Women's hygiene products

[little_muppet]

provoktive... hahahahha

[kat]

Hi Andiamo: (^ Post #54)

(This is a little graphic, so if men are reading this thread you may want to ska-daddle now).

I think you are making an assumption that tampons are more hygienic than pads, which is technically not the case. Tampons have their hazards with bacteria and infections, especially if a woman is more prone to vaginal and urinary tract infections. Toxic Shock Syndrome is rare, but it is still a risk and can come on very suddenly, and is caused by Staph bacteria, which is why women are really not supposed to sleep in tampons. I think they are loads more convenient - easier to carry, you don't have to deal with the exit of your blood - but can be potentially messy in different ways, especially if you don't use applicators (when I do use tampons, I prefer OB, because I don't like the way the applicator tampons feel inside, but then you have the problem with messiness with OBs). There is also an issue with bleached cotton and fibers being inserted into your body several times a day, 3-5 days a week, every month, for 30-odd years. In LOS, Western brand tampons are also expensive, and I would be afraid of cheaper, unregulated versions if they were made available to the Thai public.

I also tend to take a natural approach with my body as much as possible, and since I can have very painful menstrual cramps, I find that they can be more severe on tampons, and I'd much rather not rely on pain medication to function. There is also something to be said about being able to see changes in your flow or blood discharge as a way to monitor your health. I think in many ways your post also reflects a disgust of women's menses, but has simply switched to tampons as the new modern solution to get this "disgusting" body function out of sight. But we are women, we bleed, nothing is going to change that fact, and there is nothing inherently unhygienic about permitting a natural flow to exit the body.

You are right about the heat, though, but in LOS the heat only ever got THAT bad as to effect my period routine a few days out of the year for me, and that is why you have ample use of the bum gun, and showers a few times a day. The "smelliness" occurs with contact to the air, and once a pad is on it doesn't have that open contact with air until you are pulling down you pants to take it off. So, I think you are making a lot of assumptions about tampons versus pads that are just not correct.

I also think in schools girls should be given a choice between pads or tampons. I certainly would not want to faint or walk around in pain or full of meds simply because pads somehow became culturally taboo based on what seems to be more of a fear of menstrual blood than anything else.

Anyway, I don't wear 'em, and I am sure I am very hygienic, and I am certainly not backwards - I understand minute changes in my body so well that I usually end up diagnosing my own visits to the gynecologist.

[isabelle17]

Hi Andiamo: (^ Post #54)

(This is a little graphic, so if men are reading this thread you may want to ska-daddle now).

I think you are making an assumption that tampons are more hygienic than pads, which is technically not the case. Tampons have their hazards with bacteria and infections, especially if a woman is more prone to vaginal and urinary tract infections. Toxic Shock Syndrome is rare, but it is still a risk and can come on very suddenly, and is caused by Staph bacteria, which is why women are really not supposed to sleep in tampons. I think they are loads more convenient - easier to carry, you don't have to deal with the exit of your blood - but can be potentially messy in different ways, especially if you don't use applicators (when I do use tampons, I prefer OB, because I don't like the way the applicator tampons feel inside, but then you have the problem with messiness with OBs). There is also an issue with bleached cotton and fibers being inserted into your body several times a day, 3-5 days a week, every month, for 30-odd years. In LOS, Western brand tampons are also expensive, and I would be afraid of cheaper, unregulated versions if they were made available to the Thai public.

I also tend to take a natural approach with my body as much as possible, and since I can have very painful menstrual cramps, I find that they can be more severe on tampons, and I'd much rather not rely on pain medication to function. There is also something to be said about being able to see changes in your flow or blood discharge as a way to monitor your health. I think in many ways your post also reflects a disgust of women's menses, but has simply switched to tampons as the new modern solution to get this "disgusting" body function out of sight. But we are women, we bleed, nothing is going to change that fact, and there is nothing inherently unhygienic about permitting a natural flow to exit the body.

You are right about the heat, though, but in LOS the heat only ever got THAT bad as to effect my period routine a few days out of the year for me, and that is why you have ample use of the bum gun, and showers a few times a day. The "smelliness" occurs with contact to the air, and once a pad is on it doesn't have that open contact with air until you are pulling down you pants to take it off. So, I think you are making a lot of assumptions about tampons versus pads that are just not correct.

