Here is an interesting post with regards to a report released from the Women�s Voices for the Environment called �Chem Fatale� that examined the toxicity of various feminine hygiene products. They discovered that tampons, pads and other feminine hygiene products contain unwanted chemicals and pesticides, and could be detrimental to women�s health. - 21 Day Purification Program
Here is the full discussion. Products applied vaginally can enter in the circulation quickly, making it particularly important for ladies to be aware of this.
In health,
The Dirty Tricks of Feminine Hygiene Products
The Gerson Institute
I am aware menstruation-and the vagina, generally-is a conversational topic that usually prompts expressions of disgust, mockery, gross-out jokes or pleas for ignorance, particularly from men. But let�s all accept be responsible grownups here, and talk seriously about a health issue that affects nearly every woman in the world, and is also many times ignored from misguided politeness or squeamishness.
The common woman will have about 350 menses in her own lifetime, which, given an estimated average period duration of 6 days, means she'll spend when using nearly 6 numerous years of her lifetime menstruating. It�s estimated the average woman uses up to 11,800 tampons in her own lifetime. So that�s a lot of sustained contact with menstrual products. And in addition to menstrual products, an estimated 10-40% of women use other feminine hygiene products for example douches, wipes, deodorants and creams
The female genitalia will be the where you can a very delicate balance of bacteria and yeast. If that balance is disturbed, it's possible to end up having painful conditions for example utis (UTIs), vaginitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and yeast infections. A few of these infections, particularly UTIs, may become quite acutely severe.
The best way to safeguard against these common, but potentially serious, infections would be to prevent them altogether, and to keep the bacteria and yeast levels in balance. While there are lots of steps you can take in order to avoid UTIs, candidiasis as well as other problems-such as urinating pre and post sexual activity, avoiding over-washing the region with harsh soaps, wiping front-to-back, avoiding bubble baths, and wearing cotton underwear-another will be very wary of what sorts of materials and things you put �down there.�
6 Nasty Substances Found in Feminine Hygiene Products
Chlorine: Utilized to bleach cotton menstrual products, particularly tampons and menstrual pads
Dioxins and furans: Known carcinogens that can cause reproductive, developmental and hormonal problems, and will have a detrimental influence on the disease fighting capability. They're by-products with the chlorine used for the bleaching process.
Pesticide residue: Most cotton used for tampons and pads is made of conventionally-grown cotton, that is given heavy pesticides. Even though the FDA �recommends� that tampons be free from pesticide residue, testing on the popular brand o.b. detects the presence of pesticides like pyrethrum, procymidone, mecarbam and fensulfothion-which are possible carcinogens and connected to endocrine disruption. And, while the Chem Fatale report will not mention this specifically, I'd also love to say that some brands use genetically-modified cotton. If you�re avoiding eating GMO foods, you�ll probably want to reconsider putting GMO products in other areas of your body as well.
Fragrance: This one simple word can contain multitudes of harmful chemicals-none that have to be listed or disclosed on labels. �Fragrances� range from chemicals regarded as carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, irritants and allergens. While these fragrances are most commonly seen in douches and sanitary wipes (more on that topic later), it�s also common for pads and tampons to come with �scented� versions. Feminine deodorants and perfumes will also be well-known to cause irritation and allergic reactions, mainly because of the fragrances used.
Parabens: Found in vaginal anti-itch creams, feminine wipes and feminine washes, typically as a preservative. Parabens are skin irritants and allergens, and could have damaging estrogenic properties.
Man-made materials: Most tampons and pads aren't 100% cotton today, they are made from synthetic fabrics like rayon, or Super Absorbent Powders (SAPs). Some of these substances, combined with other chemicals and fragrances, could cause rashes and skin irritation, specially when found in menstrual pads.
Besides the toxicity of those various chemicals present in feminine hygiene products, I'd like to notice there are also certain types of items that are bad for vaginal health not just due to their ingredients, but his or her actual functions and purposes are inherently problematic.
Why �Douchebag� Should be considered a Bad Word
There�s a very good reason that the words �douche� and �douchebag� have grown to be popular pejorative insults. Douches are well-deserving from the negative publicity its common usage in the modern lexicon has granted it. Douches are associated with a number of problems: vaginitis, chronic candidiasis, pregnancy complications, infertility and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Studies show a correlation between regular douching and cervical cancer. They could also cause women to become more vulnerable to sexually-transmitted infections (STIs). So, what makes them so harmful? And so why do they continue to be so popular? - 21 Day Purification Program
The main reason douches cause numerous problems is they disrupt natural self-cleaning objective of the vagina, eliminating the beneficial bacteria inside the vagina and leaving it at risk of yeast overgrowth and �bad� bacteria. The vagina is a self-cleaning organ; the mucous that lubricates in addition, it eliminates any harmful substances that come in, including pathoenic agents or viruses than could cause infections. A healthy vagina needs no cleansing agents; it will all right alone, thanks. It certainly doesn�t need the host of disinfectants, �fragrances� or other chemicals that douches, wipes and washes contain. Yet there's still significant amounts of stigma and shame regarding the vagina in regards to perceived uncleanliness, or concern with odors, so some women feel compelled to wash it or �freshen� it. Yet, because douching can disrupt the all-important flora-yeast balance in the vagina, douches can in fact make the very odor issues they purported to eliminate.
Teen girls are particularly prone to these fears, because of the large number of anxieties surrounding puberty and the onset of menstruation, but douches may also be all-too-commonly-and somewhat disproportionately-used by low-income and minority women.
Inspite of the near-universal condemnation with the practice from the medical and gynecological communities, the fact that douching is �an expected and necessary part of feminine hygiene� likely persists as a result of advertisements that perpetuate these beliefs by preying on women�s insecurities, but in addition by well-intentioned but poorly-informed family and friends.
In the 1950s, a now-notorious number of manipulative ad campaigns aimed at housewives informed them that their vaginas were dirty and smelly, making them repulsive to their husbands. The reply to their marital woes? To �freshen up� by douching with Lysol (shudder!).
There�s and also the persistent myth that douching prevents pregnancy. The reason being archaic contraceptive methods involving douching date back practically to prehistory, and remained popular through most of the 20th century, because of the aforementioned Lysol ad campaigns, which were subtly angled at selling Lysol douches being a contraceptive. Possibly that, inside the ad above, the tag-line identifies Lysol like a �germ-killer,� which just transpires with rhyme with �sperm-killer,� yet others described Lysol as a �germicide.� Lysol was, frighteningly, the most used contraceptive in the united states from the 1920s before early 1960s. Needless to say, it didn�t really work; a 1933 study showed that half women surveyed who used Lysol as a contraceptive became pregnant. In some cases, douching can increase risk of pregnancy by pushing sperm up to the cervix, instead of washing out!
So please, in the event you spot a container of Summer�s Eve below your friend, wife, daughter or partner�s bathroom sink, share these details using them, which help stop the-if you�ll pardon the not so good pun-�flow� of bad information about women�s health. And, use this information to produce conscious and informed choices concerning the products you decide to devote your body-especially in such a sensitive area!