The demon of “Synthetic Sanitary Pads ”
On 8 March whole world celebrates international women’s day, this day we sought an opportunity to write about perils of not following menstrual hygiene practises. This issue has been kept out of the public discourse and not given due regard even at schools , home and in the peer discussions , and what we are essentially witnessing now is the huge challenge of ‘securing good health for women’ whose integral component is safe and sustainable menstrual hygiene practises.
Nowadays it is believed that using sanitary pads is clean ,healthy and sustainable menstrual health management practice but we in this article intend to present some of the dangerous effects of using these pads which are not talked anywhere, off course it will lead to shutting down the big boys in industries !
Why the synthetic sanitary pads are dangerous?
1. Use of DIOXIN which is labelled as pollutants and carcinogen(chemicals which leads to cancel) by WHO. It finds the way to body and goes into fat tissues causing several health threats. As it is a potent carcinogen , it increases the risk of cervical and ovarian cancer. Also disrupts the hormonal regulatory mechanism, resulting in reproductive problems.
2. Plasticisers like BPA ( a type of chemical compound) and synthetic pads can result in increased risk exposure to bacteria and yeasts. These microbes multiply rapidly in humid environment and cause vaginal infections. If left untreated vaginitis can progress into pelvic inflammatory disease which has potential to damage the reproductive ability of women.
Get Dhruv Dhakane’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
3. Synthetic sanitary pads are laced with odour neutralisers and artificial fragrance. These cheap chemicals can cause serious irritation, allergy, complications in reproduction and to the extent of infertility.
4. Phthalates are compounds used to give smooth finishing to the sanitary pads. These compounds cause endocrine disruption and affect normal reproductive hormonal level.
5. Super Absorbent Polymers used in pads are mostly petroleum by-products which causes skin reaction, rashes, allergies, Toxic Shock Syndrome.
6. Burning & burying of these pads can releases dangerous chemicals into air, water and soil. Also the plastic used in pads takes 500 years to decompose.
so given the ineluctable side effects and hazards of sanitary pads both on women’s health as well as environment , we went into the search of safe and sustainable product which we found in the form of ‘menstrual cups’ and biodegradable sanitary pads!
Menstrual cups and biodegradable sanitary pads are in a way tools to resolve this complex dichotomy of keeping care of women’s health as well as preserving environment. We will come up with new article to provide in depth insights on nature and benefits of these two products , because they are so huge that one article won’t suffice 🙂!
This article was written with my friend Divyesh Patil.
