Unsanitary Sanitary Issues - Part 1

Sometime early this year, I started to develop a new sensitivity to a product which I have been using since the moment my body hit puberty.

Yup, sanitary pads have been giving me hell every month.

It began with urine infections after every period ended.

Month after month after month.

And then a few months back, the pads started to burn me. The sanitary pads would burn me as though I had salt being poured on an open wound. It certainly brought back all the unpleasant memories of the episiotomy and the severe urine infection I had immediately after the birth of my son seven-and-a-half years ago!

And then the yeast infections started. I have not had yeast infections for years!

I knew the pads were the cause of the problems as they all happened during and immediately after the periods. I would be symptom-free in between periods!

So I started reading and researching what disposable sanitary pads are made of and what they consist of.

The A - Z of A Commercially Made Disposable Sanitary Pad

1. Large amounts of wood pulp fibers are dispersed in a large tub of water. Chemicals and dyes are added to this process.

2. The pulp is then scraped, brushed and inserted with air to make it fleecy.

3. Some pads contain rayon, which also originates from wood for extra absorbency.

4. The cellulose in the wood is dissolved in a caustic solution, and squirted into fine jets in an acid bath.

5. The mixture then solidifies and dries into longer fibers.

6. The pads go through chemical processes which include de-linking recycled material, and washing with detergents.

7. Additives are used to enhance the absorbency of the pads. The absorbency agent and wet-strength agent are polysorbate and area formaldehyde.

8. To reduce the thickness of sanitary pads, sphagnum and super absorbent polyacrylate super absorbent gels which are derived from petroleum are used.

'The materials used to manufacture most pads are derived from the petroleum industry and forestry. The absorbent core, made from chlorine bleached wood pulp, could be reduced to make slimmer products with the addition of polyacrylate gels which sucks up the liquid quickly and holds it in a suspension under pressure. The remaining materials are mostly derived from the petroleum industry, the cover stock used is polypropylene non-woven, with the leakproof barrier made from polyethylene film.' click here

9. All sanitary pads are bleached with chlorine to give them that white, glowing, pristine look.

10. The bottom/back of the pads has strips of pressure-sensitive adhesive covered with a strip of siliconised compound paper.

11. If they are scented pads, fragrance is added.

12. And colourful prints (which are made of dyes) are added to pads today to make them look attractive.

click here to read Sanitary Pads - A Silent Health Threat


... to be continued