Survival Essentials for Women: Cloth Menstrual Pads

By Amy Napoli
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Reusable menstrual pads are among items you should have in your emergency survival kit in order to be prepared for any crisis or SHTF event that may happen during your lifetime. In addition to clean underwear, a torch and wet wipes, reusable cloth menstrual pads or reusable menstrual cup should be one of the essential ‘just in case’ items you have packed in your survival purse, ready to go.

If you’ve never used before, cloth menstrual pads are just like your regular disposable pads, except that they are made of fabric and come in a whole bunch of colors, sizes and styles. They are perfectly safe to use in place of the disposable types and provide just as much protection. You simply put them on as you would with the regular types and replace them every 2 – 6 hours, depending on your flow. Instead of discarding, however, you would lightly soak your cloth menstrual pads to prevent stains then you can toss them in the washing machine or hand wash if you prefer, and they are ready to be used again.
With that said, are cloth pads also a good choice in times of crisis when surviving is paramount? Here is why the answer to that is a resounding yes and why you should include a set in your emergency survival kit. They are:

• Reusable

After a catastrophe, businesses may shut their doors, and even if they are open, stock may be damaged, depleted, or looted. If you run out of disposable sanitary napkins, you might be left in an embarrassing situation. The best cloth menstrual pads can be washed and re-used for as long as you want until things return to normal.
 

• Safer for you

Menstrual cloth pads contain no chemical by-products that will interfere with your body’s natural chemistry; neither do they have in toxins that have been linked to toxic shock syndrome. In a survival situation, it would be an even bigger tragedy if you had to worry about dying from a bacterial infection or catching an annoying yeast infection, so you should invest in some high quality cloth menstrual pads as part of your survival kit.
 

• Better for the Environment

Research shows that women can use as much as 11,000 feminine hygiene products throughout their lives, of which disposable pads make up a significant proportion. That in turn leads to a lot of garbage in the landfills, which contributes to pollution. The idea of catastrophes in the world is already based on pollution, but using environmentally-friendly cloth menstrual pads may not only help you survive but possibly prevent future disasters.
With all the different changes your body goes through on a monthly basis, seeing your period is one event that you have to be prepared for at all times, including when there are floods, earthquakes, or  tsunamis. This is a sensitive topic that many women might not be eager to address. But, if you want to be truly prepared for an emergency, it’s one elephant in the room that you will have to face. If you’re not sure where to start, there are many high quality cloth menstrual pads available on Amazon. They come in many patterns and sizes, from light flow to heavy flow or overnight pads.  Be prepared and use reusable cloth pads for all the reason stated above.  It’s an essential item to stock up that also come with little wet bags, which you can use to store used pads in until you can wash them later. Check them out and be prepared for any time of the month.
 
By Amy Napoli
www.periodmate.com
periodmatemama@gmail.com