Does it sound like an allergy to sanitary towels?

[Lovefruitsandvegs]

I have been using sanitary towels for a few days and feel like crying. The place is red, sore, itchy and swollen. I have never had this before. I have ironed a muslin sheet and hope the place will calm down a bit. If not I will have to go to my GP on Monday or to out of hours to see whether it is an allergy to towels. How can they know? It will probably take two weeks for the results to come back.
Is anyone using hypo-allergenic panty liners ans sanitary towels? Where do I buy them? They probably cost a lot.
Thanks everyone.

I get them from the health food shop. They are more expensive & I alternate between them & tampons. Loads of people will recommend a mooncup but I didn't get on with one.

It does sound like some kind of allergic reaction - or it could be thrush.

Have you tried treating with some Canesten cream to see if this soothes it?

You can buy cotton-based sanitary towels in Boots I think (sorry, I forget the brand name).

Can you use tampons until the soreness calms down? Assuming that you need to any more.

Also, make sure that the underwear you are wearing is cotton and don't wear anything too close-fitting and tight. If you can, try wearing a skirt and going commando (at least at home!) for a day or so.

Sympathy - it's awful.

(I discovered that I'm also allergic to something in Andrex moist toilet tissue/wipes - makes my bum really itchy and sore. Deeply unpleasant!)

Have you recently changed brand? If not, I would think it's more likely to be a thrush-type infection that just happened to coincide with your period.

If it is thrush, you also need to make sure that you're changing the towel very frequently.

Thank you for your suggestions. I do not think it is thrush. It looks worse. I think I could feel I could not tolerate the towels touching the skin.

Is Cotex any good or the same as other brands, just more expensive?

Has anyone heard of Baby Nature brand? They produce excellent natural nappies. So I have checked their website and it looks as they also sell sanitary towels and panty liners www.naty.com/uk/Products/tabid/55/Default.aspx

Just do not know where to buy them? Will have to check Waitrose, Boots and Mothercare.

I will consider buying Canesten cream. May be it will help me.

You can also buy cloth ones that you stick in the washing machine, if you have trouble with the hypo-allergenic ones or don't want to spend so much money. It does sound a bit like it could be a yeast infection though. I would ask the GP to check as canesten can encourage resistant yeast if you use it when it's not one. Or there are a few home remedies that work, like peeled garlic cloves and yoghurt.

Fortunately my periods have almost finished so I can use the muslin towels. I wear cotton underwear.
I think it would be impossible for me to walk without underwear because of the kids. DH is not supportive. He is one of those DHs who think their wives are feeling all right when they are not. I guess if he had it he would have been in bed whole day long.

Yes I had this earlier this year. I was red sore and very itchy and I also has eczema in my knicker line which was aggravated by ST's and the elastic in most of my pants particularily my Sloggis which have a spikey type of elastic.

I had accidentely bought Asda scented ST's but even normal ones made me itch. I used the boosters out of DS's cloth Fluffle nappies for a while (so lovely and soft against the skin). I also found that using a fleece liner on top of the ST helped.

I'm now a Moncup convert and use a washable ST that I already had

You can by baby nature stuff online.

buy not by

I'm not sure Kotex would be any better/worse - most big brand sanitary towels use a lot of plastic (just like baby wipes).

natracare is a good brand if you are sensitive. You used to be able to get them in boots. They have no nappies in them.

Or washable towels are great, something like fairy hammocks [boak at the name], initial outlay si expensive but you'll never need more, and they are soooo much comfier than disposables.

How do you actually use the washable towels? Is it possible to stick it to the underwear? I would be afraid of loosing one :)

they don't stick to your underwear but have wings that popper underneath. As long as your underwear is reasonably snug they don't move around. And did I mention how comfortable they are,cotton velour rather than plastic next to your skin...

Years ago, when my DD2 was born so 14 years ago, her bottom was red raw even though she never had a wet nappy against her skin, much worse than nappy rash the midwife said it was almost certainly an allergic reaction to the nappy and that the bleaching agents used to make the nappy white were to blame. Maybe yours could be a similar problem? I can't remember the name of the cream I was given, but it was a healing cream for things like nappy rash and it worked really quickly and well, I'm sure the pharmacist would have something similar, it would be soothing, give you some relief. HTH.

I had a similar reaction so I switched to Natracare (I think) panty liners [shudders at the word panty]. I still use ordinary night towels but seem to be able to get away with that if I use the natural liners in the day. I get them from Waitrose so I imagine they are available elsewhere too.

I have a Mother Eden washable that I hadn't used for a while and when I used it when I was sore it was like bliss. As ITSALLGOING said some of them are made of the softest velour (like my MotherEden one) and are very gentle on the skin

I have seen Natracare on the Internet. May be I will get a pack. Boots on line sells something called like Cottons which costs around £3.00. So expensive.

I was using Tena sanitary towels. The place is so sore that it looks like a battle field. I have found a nappy change cream from Weleda :). Will see how it works. I will have to put it on one sensitive spot too. May be I should start a blog with a picture. I bet I will get a huge traffic.

Blubell, I know what you say about nappies. My toddler's bottom was sore too from nappies but Baby Nature were super. You do not need to use nappy change cream to calm down the redness and itch. That is why I was wondering about their panty liners.
Is natural stuff not expensive?! May be I should start knitting panty liners .

Knitted ones may be uncomfortable :o

SoupDragon, unless I choose bamboo yarn and very fine needles .
I know knitted or crocheted panty liners are not going to be comfortable.

I can't use any ST's that aren't breathable, very bad past experiences with always, bodyform etc! Cottons from boots.com are great, also Moxie pads too. Nature womencare and the natracare ones are both available online, but I found natracare a bit rough and generally stick with the cottons ones. Hope your discomfort clears up, it's just horrible.

It is so much better today after using simple muslin sheets and Weleda nappy change cream . What a useful thing to have. I would like to thank everyone for kind responses and for reading my post .

By the way, I have heard that there are panty liners for men in the supermarkets , , . Well, I am grinning but may be I should check them. They could be 100% cotton.

Interestingly, I came across a pattern for what I think was a knitted/crocheted "feminine liner" on Ravelry a short while ago :o

I have just typed in google search "knitted panty liners" and surprisingly some people are actually making their own liners. Check this link: mypads.wordpress.com/category/new-pads/page/2/

I would say this is not something I would wear. Imagine flying abroad with this thing going through x-rays. I should check folksy.

Because I'm Worth It - the Andrex wet wipes did that to my a*se, too!