I also think in schools girls should be given a choice between pads or tampons. I certainly would not want to faint or walk around in pain or full of meds simply because pads somehow became culturally taboo based on what seems to be more of a fear of menstrual blood than anything else.

Anyway, I don't wear 'em, and I am sure I am very hygienic, and I am certainly not backwards - I understand minute changes in my body so well that I usually end up diagnosing my own visits to the gynecologist.

I agree that pads are not less sanitary than tampons. As long as you frequently change the pad or tampon, then it should be okay.

I dont really like using tampons either! For some reason, every single time I use it, it's just not that comfortable for me. I think for some women, its more comfortable and for others its not.

Just use what ever one you want! I do know one thai girl who wears tampons and a lot of her friends get all freaked out when they learn that she uses tampons. But hey, use whats the most comfortable! I do think that they need more sexual/anatomy education in general in Thailand...I think it would help with lots of things, eg. spread of diseases.

[kat]

Well, yes, Isabelle17 (I like that name - I was once Isabelle II - he he), talking about the spread of diseases, most Thai women are too shy or embarrassed to go to the gynecologist because of the attitudes they have been taught about their bodies, and cervical cancer is the top killer of Thai women.

It is upsetting. Listen, we are all women and we have had to deal with whatever garbage has been thrown on us about our bodies, but we have to learn how to push this trash off of us. There is nothing dirty, disgusting, or polluted about our bodies. Every single living, breathing person has had to come through the same blood and sweat to get here, and we are the ones who bring them forth. If we are polluted, so is every single other person walking the planet, but only because a woman nurtured and then birthed them here through her body. If you are afraid or disgusted by this, you should get a mirror and start becoming very familiar with a part of yourself that you have been brainwashed to despise. But, this wasn't your fault.

Here are some books that I would contribute to this end, if I was in LOS. If you can't find them at Kinokuniya, you can probably order them:

http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/ (Our Bodies, Ourselves)

The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler (A lot of men make fun of this book, but it is actually a beautiful book. And, it's not for them anyway).

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/ensler/vm/

I think LOS needs a vagina dialogue day.

*excerpt from Vagina Monologues:

In the first place, it's not so easy even to find your vagina. Women go weeks, months, sometimes years without looking at it. I interviewed a high-powered businesswoman who told me she was too busy; she didn't have the time. Looking at your vagina, she said, is a full day's work. You have to get down there on your back in front of a mirror that's standing on its own, full-length preferred. You've got to get in the perfect position, with the perfect light, which then is shadowed somehow by the mirror and the angle you're at. You get all twisted up. You're arching your head up, killing your back. You're exhausted by then. She said she didn't have the time for that. She was busy.

So I decided to talk to women about their vaginas, to do vagina interviews, which became vagina monologues. I talked with over two hundred women. I talked to older women, young women, married women, single women, lesbians, college professors, actors, corporate professionals, sex workers, African American women, Hispanic women, Asian American women, Native American women, Caucasian women, Jewish women. At first women were reluctant to talk. They were a little shy. But once they got going, you couldn't stop them. Women secretly love to talk about their vaginas. They get very excited, mainly because no one's ever asked them before.

Edited February 1, 2008 by kat

[suegha]

Hi Andiamo: (^ Post #54)

(This is a little graphic, so if men are reading this thread you may want to ska-daddle now).

Kat, one certain way to ensure that the men reading will continue reading!

I came from a family of 8 sisters so my knowledge of such things is broad. And I didn't find yoour post graphic!

[meme]

I think you are making an assumption that tampons are more hygienic than pads, which is technically not the case. Tampons have their hazards with bacteria and infections, especially if a woman is more prone to vaginal and urinary tract infections. Toxic Shock Syndrome is rare, but it is still a risk and can come on very suddenly, and is caused by Staph bacteria, which is why women are really not supposed to sleep in tampons. I think they are loads more convenient - easier to carry, you don't have to deal with the exit of your blood - but can be potentially messy in different ways, especially if you don't use applicators (when I do use tampons, I prefer OB, because I don't like the way the applicator tampons feel inside, but then you have the problem with messiness with OBs). There is also an issue with bleached cotton and fibers being inserted into your body several times a day, 3-5 days a week, every month, for 30-odd years. In LOS, Western brand tampons are also expensive, and I would be afraid of cheaper, unregulated versions if they were made available to the Thai public.

