AIBU to ask whether anyone likes scented sanitory towels?

[Shente]

Periods just returned after a long time pregnant then breast feeding and I now find my old failsafes stink. I have bought a new pack of "simply fits" which don't seem to be as obnoxious as I was convinced the smell was so vile that someone would comment on it! Where has this idea come from and does anyone think it's a good one?

i also like scented babywipes, and scented fabric conditioner for my clothes

Sweat does not smell. Sweat plus bacteria smells. Equally a bin full of old sanitary products smells of decomposition, not fresh blood.

Scented sanitary products, like air freshened, do not deodorise. They attempt to cover one smell with another stronger smell.

I like them because I do get sweaty down there

You probably get sweaty down there, at least partially, as you have several layers of non-breathable plastic next to your skin.

Agree about plastic. Similarly any non breathable fabric around your privates is a recipe for yeast and fungal infections whether you are male or female.

Add an irritant like perfume and you wonder if the person at always who suggested this was a plant from the mooncup company.

I like the idea as after 3 large babies, things are not quite as tight down there as they once were so I do fear a lot of the time that there is the faint smell of wee!

so are a lot of you saying that I shouldnt be able to buy this product because YOU personally think my genitals should smell more natural??

Im wondering why the availability of these pads is such a problem for you?

For me: the issue is that the scented ones smell rank, and I don't

I think for others the issue is that the mere existence of these products will make their girl child believe that their genitals are malodorous, and I suspect there is some sort of feminist issue there.

I also suspect that some people feel sorry for those who are not enlightened as to the horror of chemical laden sheets of plastic being worn next to the skin for extended periods.

i think a lot of you need to just worry about what YOU want to buy, that meets YOUR needs, and not decide for other people.

If they caused an allergic reaction on me, then i wouldnt buy them. They dont. Theyre fine. If i hated the smell of them, i wouldnt buy them. I dont, i think its ok. Reminds me of fabric conditioner.

I dont like always towels, as theyre too plasticky, therefore i never buy them. I buy bodyform lightly scented, to protect myself from pee accidents after 3 large babies, including two within 1 year.

None of your fucking business whether you think my genitals should smell natural, or whether I should just accept being damp and paranoid about smelling of piss.

Branlese personally I only used always because they seemed to 'fit' my body well. Local to me (and I'm in a city) I couldn't find a choice to buy the same brand without the scent in, I think they've since released some satiny/silky version that's not scented but is more expensive.

I won't use tampons for cramping/general pointlessness reasons but I've noticed they're apparently becoming scented too.

So for me there is no 'choice' - it's like it or lump it - or get a cup which I did. The fact that it's creeping into other brands makes unscented ones harder to find and normalises the notion that we should all make sure our fannies smell like roses when really it's not needed.

Baby wipes often sit on the same shelf with scented and unscented as a choice, fabric conditioner is optional and comes in a variety of scents - neither is really comparable imho.

I want to be gentle and considerate of your situation, but honestly sanitary protection isn't fundamentally designed or used for bladder issues.

I can fully appreciate why you are happy they've come about and find them useful, but it's not their primary function is it?

Branleuse, not me. I think that women should have access to every product available and make the decision for themselves what they want to use. Nobody has the right to make them feel bad about their decisions and I hate the generalising and lecturing that goes on in these threads. Live and let live... works for me.

i cant believe that panty liners are seen as a feminist issue.

really clutching at straws tbh

I went to the shop, specifically looking for scented ones, and there was only one choice of scented, out of about 20 unscented, and I have never seen scented tampons.

Sanitary protection, and particularly panty liners are designed for daily intimate freshness. There is no mention of whether theyre suppossed to be for that ladies cervical mucous, that ladies menstrual lining, or that ladies occasional pissing herself when she coughs.

Many many things have multi usage

Well they are - I started my periods at 11 and used pads exclusively for the first few years. I was taught how often to change and to wash etc.

I can't imagine the message I would have gleaned if I was also given a scented pad with the implication that no matter how good my hygiene was, I was still stinky and dirty so best to try and cover up any hint of a smell that my vagina may produce.

I do worry that younger girls would be so paranoid about smells that should there actually be a smell they should be concerned about they'll put it down to their naturally disgusting secretions and try and cover it up more without getting it checked.

Hand on heart I was embarrassed for years about how my body reacted during sex, I didn't realise that you were meant to get that wet and it was a turn on, even now I know much better I still get twinges of self consciousness about it. And I consider myself fairly well educated on bodily functions!

I do worry that younger girls would be so paranoid about smells that should there actually be a smell they should be concerned about they'll put it down to their naturally disgusting secretions and try and cover it up more without getting it checked.

I think that is a really good point, Iamsparklyknickers.

I also didn't realise about the 'wetness' until well into my 30s...

i think you probably dont need to worry so much about what sanitary protection young girls choose, because its up to them and their mothers for them to have confidence about personal hygeine.

If youre worried that all young girls personal education will be based on the fact that one of the options available to them will to be a lightly scented liner, then youre over anxious.

If you think that womens vaginas dont smell, then I assume youve never worked in a hospital.

a lot of women will have no desire for this product, but some women will. We do have a consumer choice.

I have a daughter, but it honestly never crossed my mind that she is at risk of thinking she smells when she doesnt, because of the availability of one type of panty liner in amongst all the others

Of course I know vaginas have a smell!

Apart from having one, I've worked as a carer dealing with personal care. Penises, arses, vaginas, all have a smell - they're absolutely fine once washed and clothed.

I don't feel particularly anxious about it, but I certainly don't underestimate the subtle messages society can send out.

I certainly don't have an issue with choice either - but don't really like the fact it's creeping in as something that's not a choice and becoming the normal thing to have.

It's weird - I found that period blood had a smell, not a strong smell, but a mild but not particularly pleasant smell, and, yes, a bit fishy - when I used disposable pads. This was back before perfumed ones existed, so no perfumes getting in the way. Tampons were/are even worse and I used to find it really unpleasant to use the toilet immediately after my mother if she was on her period - she always used tampons.

However, using a mooncup, it doesn't smell like that at all. There is a metallic smell, of blood - similar to the smell of raw bloody meat or the taste of blood if you cut yourself and lick the cut. But nothing at all which could be described as an "odour".

I don't think it's likely that my menstrual blood randomly stopped smelling, it's got to be something in the make up of pads and tampons which causes the bad smell. The only time I've ever had a bad smell with a mooncup is when I've forgotten about it and it's been in over 12 hours.

So it makes sense to me that Always are receiving feedback from consumers that they are concerned about the smell of their periods and looking for scented products to cover up the smell. The problem is, that it's actually the product causing the smell in the first place!

On the p&g website it claims Always has 78% market share. Many shops don't stock unscented variants of the Always brand. It isn't some kind of niche product.

Agree with your theory Bertie.

I think menstrual blood has a very mild smell which maybe noticeable to the person it belongs to when in the process of changing a tampon/towel.
Remember during a period our whole bodies are usually more smelly, we sweat more, our skin is more greasy and our hair is more greasy.
If during a period someone is not washing at least once a day then their whole body will be more pongy not just their fango.
I think the idea that women smell during their period is outdated and comes from the dark ages when people used to bath once a year or so.
This is the 21st century women who bath once a day should not smell surely.

I think what you may be smelling is the oxidizing of menstrual blood,as menstrual blood doesn't have a noticeable odour. This is made worse by the plastic causing sweat (+ bacteria).
Moon cup might work well for you as the blood doesn't leave your body and therefore doesn't mix with oxygen,sweat and bacteria.

I use body form. My fanjo doesn't smell,my period doesn't smell.