Why Pads Are Probably the Safest Choice for Teenage Girls
Getting your period is an enchanting transformation from childhood to femininity — but that might not seem so cool at first (or, let's be honest, ever). Having the right equipment to welcome your period each month will make getting it a lot less painful.
Fortunately for us ladies, there are plenty of items to choose from.
So, let‘s first talk about pads, as most girls choose pads for their first period because they are the easiest to use and do not pose any risk to life (we‘ll tell you later what the risk is with tampons).
What is it all about?
Pads are absorbent rectangles of material that stick to your pants, with a soft top cover that's worn next to your skin. Pads are perhaps the oldest menstrual remedy. Only their shape, functionality, and materials have changed over time.
Pads come in a wide range of shapes, lengths, and widths. Some have patterns on them, others smell of flowers, and others are odorless. They can be thin or thick, made of several layers to absorb blood and keep it out. They also have a sticky backing strip to keep them in place and from moving around or falling out when you walk or play sports. They have extra „wings“ on the sides that fold over the edges of your underwear to keep the pad in place and prevent leaks. The „wings“ and pad are easily detached from the panties and replaced with another.
Pads are usually the first thing you try when your period arrives. However, with so many options available, you may be unsure which ones are best for you. As each company uses different materials to produce the pads and designs different pads, you need to try one or the other to find the one that suits you best.
Just remember, if you choose flower-scented pads they can cause allergies. Also, the drawings on the pads are completely unnecessary as they use dyes, which are chemicals.
Making the Choice
As it is rare to see pad samples in shops, it is necessary to choose pads by testing them. You will usually see droplets on the pads to indicate absorbency. The more droplets there are, the more absorbent they will be, and they will also be longer.
Sometimes the pad shape is drawn on the package and the size of the pad is marked. Different absorbency and lengths of pads are marked with different colors on the pads. For example, the largest Genial Day pads have a blue border, the regular pads have a red border and the Teens mini pads have a green border.
Pads come in a variety of lengths, from as short as 200 mm to as long as 400 mm. This is because girls' menstruation varies in abundance. They also bleed differently throughout the menstrual cycle. On some days it is more abundant, on others not so abundant. Therefore, you may need several lengths of pads.
Use the longer ones on heavy days and at night (because you want to sleep at night, not get up several times to change the pad), and use the smaller ones when you no longer need this kind of protection. Smaller pads, however, feel more comfortable.
When To Change It
How often you change your pad depends on how often you menstruate. As you probably already know, some people have a cycle of 21 to 24 days, while others take 28 days. Changing pads also depends on which kind of pad you use.
Our recommendation is simple: change the pad as often as you feel comfortable and clean.
You may wonder what are the main reasons why you should change your pad. So here we go:
- The pad has become engorged with blood
- To feel comfortable and dry
- For hygiene and cleanliness. A pad that has been worn for a long time can start to smell unpleasant and can be smelled not only by you but also by others.
Remember that it is important to choose a pad with sufficient absorbency so that you can stay with it for several hours without changing it. Check the pad regularly, every 2-4 hours (when you actually visit the toilet), to make sure it has not leaked or become full of blood. On days when you bleed heavily, you may need to change the pad every 2 hours, or maybe only a few times a day.
If you notice leaks on your underwear or clothing, you should try using higher absorbency or longer pads.
If you find that there is very little blood on the pad, you should try using lighter or smaller sanitary pads.
By the way, the Genial Day pads are different from the regular pads in that they can be worn for longer periods of time, even for hygiene reasons, because the yellow anion strip in the pad suppresses the smell, so if you don't bleed much, you may only need to change once a day.
Genial Day pads also have a particularly high absorbency, absorbing up to 5 times more than normal pads, so you may need to change it less often than a regular pad, which is not only convenient but also economical. Genial day pads are also breathable, which is important to prevent drying and irritation of the skin.
How We Do It
We change the pad in the toilet, or in the bathroom if we are at home. If you are at school, head to the toilet during break time, but remember to take a new pad with you, and exchange the blood-soaked pad for a new one in the toilet. You can wrap the used pad in the plastic wrap from which you unwrapped the new pad, or if you don't have any plastic wrap, shape the pad into a roll, then wrap the roll in toilet paper and throw it in the rubbish bin.
Do not, under any circumstances, throw the pad down the toilet, as they do not disintegrate in water and can clog the toilet, which does not do us, girls, any credit.
If you are at home, wash down there with warm water when you change to a clean pad, because it gets blood on it from a dirty pad, and if you don't wash it, it can smell unpleasant, and it can irritate your skin. During menstruation, wash your private parts at least twice: in the morning and in the evening.
If you don't have the opportunity to wash, you can always use wet wipes, but choose them carefully, as our private area is very sensitive and chemicals can irritate it. Don't use regular wipes just for cleaning your hands. Choose wipes that are also suitable for intimate hygiene, such as Genial day wipes. They are made of bamboo and are designed for intimate hygiene and other areas of the body. Genial day wipes are very popular with women and girls because they are odorless, non-sticky, and non-allergenic.
Don‘t Panic, It‘s Organic
Pads come in organic and non-organic versions. Eco-friendly pads mean that they do not contain chemicals that are harmful to us. Non-organic pads may contain a variety of chemicals that can harm your body over time. Sometimes the pads can cause skin irritation, and this is most common when using non-organic ones. There are various reasons for this. Irritation can be caused by the surface material, the adhesive, as the pad is not breathable.
You can order a set of eco-friendly Genial Day pads at www.genialday.com. Once you have received the kit, look at each pad, try it out and notice the difference in length and shape.
Genial Day pads are different from conventional pads because they are comfortable, soft, thin, and leak-proof. They are also eco-friendly and breathable.
We hope that this information has really helped you to feel more confident and ready to make healthy choices – and that menstruation will be easy on you!
