What causes skin irritation and pain during menstruation?

What causes skin irritation and pain during menstruation?

Arghhh… my period again… cramps, rash, burning feeling, itches, leaks... feels like someone has put a porcupine in my crotch, or like a tomato in a greenhouse on the hottest summer day… That’s how I felt during every period for about 20 years.

And for the last 7 years, I feel like “oh, a period! I didn’t even notice it was coming!” I even started to appreciate my period; I understand now, that my period is a reflection of my health.

How did that happen? Simple... With Genial Day pads all my worries, suffering and pain is gone.

I’d like to share my experience with all of you. I hope this will help you, especially if you are suffering from allergies and pain during menstruation like I used to suffer.

Numerous menstruation problems are linked to environmental toxins that accumulate in our bodies

Toxins can be found in food, water, cosmetics, household products, in textile you wear, even in the air you breathe.

Pads consist of a top layer, absorbent layer, plastic, and glue. Those layers might include chemicals that can cause allergies, skin irritation, endometriosis or even worse – ailments of the reproductive system, hormone system disruption, cancer, and mutations. Sounds quite scary, doesn’t it?

Environmental toxins play a major role in period problems. For example, bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and mercury have been linked to polycystic ovarian syndrome. Dioxins, phthalates, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) have been linked to endometriosis, which may cause infertility.

Not only chemicals are a problem in pads, but also harmful bacteria that can cause inflammation, infection or even deadly TSS (toxic shock syndrome) especially if you use tampons.

How do bacteria get into a sanitary pad?

Blood, moisture, heat, anaerobic environment, plus chemicals result in an unhealthy concoction. 20 minutes later you have a perfect environment for bacteria to start multiplying. Cervix channel is slightly opened during menstruation, that’s how bacteria can get inside a uterus or urinary tract. Therefore, hygiene routine and changing a pad or a tampon every 2 to 6 hours is a must during menstruation.

How many of you have had a yeast infection or a bacterial vaginosis? Have you ever thought that it can be caused by pads, tampons or liners?

What happens is your vaginal microflora gets imbalanced and it cannot fight overgrowth of bad bacteria of yeast, the result is itching and burning sensation, discharge or bad odor. The problem is again the chemicals in a sanitary napkins or tampons, especially fragrance, and the unfavorable environment for your vagina: moisture and heat, unfriendly pH level of a product. And here you go - you have an imbalance of vaginal pH level and infection.

What can you do to avoid all this and where to look for an alternative?

Here we are - comfortable, genial and healthy :) (I'm not joking)

Healthy because GENIAL DAY pads and liners have passed Oeko-Tex® and Made for Health® certification, which means our pads and liners were tested for many different harmful chemicals like formaldehyde, heavy metals such mercury, lead, cadmium and more, pH balance, phthalates, chlorinated phenols, and many, many more. Our products have also passed skin irritation test; the results indicate that the pH level is friendly to your skin.

In addition, our pads feature a FAR-IR Anion strip, which is made by using Tourmaline mineral. Tourmaline is known to be beneficial for human body. FAR-IR Anion strip has an ability to inhibit germs and odor-causing bacteria in the liners. 

I bet you don’t enjoy that damp feeling in your panties, do you? It’s like wearing a damp swimming suit all the time… A top layer of our GENIAL DAY pads is made of medical grade hypoallergenic non-woven fabric which wicks the moisture away and has a great air permeability too. This kind of fabric is widely used medical applications. 

But even this is not the biggest advantage of our pads. The biggest advantage is absorbency – this is the most important for all of us to feel comfortable and safe during menstruation. Our absorbent layer consists of SAP (super absorbent polymer) and non-bleached air-laid paper with cotton. Biodegradable SAP can absorb 400 times its weight. Low-quality SAP can cause microflora imbalance, and vaginal pH imbalance, therefore you might have a rash and burning sensation during menstruation. Not with GENIAL DAY pads though. We use non-toxic environmentally friendly SAP.

And here you have a perfect pad! You don’t have to suffer during your period ever again. Enjoy your period and relax! That’s how I have been feeling for the last years with Genial Day products.

Vilmante, the Founder @Genial Day

More information on Oeko-Tex certification www.oekotex.com

Picture ©Fotolia

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