I also tend to take a natural approach with my body as much as possible, and since I can have very painful menstrual cramps, I find that they can be more severe on tampons, and I'd much rather not rely on pain medication to function. There is also something to be said about being able to see changes in your flow or blood discharge as a way to monitor your health. I think in many ways your post also reflects a disgust of women's menses, but has simply switched to tampons as the new modern solution to get this "disgusting" body function out of sight. But we are women, we bleed, nothing is going to change that fact, and there is nothing inherently unhygienic about permitting a natural flow to exit the body.

You are right about the heat, though, but in LOS the heat only ever got THAT bad as to effect my period routine a few days out of the year for me, and that is why you have ample use of the bum gun, and showers a few times a day. The "smelliness" occurs with contact to the air, and once a pad is on it doesn't have that open contact with air until you are pulling down you pants to take it off. So, I think you are making a lot of assumptions about tampons versus pads that are just not correct.

I also think in schools girls should be given a choice between pads or tampons. I certainly would not want to faint or walk around in pain or full of meds simply because pads somehow became culturally taboo based on what seems to be more of a fear of menstrual blood than anything else.

Anyway, I don't wear 'em, and I am sure I am very hygienic, and I am certainly not backwards - I understand minute changes in my body so well that I usually end up diagnosing my own visits to the gynecologist.

Excellent post Kat.

It is very important to understand that there is nothing dirty or shameful about our menstruation, in fact many women celebrate their periods as a time of cleansing and purification. Menstruation blood is considered very powerful by some cultures. I wonder if there is a connection between that and the fact that many Thai's seem to be generally terrified of menstrual blood (at least the thai's that I am around all the time, who are mainly rural, and I have to admit are very superstitious) for example it my MIL's house I tried to walk under a clothes line and almost got tackled by my sister in law. My husband said I cant do that because underwear may at some point have been hanging there and that underwear may have had blood on it at some point...I have also heard of men who require their wives to ride side saddle on their motorbikes(when riding behind them) during their periods.

maybe there is a way the mod's can cut out the blood talk and paste it in a different thread?

Edited February 2, 2008 by meme

[Andiamo]

Hi Andiamo: (^ Post #54)

(This is a little graphic, so if men are reading this thread you may want to ska-daddle now).

I think you are making an assumption that tampons are more hygienic than pads, which is technically not the case. Tampons have their hazards with bacteria and infections, especially if a woman is more prone to vaginal and urinary tract infections. Toxic Shock Syndrome is rare, but it is still a risk and can come on very suddenly, and is caused by Staph bacteria, which is why women are really not supposed to sleep in tampons. I think they are loads more convenient - easier to carry, you don't have to deal with the exit of your blood - but can be potentially messy in different ways, especially if you don't use applicators (when I do use tampons, I prefer OB, because I don't like the way the applicator tampons feel inside, but then you have the problem with messiness with OBs). There is also an issue with bleached cotton and fibers being inserted into your body several times a day, 3-5 days a week, every month, for 30-odd years. In LOS, Western brand tampons are also expensive, and I would be afraid of cheaper, unregulated versions if they were made available to the Thai public.

I also tend to take a natural approach with my body as much as possible, and since I can have very painful menstrual cramps, I find that they can be more severe on tampons, and I'd much rather not rely on pain medication to function. There is also something to be said about being able to see changes in your flow or blood discharge as a way to monitor your health. I think in many ways your post also reflects a disgust of women's menses, but has simply switched to tampons as the new modern solution to get this "disgusting" body function out of sight. But we are women, we bleed, nothing is going to change that fact, and there is nothing inherently unhygienic about permitting a natural flow to exit the body.

