused by these chemicals, caused by a bacterial infection which can attack the major organs, leading to kidney failure, collapse of the lungs, and even cardiac arrest, sometimes in a matter of hours. Fifty percent of occurrences are associated with high-absorbency tampon use.
3) Environmental Impact
Finally, as we can all imagine, tampons create a huge amount of waste, with many coming with plastic applicators, which doesn’t biodegrade so easily. If that wasn’t enough, the whole chlorine bleaching process also falls into the ocean, killing wildlife there, while the use of pesticides to grow cotton can also have an affect on our air quality and environment.
As someone who was previously unaware of the repercussions of seemingly innocent tampon use, the concerns outlined above are shocking to hear – and when put into perspective, it really does make you wonder why you willingly put something so potentially life threatening into your body on the regular.
However, not all hope is lost! As with the food industry, going organic with brands like Veeda is the way forward, and is definitely a step in the right direction towards better feminine health and increased conversation about the subject. Below are just two of the products from their expansive range that I got to try out, which you can find here – and I’ve got to say, it’s hard to find a reason not to make the switch to organic!
So contrary to the risks associated with conventional tampons, Veeda is a company that has come along to reduce these implications and make sure the tampon continues to be a practical, sustainable and healthy choice to live your life worry-free. Here’s some of the reasons why it’s a great alternative:
1) Veeda tampons are the only hypoallergenic, 100% natural cotton tampons on the market.
2) According to a multidue of medical experts, there has never been a case of tampon-related TSS when using 100% cotton tampons.
3) Veeda products are also hypoallergenic, and priced competitively with conventional feminine hygiene brands – and even so, what’s a small price difference when it comes to paying for peace of mind?
4) Veeda Towel packages use a biodegradable wrap that breaks down in 6-12 Months and does not require special disposal and is environmentally friendly.
Finally, after being able to review these for a week, they feel and do exactly the same as conventional tampons, only without the hassle. I feel a lot freer knowing that something so imperative to my everyday life is not causing me any more harm, and I encourage others to at least give organic a try so that you can see this for yourselves. Your body will thank you for it!
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