Men are unforgiven for wanting to leave the room because women are going to talk about menstruation and feminine products for a few months. That’s because increasingly, there are next to no supplies of tampons and even pads are harder to find in some places.
Many thousands of women have been complaining to their healthcare providers about the unreliable supply of feminine personal products in America, Canada, England, and Europe, while the rest of the world endures the same problem but suffers less. That’s because the problem has always been there according to women doctors and nurses running women’s birthing clinics and shelters in some remote underdeveloped regions.
A quick survey of RINJ Women health care workers in regions of the world where everything is in short supply has yielded some good ideas for the so-called developed countries.
From those ‘civilized regions of shortages‘ women complain on social media that their patriarchal governments have no ability whatsoever to even talk about their lack of a supply chain for women’s disposable feminine products, like pads and tampons.
But the shelves are now often empty—you might even hear the frustrated banging on the dispenser in the next cubicle as you read this article on your smartphone, while having a wee.
by Sharon Santiago
The answer from expert women’s health practitioners to the headline question is, ‘switch to homemade reusable pads‘. They are more comfortable and in good supply.
The picture and its story. Menstrual hygiene product dispenser as seen in an US Air Force community bathroom. Photo credit: Beth Van Dam. Photo is cropped. Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
The complaints have recently oozed on to social media.
Some netizens have been scratching their heads at athlete Kiran Ghandi who ran a marathon without a pad, “in solidarity with women who don’t have access to sanitary products”, bleeding most of the way to protest the lack of availability of women’s products and the patriarch’s utterly misogynistic tax on women’s ‘sanitary napkins’ and tampons. Most women are now reposting articles about Ms. Ghansi and giving Ms. Ghandi virtual high fives. Ghandi’s protest took place in 2015 and today the problem of supply and taxation is multiples worse.
“Women’s menstrual cycle care is important and over time, structured and tuned to match the uniqueness of each person. Urogenital infections are one of the risks of getting it wrong. Don’t let that happen. Switching tampons to unfamiliar types or weird imports on EBay is not indicated, go to a trusted brand of pad, or your own homemade reusable,” says experienced nurse practitioner Amanda Miles, currently working in Kharkiv, Ukraine with a humanitarian team deployed in areas where supply of everything is an issue.
Tampons are in shorter supply than pads and for months have been occasionally disappearing off some shelves in America and Europe according to reports coming from all around the globe. This is partly due to the pandemic-induced supply chain issues, partly because of sanctions against Chinese fabric producers and the US proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
Demonstrators in Spain get their point across in a manner that fetches male responses on social media that are horrible. This social media post is on Twitter.
Here is a literal translation from one Twitter netizen commenting on this image: “In addition to feelings of disgust and disgust, this action of theirs does not cause anything. Is it really possible to fall so low because of a couple of tens of euros? [Talking about a tax on feminine hygiene products] Or is the mind, except for this abomination, completely lacking? They have lost everything human, they have lost their honor. Solid dirt, anger and boundless stupidity. Possessed.”
“Actually they are young girls making a valid point. Making pads and tampons available only to those with money is the purist form of misogyny,” notes Nurse Miles.
Photo: Turkish women protest saying “Sanitary products are not a luxury” as high cost of women’s hygiene products and poor availability violate women’s rights. Photo credit: “Campus Witches” of Turkey
The picture and its story: More empty shelves and no Tampons. Twitter Screen Capture
Solutions from the tropical jungles.
Join the women in developing regions in their use of homemade, better quality reusable feminine sanitary supplies.
“Yes, we recommend homemade, high quality reusable pads. Many women with sewing skills have made a small cottage industry of this. Their product is more comfortable than the store-bought variety. I do not believe we have any women in any of our rural communities here in the Amazon basin of Venezuela using store bought feminine products,” responded NP Michele Frances who operates a small hospital and three clinics in Venezuela for The RINJ Foundation.
Video: Seamstress demonstrates cutting and sewing of homemade product.
Video: This seamstress suggests,
- “I use ZORB and FLANNEL (brushed cotton) combo as a core. Zorb is incredibly absorbent and the layer of cotton flannel adds an extra bit of absorbency and prevents pressure leaks.
- “For topper fabric (that goes against the skin) I use 100% COTTON, but also minky, cotton flannel and performance pique.
- “For backing I use fleece. Fleece helps prevent leaks, working with the combo of the zorb and flannel core.”
A registered nurse in Uganda teaches women how to make their own reusable pads.
Try this. You might not switch back.
Editorial note about this article which the patriarch will find gruesome.
“To all my sisters, I say, the reusable homemade comfy pad may not be for you and hopefully you have a good supply of what you need, but whatever you do, stay safe and clean and have a happy, comfortable period,” says RINJ Filipino nurse, Karinna Angeles, who like Amanda, is away on a posting to help some of the millions of women in Ukraine who are facing extremely horrid conditions at the hands of a run amok global patriarch which not only cannot manage to run countries that provide access to feminine products but can’t keep the peace and can’t seem to stop killing or displacing women and children.
God bless all my sisters around the world, mabuhay sisters, Sharon Santiago