We already know this, but it's a good article to send to the women in your life who are unaware of the toxins in pads and tampons.

What's Really in Your Sanitary Pads and Tampons?

[articles.mercola.com]

"Most items that come in constant contact with your skin will end up in your bloodstream and distributed throughout your body. This is why I'm so fond of saying "don't put anything on your body that you wouldn't eat if you had to."

Putting chemicals on your skin may actually be worse than eating them. When you eat something, the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help to break it down and flush it out of your body.

However, when chemicals come in contact with your skin, they are absorbed straight into your bloodstream without filtering of any kind, going directly to your delicate organs. And once these chemicals find their way into your body, they tend to accumulate over time because you typically lack the necessary enzymes to break them down."

I wouldn't eat the Diva Cup or a cloth pad, lol. Good options though.

Thanks for posting this, KidRaw. I wish more women saw stuff like this, but would it get through to them? I have found that many natural products have, let's say, design flaws, meaning they aren't as convenient to use. If there's one thing people like, it's convenience. Another thing is sanitation, or the appearance of it. There's an "ick" factor to the menstrual process in our culture, so products are bleached white[clean] and made to be easily disposed of. I'm glad the article mentions that some lines of maxi pads now contain latex-like foams--like a Tempurpedic mattress--in the pad to secrete menstrual product away where you cannot see it, as though it's radioactive waste from outer space, LOL! I tried one of those new products, and broke out in a rash like babies get. I thought, "Surely this isn't safe?" But it's still on the shelves.

I just tell women I know of reproductive age to give a trial to natural products and see if they don't feel healthier after a couple of months. I really wish they sold some of the European organic cotton brands of products in my local health foods stores, and will have to ask if they can order them for me.

The thing I like best about reusable products like the cup or washable pads is that you only have to buy them once and that's it. It's loathsome shelling out money every month for something that gets flushed or tossed into the landfil, I just don't like it. Never mind the horrors of what it's made out of of what it does to the body!

I refer to that plastic stuff they cover commercial pads with as "itch weave" 'cause that's how it made me feel when I tried it. I couldn't forget for one second that it was touching me, it was awful. The cup is the way to go. Sure public bathrooms are an adventure but, lol, so was changing @#$%& baby bum and nursing wee babes in public. I'm over the embarassment factor by now. I've got a 12 year old son, every day is full of fart humour, a little blood just doesn't faze me any more .