You are right about the heat, though, but in LOS the heat only ever got THAT bad as to effect my period routine a few days out of the year for me, and that is why you have ample use of the bum gun, and showers a few times a day. The "smelliness" occurs with contact to the air, and once a pad is on it doesn't have that open contact with air until you are pulling down you pants to take it off. So, I think you are making a lot of assumptions about tampons versus pads that are just not correct.

I also think in schools girls should be given a choice between pads or tampons. I certainly would not want to faint or walk around in pain or full of meds simply because pads somehow became culturally taboo based on what seems to be more of a fear of menstrual blood than anything else.

Anyway, I don't wear 'em, and I am sure I am very hygienic, and I am certainly not backwards - I understand minute changes in my body so well that I usually end up diagnosing my own visits to the gynecologist.

Hi Kat,

I enjoyed reading your post and it was also a timely reminder about bleached cotton used in tampons, another poster, Ms Sabai I think mentioned on another thread about unbleached tampons so I will be looking into these on my next trip back to the UK soon. Valid points made - so thanks .

However, just to clarify where I've highlighted your comment above, my post was not intended to "display a disgust of women's menses", as I don't think there is anything "disgusting" about the process at all. (As I mentioned, I personally don't like wearing pads in this heat, as for me, I find it unhygienic - but that is just my opinion. I prefer wearing tampons as I personally feel they are more hygienic, but each to their own). Whatever floats your boat!

In fact, I am always happy to get my period as it means I am fertile and am able to conceive (when the time is right! ). But that's the topic for a whole other thread!

Kind regards to all,

Andiamo

[girlx]

hm i have to say i do find it disgusting- especially the smell. i can always tell when my friends are on their period by their smell. ick.

[kat]

Yeah, no worries Andiamo. There are just good reasons why many women can't or won't wear tampons.

[kat]

hm i have to say i do find it disgusting- especially the smell. i can always tell when my friends are on their period by their smell. ick.

I have to say that I find that to be a pretty incredible statement. How can you tell - is your nose near their crotch?

[girlx]

no there is a sickly sweet blood smell that girls have at that time, especially in the heat... seriously you never noticed this? i had a discussion with one friend about it and we started asking whenever we noticed the smell to see if it coincided, it's true... i don't mean to belittle your argument about womens' bodies being clean and beautiful, it's just an opinion. i don't like to bleed and take the pill continuously to stop it, i do personally find it dirty and inconvenient.

[kat]

no there is a sickly sweet blood smell that girls have at that time, especially in the heat... seriously you never noticed this? i had a discussion with one friend about it and we started asking whenever we noticed the smell to see if it coincided, it's true... i don't mean to belittle your argument about womens' bodies being clean and beautiful, it's just an opinion. i don't like to bleed and take the pill continuously to stop it, i do personally find it dirty and inconvenient.

Well, a woman's overall body scent changes during menstruation, so it isn't just the smell of blood. I never made a statement about women's bodies being clean and beautiful, so you can't belittle something I never said. I find it amazing that you can smell women's menstrual blood through their clothing during normal social interactions. No, I've never noticed such a thing, and I have lived in an all female dorm at least twice in my life, and have lived with female roommates.

Lioness: for deodorants, I started using the crystal deodorant while I was in Thailand, and although I was skeptical at first, I started to prefer it.

[sbk]

Topic split --if anyone has a better title for this topic then let me know as I suffered a creativity blank on this one!

[Andiamo]

Well done Sbk - we all did rather go off on a tangent!

[little_muppet]

ooops i was the first one went off the topic hahahaha

[sbk]

Thats ok, its clearly an important discussion for women

[RueFang]

I find it incredibly sad that some women think that menstrual blood is dirty. How is blood dirty? You wouldn't get very far without it ! This is something you have to deal with every single month (if you're not full or artificial hormones) for over 30 years! That's some serious self hate going on .

I'm not one to feel my feminine power surging and dance in the moonlight to celebrate my bleeding or anything but considering it's part of being a woman for which I wouldn't change for anything (imagine being a man...come on !!) if you can't accept it, that's a lot time spent being resentful toward yourself.

