did you know that the average tampon
user will go through 9 to 10 000 tampons
over the course of their 35 to 40 years
of having periods this equates to 300
pounds of period-related waste in your
lifetime or 200 000 tons of
period-related wastes around the world
every single year sounds like it's time
we talk about earth-friendlier options
for period products
welcome back i'm mama doctor jones a
board-certified ob gyn and mobtafour and
today we're discussing alternative
period products that i recommend as a
gynecologist and one you should never
use no matter what i think every person
should be empowered to use whatever kind
of period product they feel is best for
them although many of the products we
talk about in today's video are reusable
they often cost a little bit more to get
started and they may not be accessible
or right for everyone that being said
many people feel compelled to make a
change or simply prefer reusable
products and empowerment cannot happen
without education every product in this
video is not meant to be a super earth
friendly option i really just wanted to
show you some alternative products
including the ones that are a little bit
more environmentally friendly the first
product we're going to talk about is
biodegradable tampons i wanted to talk
about these because i think some people
don't even realize that they exist these
tampons are really no different than any
other tampon you've probably used the
only difference is they don't contain
the plastic applicator which of course
is a little bit more earth friendly they
come in the typical packaging
and instead of the plastic applicator
they have a cardboard applicator
the tampon itself
basically the same as any other one that
you've ever seen put it in and take it
out exactly the same way obviously this
is not going to be the most eco-friendly
option on this list it's simply another
option that some people may not even
know exist the next one on our list is
going to be a completely applicator free
tampon these are just like any other
tampon that you might use they simply
don't come with an applicator and
they're way more common in places other
than the united states i have no idea
why none of us here are taught to use
these i can only imagine that it may be
because we're never taught to be
comfortable with our own bodies or to
learn about our own anatomy and they do
take a little bit more understanding and
a little bit more comfort in that area
but they're very easy to use and they're
actually way cheaper than applicator
tampons see how small this box is
they're much more compact than a typical
tampon because they don't contain the
applicators there's actually 16 tampons
in this box which is really really
convenient if you're needing to take
them with you somewhere so they come
wrapped like this and there is just a
little bit of plastic around the outside
to open them you simply grab the top and
bottom alongside that colorful line and
you twist
that removes the plastic and you're left
just for the typical tampon like a
normal tampon they have a string you
can't see it because it's held up on the
inside but you just pull it out
and you have a normal applicator free
tampon to put it in remember to wash
your hands before and after use a finger
put the tampon right at the entrance of
the vagina
press it inside
until it's all the way in and you're
good to go it genuinely is that easy try
them out you might find that they're
super convenient because they're small
and cheaper than a normal tampon editing
mdj here i realized while i was editing
this that i forgot to film the part
about reusable tampon applicators which
i don't actually own one of but i'm
going to throw it up on the screen these
are really great too if you don't want
to use a plastic or cardboard applicator
they're washable and reusable an option
if you're interested after this product
we're going to get into the actual
reusable products but for this one i
wanted to show you a menstrual disc
these are disposable menstrual discs and
they're made by soft cup or soft disc
they are a little bit more eco-friendly
in my opinion because they last longer
than a typical tampon that being said
they're also made completely of plastic
and so i'll let you decide where that
ranks on your scale they come in
packaging
like this
and the disc itself looks like this
they're actually very easy to put in
you just fold it like this
put it
right at the entrance to the vagina push
it in
once it's inside it sits in the vagina
like this with the cervix at the top
there is a little bit of a learning
curve on these and the rest of the
products i'm going to talk about today
but they actually work really well for a
lot of people and are worth a try if
you're just looking for a change
menstrual discs also come in a reusable
version that's made of silicone and i
actually couldn't find any when i was at
the store and i don't own one already so
i don't have one to show you but i'll
put a picture up on the screen they
basically look the same exact way as the
reusable one except it's made completely
of silicone and you use it almost just
like a menstrual cup which we're going
to talk about in a minute they are a
little different than a menstrual cup
because they don't create that suction
around the cervix and so they might be
better for people who have an iud than a
menstrual cup if you have an iud and
you're using a menstrual cup that
suction that it creates around the
cervix can increase the risk of the iud
coming out or being pulled out by just a
little bit so it is something that you
might want to consider that risk is
about 14 so if you're using a menstrual
cup and an iud it's just something to be
aware of it's still most likely not to
happen but it does increase the risk
just a little bit since we're on the
topic of menstrual cups i'll talk to you
about this menstrual cup
