Menstrual Essentials

Pads and tampons are two types of products that you can use during your menses. These absorb the menstrual flow, or blood. They will also help to prevent your clothes from getting stained when you have your menses.

Pads provide external protection and they are attached to your panties. There are different types of pads for different absorption capacity.

A tampon, on the other hand, fits inside the vagina. The walls of the vagina hold it in place. Each tampon has a string that hangs out of the vagina. The tampon is removed easily by pulling the string. Different sizes are available for light, medium and heavy flows.

It is a matter of personal choice as to whether you decide to use a pad or tampon during your menses. Many doctors recommend starting with pads first and then changing to tampons when you feel more confident about using them. Pantyliners are a great way to protect your underwear while using tampons.

Historical Fact

Women have always menstruated.  Because of this, there were many different traditions and methods to deal with menstrual flow, including sectioning women off in ‘menstrual huts’. Before disposable pads and tampons became widely available, some women used folded up clean cloth to catch their menstrual flow. This cloth could be sewn into the woman’s underwear or held in place by elastic. Comfortable, affordable and reusable – the use of cloth as a menstrual pad is still widely used by many women around the world.