As to the smell thing, I admit I am able to smell it on some women very occasionally (I have a super sensitive schnoz), which I think could be about hormones, hot weather, sweating and perhaps not changing pads regularly enough?, but it is pretty rare. I agree with Kat about the body scent changing throughout your whole cycle, not only at period time...your smell changes when you're ovulating too. People who are very bodily aware can detect any subtle changes in their body including exact time of ovulation, etc...

[bina]

girlx u are absolutely correct, i also smell other women when menstruating; its only women that dont wash well, or use deaoderant soaps or sprays 'down there' that smell bad; the other smells are just of menstruation... dogs, monkeys and donkeys love it ladies.......

i havent used tampons since i was a teenager and after i got herpes as the tampons instigate outbreaks (at least with me); but i also can control when to release the blood junk; i know it sounds wierd; i even read an article about that once, i thought it was only me; i wait, go to the toilet, and release all the 'gunk' at once, two days i do that and i use pads, they really stay basically clean... thats apparently a 'new' method, but i think its actually a 'primitive' method; after all, most societies didnt used to use stuff for menstruation(no underwear) so figured, if a woman can control herself with 'kegeling' then she can do that for releasing pee and menstrual flow.

i also find that kegeling releases that 'heavy swollen genital lip' feeling (i'm sure im not the only one that feels that also)

(thai) husband doesnt care if i menstruate or not for having sex; i have this weird jewish thing of feeling unclean for sex during my period and prefer to wait the two/three days of main flow (religious women wait at least 7 days+)... i also found that im more prone to yeastie beasties and other flora and fauna if i engage in the ' dirty' while menstruating... probably a good warm dark place to grown things, with protein added (yuck yuck sorry for grossing y'all out)... btw, he also hadnt a clue what a tampon was; never saw a pad either... he used to watch!! while changing cause he wanted to see what it was all about.... he never knew women were supposed to be grumpy or nervous or moody during or before their periods either... and still doesnt understand why i go crazy for reeses peanutbutter cups right before my period...

i also dont use soaps, just water, for washing (keeps the ph balanced down there) or once in a while, polidine soap, or some natural herbal body soap (olive oil and something else, israeli herbals)... when i was a housemother for teenagers here, i used to tell all the girls this... recently met up with one of the girls (now with kids of her own!) and thats one of the main things that still sticks in her head and she follows: no soap.!!! but clean with water well...

as for insertion, i also 'feel' things inside cause my uterus is tipped so often things (penis or tampon) hit the cervix which is uncomfortable, so, no tampons... i hate to swim, its never stopped me on a hiking trip (carrying dirty pads or tampons back from the bush is the same- double bagged for safety (animals love them)...

my problem was that in thailand in the issan old fashioned houses, i didnt know what to do with the pads, since i didnt see garbage cans anywhere. anon also didnt know what to do... later he told me the women throw them out in the rubbish pile to be burned. so my first few days in thailand the first time (when i was on my own and spoke less thai) i spent walking around with used pads in bags in my suitcase blech )>......!!!!!!!!

actually a fascinating topic.... for u thai women, what do your grannies say about menstruation? after all, when girls worked in the fields, what do they do???

bina

israel

[dawnpisces]

girlx u are absolutely correct, i also smell other women when menstruating; its only women that dont wash well, or use deaoderant soaps or sprays 'down there' that smell bad; the other smells are just of menstruation... dogs, monkeys and donkeys love it ladies.......

i havent used tampons since i was a teenager and after i got herpes as the tampons instigate outbreaks (at least with me); but i also can control when to release the blood junk; i know it sounds wierd; i even read an article about that once, i thought it was only me; i wait, go to the toilet, and release all the 'gunk' at once, two days i do that and i use pads, they really stay basically clean... thats apparently a 'new' method, but i think its actually a 'primitive' method; after all, most societies didnt used to use stuff for menstruation(no underwear) so figured, if a woman can control herself with 'kegeling' then she can do that for releasing pee and menstrual flow.

i also find that kegeling releases that 'heavy swollen genital lip' feeling (i'm sure im not the only one that feels that also)

