To wonder why more people don't use cloth sanitary pads?

[Bex107]

They have changed my life, and I'm so sad I didn't discover them sooner! When my periods came waltzing back just three months after DS arrived I couldn't bear the thought of tampons or plasticky towels, but I couldn't find anyone I knew who'd used cloth. They are bloody (!) wonderful, if you're considering it give them a go - I wish I'd had someone to tell me that!

Picture of closed ones :-)

Video explaining about cups and pads by a 16 year old :-) (not me)

I don't need "pretty" either, but I quite like that it'll look like something nice in my knickers rather than the white, clinical, plasticky strip of a disposable pad. I shall report back when I've tried them, but thank you to the OP for starting this thread - it's good to have options, and I didn't really know these existed as such.

Well my femme cup arrived yesterday and it looks huge and painful.

I've been using cloth for years and love it. More secure and feels much more comforting too. I do still wear sposies when out and about occasionally but can't stand the feel of them now.

Don't worry about the menstrual cup looking huge. It folds up nicely and goes in no problem :) It may take a few goes to get used to it (like with a tampon really!) but I would persevere with it.

Thank you angelil.

Haven't used cloth pads but I can comment on the mooncup
I forget I'm on my period, it's not heavy feeling at all. I've used it horse riding, in the gym, sleeping, and pole fitness and even while completely upside down, it did not move or leak

Since switching to cloth pads, my periods have got shorter and lighter. I know that sounds bonkers but it's true. I know a lot of friends have said the same. I'd love to know if there's science behind why that might happen, or whether it's just a coincidence.

Any possible explanation for how the build up of the lining of the uterus and it's breakdown could be affected in any way by the type of cloth put there to absorb it?

Far more likely that women who try these pads and stick with it as a way of life feel more 'at peace' with the process and therefore perceive their periods differently. Which is a good result.

That definitely makes sense. My periods have gone from 10 days (for the last 15 years) to 5 😮 There'a probably a hormonal reason or something-it just coincided exactly with me swapping from tampons to cloth pads. It must be a coincidence-weird though!

(It was such a dramatic change that I actually went to the GP thinking something was wrong. There isn't 😄)

I've been using cloth pads for about a year now. Big fan. Personally I dont like wearing them out of the house much (I feel the same way about disposable pads too) so I use tampons and keep the pads for night time and days at home. I used disposable pads on holiday and have one in my handbag etc just in case but the cloth ones are so much more comfortable for me and no smell!

Maybe I'm just not that squeamish, or maybe having small kids you just get used to washing wee/poo/sick/blood stained clothes all the time anyway, but the washing part doesn't bother me at all.

Any possible explanation for how the build up of the lining of the uterus and it's breakdown could be affected in any way by the type of cloth put there to absorb it?

There is speculation that tampons and the like may be too efficient and drawing of (too much) moisture causes some women's cramps, and perhaps it aggravates the healing process within the uterus? IIRC, the period is not simply shed lining, but also bleeding from the layers underneath- like ripping a scab off when it's not ready. But I may be wrong on that one- it's a long time since I read about the reproductive system.

Anyway, the hypothesis reminds me of the advice that you shouldn't use Always towels in place of specific maternity towels for bleeding post-partum if you have stitches, as Always pads can dry out the area too much, which means the stitches have to be redone.

But I think this hypothesis can only be the case for some women, and I very much doubt that all women's cramps would be so easily solved as women have been suffering cramps since before modern disposable menstrual pads, back when cloth was the best option there was.

Some though, or at least I find it plausible.

Cloth sanitary towels are disgusting though and not always the best at absorbing v heavy flow. Also if you pass bits (sorry tmi) of tissue they can smell. Not going to carry those around with me

That's your own personal opinion Daily

But many others, including myself, are not bothered by period blood

Soubriquet - not bothered by it so why be so patronising? I bleed so heavily that I need to wear double pads and still have to change every 1-2 hours. Under those circumstances cloth pads are next to useless. And they smell. Your friends/colleagues are prob too polite to say anything.

I actually didn't know they existed, until I read about them on MN when I first joined. I wouldn't have minded trying them out. As regards washing, well, after periods, I often had to wash blood off knickers, sometimes pyjamas and so I wouldn't mind the washing part at all.
I don't have periods to deal with anymore due to health issues. So in answer to the OP, that is why I didn't use them,

How was that patronising?

I was basically saying you have your opinion such as calling it gross, and I have mine where I'm not bothered

I didn't think Soubriquet was patronising at all rather stating a fact. Whilst "Your friends/colleagues are prob too polite to say anything" is a personal dig and completely fabricated too.

Of course it was DailyFail's opinion, who else's would she give? Was the problem that the opinion she gave, describing her own experience, that it didn't gel with 'cloths changed my life' cheer squad? That's exactly how it came across.

Telling someone that something they have said is their own personal opinion rather smacks of asking them if they'd like a nice little box to put it in. They're probably quite aware it came from them. A more engaged response might be 'i feel differently '. The first speaker is probably capable of deducing that two personal opinions have just been voiced.

I made my own panty liners as I was getting through so many disposables. I made them for daily wear for normal discharge or for light spotting but they coped quite well with slightly heavier flow too. I made them with fleece on one side, cotton on the other and a flannelette strip for absorbency.
They worked very well in most circumstances.
However, they did bunch up a bit especially if worn with thinner flimsier knickers and without another layer of close fitting clothing like tights or trousers.
Sadly I recently threw them all away as I'm menopausal now and couldn't think of a good use for them.

So Daily Fail, you have used cloth pads? Im guessing that you must have as you have said that they smell? All I can say is that the women I know that have used them (including me), have not had an issue with smell. (Maybe you have smelt somebody with an infection of sorts?). Anyway, that is your personal choice which is fine. But no need to be rude :-)

TaraCarter: I could completely understand that some towels would absorb moisture from a wound site that they are pressed up against, as in pads against stitches. But for a cotton wool tampon to be drawing blood from the uterine lining it would have to travel the distance of the cervix. I honestly can't see how a tampon, sitting in the vagina maybe not even up against the cervix, can have an effect on blood flow inside the uterus.

But who knows. Have we no gynaecologists on MN? I would love to know what is behind people's reported experience.