A for effort, but F for trying to kill me.
From Lovelyish: How to Knit Your Own Tampons.
You can read all the “most nauseating thing” and “just no” comments over at Lovelyish … I’m not grossed out as much as I am concerned and confused.
Concerned because unless you’re trying to grow a bacteria farm in your pants for science class, this is not healthy, sanitary or wise. Knit pads, fine – but things you put *inside* your body, I’m thinking, should be sterile and made with medical-grade material. (Even the diva cup is made with medical-grade silicone.)
Confused because I don’t understand how this could work technically. Tampons and sea sponges are small when they’re dry (making them easier to insert) and expand as they get moist. I look at that knit tampon and I have no idea how I’d insert it without the use of some serious machinery.
And think of the itch. The itch people!
It is definitely not as bad as you make it sound. The inside of the vagina is like the inside of your mouth, it’s actually more part of the outside of your body, (you don’t insert them in a vain or something) and can stand a few normal household- and skin-bacteria. I don’t suppose you sterilize your husbands penis every time you have intercourse, or sterilize your hands befor unwrapping and inserting a normal tampon, or masturbate with rubber gloves on ?
When you make them of a 100 % (unbleeched) cotton, and wash them on 90 degrees (or boil-wash by hand on the stove), or even wash them on 40 degrees and then iron them very hot (the roll-up type), they’re sterile enough.
Selfmade tampons have no chemical additives so they van be a great solution for people with tampon-allergy (yes, they exist!) end it’s extremely environment-friendly.
It’s healthy, it’s sanitary AND its wise. Only lack of knowledge (about the female body, about how tampons and sanitary napkins are made and how many trees, water and chemicals are used making them) can cause a statement like you made here.
Medical-grade is just a marketing-term. The original Diva-cup (Keeper) was made of all-natural rubber by the way and functions just as well.
You get an A+ for simultaneously coming across as insulting, assuming and humourless. Bravo.
I’m actually very open-minded in this area – I’ve used a divacup for over a decade and I only use unbleached paper products for a variety of reasons of which I’m sure you’re well-versed. I would have loved to discuss this with you more but telling me I’m ignorant doesn’t really make me open to dialogue.