(thai) husband doesnt care if i menstruate or not for having sex; i have this weird jewish thing of feeling unclean for sex during my period and prefer to wait the two/three days of main flow (religious women wait at least 7 days+)... i also found that im more prone to yeastie beasties and other flora and fauna if i engage in the ' dirty' while menstruating... probably a good warm dark place to grown things, with protein added (yuck yuck sorry for grossing y'all out)... btw, he also hadnt a clue what a tampon was; never saw a pad either... he used to watch!! while changing cause he wanted to see what it was all about.... he never knew women were supposed to be grumpy or nervous or moody during or before their periods either... and still doesnt understand why i go crazy for reeses peanutbutter cups right before my period...

i also dont use soaps, just water, for washing (keeps the ph balanced down there) or once in a while, polidine soap, or some natural herbal body soap (olive oil and something else, israeli herbals)... when i was a housemother for teenagers here, i used to tell all the girls this... recently met up with one of the girls (now with kids of her own!) and thats one of the main things that still sticks in her head and she follows: no soap.!!! but clean with water well...

as for insertion, i also 'feel' things inside cause my uterus is tipped so often things (penis or tampon) hit the cervix which is uncomfortable, so, no tampons... i hate to swim, its never stopped me on a hiking trip (carrying dirty pads or tampons back from the bush is the same- double bagged for safety (animals love them)...

my problem was that in thailand in the issan old fashioned houses, i didnt know what to do with the pads, since i didnt see garbage cans anywhere. anon also didnt know what to do... later he told me the women throw them out in the rubbish pile to be burned. so my first few days in thailand the first time (when i was on my own and spoke less thai) i spent walking around with used pads in bags in my suitcase blech )>......!!!!!!!!

actually a fascinating topic.... for u thai women, what do your grannies say about menstruation? after all, when girls worked in the fields, what do they do???

bina

israel

This thread has been fascinating! However, I wish I had the talent you have Bina of being able to 'let it all go' while going to the loo as normal how much easier would that be? I prefer tampons but agree with the previous posters that if not inserted correctly/far enough it can be excruciatingly painful. Just give them a go girls and see what makes you feel most comfortable/clean. Good luck!

[seonai]

Well Bina I normally totally respect your meanderings but this time I am not sure. I would like to know how people manage in the rice fields regards menstruation. But if you are saying you can actually 'manage' your blood flow I'd be very interested to hear how you do it :

Quote from you '' but i also can control when to release the blood junk; i know it sounds wierd; i even read an article about that once, i thought it was only me; i wait, go to the toilet, and release all the 'gunk' at once, two days i do that and i use pads, they really stay basically clean... thats apparently a 'new' method, but i think its actually a 'primitive' method; after all, most societies didnt used to use stuff for menstruation(no underwear) so figured, if a woman can control herself with 'kegeling' then she can do that for releasing pee and menstrual flow.

i also find that kegeling releases that 'heavy swollen genital lip' feeling (i'm sure im not the only one that feels that also)''

[RueFang]

Bina, that is fascinating!! I know about Kegel exercises but I've never heard about the big release! Does it take some training to do that...seriously, I really want to know I have hideously long 7 day periods so if I could learn how to do that it might shorten it dramatically!

[bggg]

but speaking of tampon stories. I had three of my sister-in laws over on night and for some reason they saw a tampon and asked me what it was. I told them to guess, they took it out of the package and had no idea. So we put it in water to watch it expand and they immediately started cleaning their faces with it!!

That is really strangely cute.

That is funny Kat, one night my 2 younger daughters started asking me how a tampon works, (neither is old enough yet for their period, so I took one out and we sat n the floor and put it in a glass of water as I explained how it expands inside you. As we are sitting in a little circle on the floor looking at the tampon in the water my husband walked in the door. The look on his face was priceless!!!

[girlx]

I find it incredibly sad that some women think that menstrual blood is dirty. How is blood dirty? You wouldn't get very far without it ! This is something you have to deal with every single month (if you're not full or artificial hormones) for over 30 years! That's some serious self hate going on .

