When it comes to your "moon", or your "time of the month", it seems that it has become taboo to discuss your method of managing the flow.  Truth is that for hundreds of years women have been figuring out how to manage it while juggling their busy lives, and so today there are many options for the health concious, active eco-mom to consider!  If you take a look at history, for hundreds, even thousands of years, women have been using homemade tampons or blankets for menstruation.  Early on in the nineteenth century commercial tampons were introduced in the United States, and before this time they were used for administering medicines by American doctors but not for menstruation.  Tampax came on the market in the 1930's, and today women across the country spend hundreds sometimes thousands of dollars on "feminine" products throughout their lives.  Unfortunately with he creation of "Tampax" and other commercial tampon products, the amount of waste they create is disturbing, as well as how expensive they are and potential toxicity.  According to the National Women's Health Network, 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons pollute landfills annually in the US, add to that the packaging and there is a significant impact on our environment!

Even after criticisms of tampons and their effects on women's health, they are still the choice for many, or do I dare to say most women today in the U.S.  Tampons are known to create dryness in the vagina which can lead to an uncomfortable experience as well as bacterial infections.  And of course the TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrom), which isn't talked about much today, but is very much still occurring!  However, the connection between tampons and toxic shock syndrome has yet to be fully understood. It is assumed, though, that the Staphylococcus bacteria thrives and proliferates in warm, moist areas thereby making a high absorbency tampon the perfect breeding ground for the bacteria. The bacteria is able to enter your blood stream if the tampon causes a laceration in your vaginal lining. In the case of super absorbency tampons, the tampon may swell to such an extent that it sticks to the vaginal wall. When removing, the tampon pulls at your skin causing some of the lining to come off and the bacteria to get in.

In addition, a majority of conventional tampons and pads are bleached by using chemicals that are known to leave small amounts of toxins and carcinogens (such as dioxin) in the tampon.  As is stated regularly about many product's on the market today, research is currently being tested on the possible long term effects of these chemicals on women.  Luckily, there are quite a few natural, non bleached tampons and pads on the market today, and can be found at most health food stores, although they are priced slightly higher, it is worth it to save your vagina the agony of chemicals being left to hang out and spread into your flower and body.

Of course, if your like me, I just don't feel comfortable having anything disrupting the flow of my bodies natural cleansing flow, so I choose alternative solutions over the disruption of my flow from the use of tampons.  I have listed these solutions on the link below along with a few others that are proven to be safe, effective, and will not impact the earth negatively like conventional tampons and pads....and as my blog boasts....will save you money!

Eco-Moon Options