there are so many different brands and
types and shapes and sizes of menstrual
cups i wanted to show you this one
because i like that it's really small
and compact and it's called a lily cup
compact it may not be right for
everybody it does come in two sizes a
for people who've never had a vaginal
delivery b for people who have delivered
a baby vaginally or who just feel like
their pelvic floor is a little more weak
the cup is about this big it's not very
big at all
and the amazing thing is that it
actually collapses down very tiny
so that's the
full size with the cup collapse down
it fits nicely into this tiny little
travel case
so if you're interested in a menstrual
cup i have a few things to tell you
about it one they are safe and they are
effective and a lot of people really
love them there is a little bit of a
learning curve so the first couple of
months that you use it you may want to
use something as a backup either a pad
or period underwear which we'll talk
about in a minute or something just in
case you have leaks over time and a few
months of using it you probably will get
to a point where you don't have leaks at
all and a lot of people find them very
very convenient at that point so it's
something that's worth trying if you're
interested maybe at some point i'll do a
whole video just on menstrual cups how
to insert them things to watch for
troubleshooting things like that next
option is one that may be really great
for you if you really don't like using
something like a tampon a menstrual cup
or disc that goes inside and these are
reusable pads
a lot of people kind of get weirded out
when i talk about things like reusable
pads and reusable underwear however i
think they're really really great i
think a lot of you probably wouldn't be
bothered by it either but i can
understand if some people were not
comfortable having them the brand of
these is hannah healthy you happy planet
and they can be purchased on amazon but
there are so many different kinds and
options of these including even just
handmade ones that you get from etsy
they come in a cute little carrying case
and you use them just like any other pad
the ones i happen to get have cute
little cat print on one side and then
the other side just looks like a normal
pad except it's softer and probably a
little less likely to cause irritation
so if you're sensitive and get irritated
easily with the pads that you buy that
are disposable at the store it might be
a good option for you
they have a little button on them so
that you can
button it around your underwear just
like a winged pad would have except it's
not adhesive and they actually stay in
place pretty well when you're ready to
change your pad you just rinse it out
throw it in the washer in a mesh bag
don't ever use any kind of fabric
softener on any of your reusable
products because that will make them
less absorptive but otherwise they're
pretty easy to use and it's pretty
straightforward one of the downsides of
things like the hannah pad is that they
can feel just a little bit bulkier when
you're wearing them and it takes a
little bit of getting used to but some
people really like them and i wanted to
at least show them to you the next
product i want to talk about is period
panties so these are underwear which
actually serve to have a completely
absorptive liner
that acts as a pad
so this one is from thinx and it's one
of the super absorptive ones you can get
these in all different absorption
amounts and i think these super ones are
great for like overnight wear it does
absorb the amount of blood as four
tampons which is super cool and they are
really good for preventing leaks these
things work really really well just like
with a reusable pad after you use it you
rinse it off put it in a mesh bag put it
in the washing machine and wash it on a
gentle cycle using detergent but no
fabric softener because again that will
reduce how well they absorb when you're
wearing them and finally as promised one
period product i don't think anyone
should ever be using sea sponges that's
right these are sometimes marketed as
menstrual products and let me tell you a
few reasons i'm not a big fan one we
don't have any information about how
safe these things actually are there are
some sponges that are made as menstrual
products that are manufactured and not
just actual sponges from the sea i still
am not a big fan of those if you've ever
used a sponge in your kitchen you know
those things harbor bacteria like crazy
especially bacteria like staph aureus
staphorius is a bacteria that can live
in environments like this sponge and it
can be very difficult in some cases to
get rid of it is also one of the leading
causes of toxic shock syndrome which we
know can be in some situations
associated with period products not only
do they have a tendency to be messy but
they can also be really hard to get out
and they have a tendency to fall apart
especially when they get saturated
meaning you may pull out the sponge and
it's not all there and then you have it
sitting in the vagina growing more
bacteria because they are untested
unregulated and in all likelihood less
safe than every other product i've
mentioned here or any of the traditional
products on the market i would recommend
strongly against the use of a sponge as
a menstrual product whether it is a
sponge that you get manufactured or one
you pull straight from the ocean
especially when there are so many
wonderful and amazing reusable safe
products out there on the market i hope
that you learned something today if you
did leave a like on this video send it
to a friend anything to get it out to
more people i know i'm biased but i
think it's great information if you're
new here and you'd like to subscribe we
would love to have you hit that
subscribe button turn on notifications
and i will see you next monday
[Music]
you