Sanitary towels TMI

[someladdersandsnakes]

I'm pissed off that sanitary towels and pantyliners give just middle gusset coverage if small and then extra coverage at the back if large. I don't know if I have something anatomically unusual about me, or if the companies never do any market research. But whatever comes out of my vag migrates forwards and gets deposited at the front and I've ruined lot of pants that way because pads don't reach far enough. If I wear a night pad the extra coverage at the back always stays clean because if I'm bleeding heavy enough for it to run down my arse and come out the back, the front would have been saturated ages ago and I would have already changed. Right now I'm using pessaries which leak, and I'm using liners but I have to place them right at the front and the curved back of it is right in the middle of the gusset and scratches me. Anyone else pissed off about this or am I the only one whose body works like this?

I have extremely heavy periods and have the same issue!! At night i use the cheaper version of tena lady pads!! Absolute game changer! They are huge , thick and extremely absorbent! Obviously can use them day time too! But they are great at night

Yes this sometimes happens to me. Now I have a post c- section tummy not helped by too many biscuits, but even when thin I had this issue, my pants sort of go backwards, and I bleed too far forward. I am tall, I always wondered if that was why.
Period pants work much better for me.

For night time use the Tena lady blue or purple thick pads.They're thick and long and absorbent and are not scented

Turn them round the other way so the longer part us at the front.

This thread is interesting. You're not alone op.

I'm a 'period pants virgin' and I've just had a Google.

M&S sell these but to me it looks like the black bit covers just the same amount that a sanitary towel would, apart from the width front and back. I think op is looking for something that goes higher up on the front?

Don't know if I'd trust these on my heavy days/nights.

Cheeky pants go right up to front & rear waistbands!

I know what you mean and and I just turn pads backwards so the protection is at the front.

Re period pants, how could you wear the same pants for 24 hours. Surely you’d end up with them full of blood and being irritating and yucky?

I love my period pants too, especially for nighttime

Well I don’t wear any pants for 24 hours ! With period pants, I change them when necessary, which can be anything from 6 to 12 hours. They work for a whole school day for my dd.

I highly recommend those disposable incontinence pants that some people need to wear- for my heaviest days & overnight.

I know it's not the best for the environment but I have had so many accidents even whilst taking many safety measures, such as staining clothes & a pale-coloured sofa. I'm also looking into period pants but for the moment, this cuts out a lot of stress & distress for me.

Oh, & solidarity to us women who put up with this shit. Have just read the entire thread & part of me still can't believe that we have to put up with this every frigging month. Blood, pain, mess, inconvenience & expense!

Horrific; roll on menopause!!

i know this may seem wasteful to some but this was a complete game changer for me

Two sanitary towels
1st one on as normal in the gusset (even place it a bit further forward than you would normally)
2nd one at the back (with overlap) flat ways on the bum to my a T shape.

ive tried many different forms of sanitary ware. Menstrual cups worked for me for a while but I couldn’t do with all the shoving and pulling out after a while.
I never liked the fit of period pants.
I haven’t tried reusable sanitary towels and I may look into this but this method with disposables is my preferred method at the moment.
good luck OP

@SugarAndSpike agreed - those look like they are for lighter days/ days when you are expecting to come on. Not all of them are like this - eg Cheeky Pants, which have been mentioned a couple of times now, have the absorbent section from front to back waistband

I don't know about that- menopause sounds a horrific too 😔

if you wear period pants please could you tell me a bit more about them

I'm imagining they are pants with a built in sanitary towel that can be washed. Is that right?

If so can you help me with these questsion

does it not get uncomfortable and sore if you you have soaked fabric next to your skin?

if you are changing them at work or you are out of the house, what do you do with the used ones? how do you make sure they don't smell?

is it difficult to get them off without getting blood on your feet, legs,socks, tights whatever?

are they very thick in the gusset region?

are they similar to incontinence pants?

do they tend to leak at all if so where - round the leg or through the gusset?

what happens when you wash them? I would imagine there will be a lot of blood in the water. do you wash them straight in the machine or rinse by hand first?
do you wash them alone?

when you have used ones at home again do you have to wash them the second you removed them if not dont they smell

sorry its a lot of questions but after reading this thread I'm interested in trying them but a bit hesitant.

They are like normal pants really. The gusset isn’t very thick, just thicker than normal underwear. About as thick as a thin sanitary towel, at the most. They feel thinner though when you wear them, they don’t feel bulky. The ones for very heavy flow are thicker at the back and sometimes the front, the ones for normal to heavy flow are usually just thicker in the area that a san towel would cover. I don’t often leak with them,and never through the gusset, but sometimes I will leak onto the elastic edging. This is only noticeable if the pants are not black.
I normally wash mine in the machine, I don’t bother rinsing them first but some people do. They stay in the washing bag without noticeably smelling, but I run a wash frequently anyway so that usually isn’t all that long. Some people leave them to soak in a lidded bucket. It is easy to get them off without getting blood on you. You can buy ones that unhook each side that are easier to change when out and wearing trousers.
They can take a day to dry (they don’t go in the tumble drier I don’t think, but I don’t have a drier anyway) . So you need a few pairs. I also use washable pads, but I find the pants simpler and better fitting.
I haven’t seen incontinence pants so can’t comment, but I imagine period pants are a lot less bulky ?
They come in lots of different styles and colours. My teenage dds use them too, and like them.

Tampons combined with period pants were a game changer for me.

Could never get pads to stick and stay, so I'd moved to reusable pads with a button. But now period pants are more widely available and better priced I've switched to those.