Natural Feminine Care - Update

This post is a bit personal, but something I thought was very important to share with women, as most of us encounter this very often, about every month to be specific. Yes, I am talking about our periods.

I recently read this article from Vice about a 24 year old woman who lost her leg in part of her use of tampons and due to Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS).

You can read the Vice article here.

Unfortunately, tampons that are in the market are not natural, they have synthetic fibers, like rayon and plastic. You know what else? They are made with rayon. Clothes are made out of rayon. Something we use internally should not be made of this material, but most likely it's used because it's less expensive and can absorb more fluid.

It is said that due to these fibers and due to the absorbency of tampons it is an "ideal" environment for bacteria to grow.  Additionally, some women keep their tampons in more than the recommended 3 hours and leave them in overnight.

What is recommend is that if women are going to use tampons they should use 100% cotton tampons.

Dr. Philip M. Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at the NYU School of Medicine who has done research into the link between tampons and toxic shock syndrome, agrees that cotton would be safer. "Toxic shock syndrome may result if a woman has no antibody to the toxin or low antibody. Therefore the synthetic ingredients of a tampon are a problem, whereas 100 percent cotton tampons provide the lowest risk, if any risk at all."

So where can you get 100% natural tampons? Good question and good news. I have been doing lots of research. First, I found out that Jessica Alba's The Honest Company, is coming out with a line of feminine care in July 2015, which will include an organic tampon and a bio-plastic applicator.

In the meantime, I have been using NatraCare 100% organic cotton, which is chlorine, rayon, and plastic free, and biodegradable. I bought them from my local natural market, but they also are available online, like at Amazon. NatraCare also has organic pads, liners, nursing pads, and wipes.

All it took was that article from Vice for me to say no more to unnatural tampons and make sure that my use of natural and organic is not just limited to food, but also all other parts of my life.

I am looking forward to see how The Honest Company's feminine care line will be.

What other types of products do you use? I heard that the Diva Cup is also a great alternative.

Update: The Honest Company natural feminine care line is now available and I bought a few boxes of them (tampons and liners) Can't wait to try them out.