I'm not one to feel my feminine power surging and dance in the moonlight to celebrate my bleeding or anything but considering it's part of being a woman for which I wouldn't change for anything (imagine being a man...come on !!) if you can't accept it, that's a lot time spent being resentful toward yourself.

i disagree, i don't think it is a self-hatred thing. also it's not the blood that is dirty, it is having to let it sit in your pants like a dirty diaper, and clots etc. i am not a big fan of bodily fluids, and like i mentioned there is the smell. i also mentioned i don't bleed at all now, haven't for about 6 years. i don't feel any less feminine or any more resentful towards women, i just don't have to deal with that particular aspect of it.

[bina]

the controlling of the flow i discovered on my own, but actually i did after wards see an article in an israeli woman's magazine which i dont normally read (was at the dentist, of course) that actually discussed that. its something biblical times the women did, from what i understand (anybody remember back then?) ... but seriously, it ws written by someone that i think also deals with the 'training babies to make peepee w/o diapers' thing thats becomeing a bit of a trend here... i'm sure someone, somehwere can find some leads on it; probably in alternative lifestyle/wiccan/naturalist/etc type articles for women by women things....

with new job i have a lot less free time (its taken up on busses) to do searches...

its easy; i just 'keep tight' and then feel 'full', go to the bathroom and 'let go', and wait and 'squeeze' kind of, to get most of it out; then wash , thai style... u can control your pee so u can control your vaginal muscles as well...

to get graphic: try kegeling over the toilet, it helps push out more of the 'gunk' but you should be relaxed, not in a public toilet where u are rushed... it does take practice, but its very helpful also when hiking : just squat, push, and most comes out into the dirt...also, some tummy massage; or do it in the shower, warm water on the stomach (womb area) and then, kegel it out... and wait.... after all, we dont have that much stuff inside, it just takes a long time to come out.. i prefer to get as much out in the shower or toilet as if not, i get irritations and (secondary infections too easily.

by the way, if anyone read the book 'the red tent' its great, and it , among other things, describes a bit of what women supposedly did when they were menstruating.... not sure how much anthropological truth is in it but seems to be based on something similar... its actually a love story from biblical times, worth a read regardless (i read it in hebrew actually ) but menstruation and being a woman is a main theme thruout

and yes, in the fields, i believe that in societies that women werent in some sort of purduh during hteir perdiods, they did the 'hold and squat' method (skirts/pasin etc) are better for that....u dig a hole in the dirt, do what u do, and then cover it up... no mess no fuss...

for all my 'easy goingness' i still cant have sex when in full menstruation... it bothers me although it doesnt bother anon... for him, body fluids are body fluids, 'tamada' (his favorite word as u can all see... it sthe ex monk thing? maybe he sees me as a skeleton like in that famous monk story ... look it up for homework... )

bye bye gals...

kegel ,2,3,4, and push, 2.3.4 and kegel, 2,3.4 and push......

bina

[Boo]

This is totally OT but I am gonna book mark this topic for the next time some muppet starts making issues about why we have a ladies section & no men section

[sbk]

This is totally OT but I am gonna book mark this topic for the next time some muppet starts making issues about why we have a ladies section & no men section

Very good point.

Thanks for the tips there bina, but I am similar to girlx, I am on bc pills, have been for years and have very little menstruation blood anymore. I don't mind periods, but it is nicer to not have to deal with it

[mssabai]

Hey Bina cool, I can do that kegel thing you are describing. I do it in the bath to 'clean out'. Weirdly enough my mum taught me (not graphically I might add, she just described how to do it!). I never thought I could use it for anything else but can totally see where you are coming from - I can see how it would work for menstruation. Still the idea of kegeling all day sounds hard core - think I will stick to skipping the break or tampons (fully bleached and toxic!). I only last 2-3 days though so it's never too traumatic.

[mssabai]

This is totally OT but I am gonna book mark this topic for the next time some muppet starts making issues about why we have a ladies section & no men section

thought you were talking about little muppet till I re-read!

[Boo]

sorry yes for clarity in case anyone misunderstand, muppet is a commion british term for someone being a bit silly Cheers mssabai, don't want to upset any of our ladies posting

[seonai]

Wow Bina, very interesting indeed. What's Kegeling?