Stocking up for Feminine Hygiene

I attended a survival course once and we had to make fire the primitive way, while the knowledge was good I was left with one distinct thought: ALWAYS have lighters and/or flints around.  Since then I have stashed lighters everywhere, in vehicles and bags and all around the house.  Sure I might have been exposed to making primitive fire but in no way do I want anything to do with that.

This brings me to the topic of  feminine hygiene and the obvious fact that I am a man and have never personally had to deal with this.  Yet I live with a woman and have discussed with her the best way to “stash lighters” (aka tampons) so that we could avoid having to go back to the old school ways of mitigating the side effects of the menstrual cycle.  Before we continue I will state that I did my research and found some of it very interesting.

3,000 B.C. – 5th century

Historians believe that Ancient Egyptians made tampons out of softened papyrus, while Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, wrote that Ancient Greek women used to make tampons by wrapping bits of wood with lint. Some women were also thought to use sea sponges as tampons (a practice still in use today!).

5th – 15th century

Women use rags as makeshift pads, leading to the term “on the rag” becoming slang for menstruation. During the medieval period there is a lot of religious shame surrounding menstruation. Blood is thought to contain the body’s toxins and excesses, hence the use of bloodletting as a medical practice. Menstrual blood is considered dirty, and some even believe that drinking it will cause leprosy. Another common belief? Burning a toad and wearing its ashes around your neck will ease cramps.

1822

The word “period” comes into use as a term for menstruation.

1850s

Women pin cotton and flannel into their bloomers when it’s that time of the month. The sanitary apron is invented: a rubber apron with a strip that runs between the legs to prevent blood from getting on women’s skirts and seats. They save furniture from stains, but they are smelly and uncomfortable. Menstrual belts—cloth belts onto which absorbent fabric can be pinned like a pad—come into use in the late 19th century, but aren’t patented until 1922.

I’m sure nobody in the present time wants to deal with those type of circumstances nor the apparent lack of hygiene that went along with it and as such, stockpiling tampons seemed like the right choice.  Before I decided what to purchase I needed to do some simple math and then add 10%, but this involved a question: “So, how many tampons do you go through on a typical cycle?”  I needed to have enough for a year and quite honestly the cost wasn’t overwhelming, Amazon always has the answer and this is her product of choice.

The Bottom Line

I asked my girlfriend what it would be like to go through multiple cycles with nothing but primitive methods and her answer was: “that would be horrible, it would probably stinky and messy and I’d need a lot of showers.”  Enough said, I’m buying way more of these things than we probably need because nobody should be that miserable (when easily avoidable) should T-SHTF occur.