What's Wrong With My Vagina? Episode 4: Period Care Products!
Q: What’s wrong with my vagina?
A: It wants you to switch up your period care products!
If you’re like me, you’ve been using the same type of period care product since your very first period. Usually it’s pads or tampons, and old habits die hard. For me it was pads. Getting my period at the ripe age of nine, I wasn’t even aware that there was an opening to shove anything up. Pads were all well and good for over a decade for me. Until recently, after getting my arm implant birth control (Nexplanon), I started getting my period twice a month. An every other week period doesn’t bother me, so I didn’t blink. After a few months of this, it caught up with me. Wearing a pad two weeks out of the month was causing chafing and soreness. I knew it was time for a change. And the need for change came right on cue- in a time where period care products are becoming more inventive and less taboo. I invested in a pair of period proof underwear and a menstrual cup (thirteen dollars on Amazon with four thousand positive reviews). My move away from pads was strange but rewarding. Trying my menstrual cup for the first time was difficult- as someone who’s never even used a tampon, a whole cup was intimidating. With endless advice and encouragement from my slew of friends who swear by them, I eventually got that sucker in and placed correctly on the third day I tried it. Both the cup and period proof underwear are so freeing, they both make you feel like you’re having a non-bleeding day. While they’re a little more work than pads, they’re more affordable in the long run, better for the environment and both make me feel a little more fresh down there.
My vagina is now more comfortable and my constant periods are less taxing. There are pads, reusable pads, tampons, menstrual discs, menstrual cups, sponges, undies- the list is endless. I dare all of us to switch up our habit and see if our vagina prefers it. •
Molly-Margaret Johnson is a Brooklyn based artist. While she is not a doctor, she is excited to share her vaginal experiences with others in hopes to answer questions and end taboos.
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