Menstruation as business.Aids for women are experiencing an unprecedented boom

It is hard to imagine that women had to do with the absorbent papyrus fibers, wrapped blocks of wool, moss or animal skin.Some even downloaded into seclusion to survive the period.

And while the nobles tied the tips of the night shirt, poor villagers let blood freely run down.About the comfort we have today, women could only dream of.

There was also a number of myths about menstruation.Although we are already a few centuries further, menstruation is still forbidden theme."Try to say the word menstruation in public before colleagues.It still happens to you that you meet a shocked, sometimes even disgusted face.We were learning that menstruation is something wrong that belongs to the closed door, ”says Nicole Karráová, author of the project I am a feminist.

According to her, the situation slowly improves mainly due to education.And also because women themselves are more interested in their body than they were in the past.”Women finally think about menstruation as part of life, not something they have to hide.”

Ecological Renaissance

Zatímco před deseti lety používalo menstruační kalíšek pouze pár „ekožen”, dnes je vyhledávanou alternativní potřebou.Similar to the classic tampon, you do not know about it, but unlike it you will never receive stocks.

Calíšek just emptied about twice a day and carefully clean before each use.Stands a few hundreds and lasts five to fifteen years.Taking into account that during one menstruation a woman consumes an average of twenty tampons or inserts, you will save thousands for years.

Other menstrual aids that are not disposable.Some women in an attempt to return to nature (or in an effort to save) choose textile inserts that just wash after use.

Others suit the sea sponge, which is soaked in the vagina (more about this aid here).Its advantage is not only softness and high absorbency, but also that you can run sex with it during menstruation.The sponge lasts approximately six months, after each period it is necessary to disinfect it.

”There are still most of those who use common disposable aids, but many women deal with the ecological side of things, others and the health.Some cannot use tampons due to health problems and try menstrual cup. Jiné mají dlouhodobé gynekologické problémy a s podezřením na to, že klasické menstruační potřeby by tyto problémy mohly podporovat nebo i způsobovat, sáhnou po alternativě,” říká Ilona Bittnerová, která v roce 2007 otevřela jeden z prvních obchodů s alternativními menstruačními pomůckami v České republice.

Whether a woman chooses a cup, a sponge, a fabric insert or a disposable insert and a biobaln tampon, he is sure to avoid chemicals that contain classic menstrual.

The vaginal environment is extremely sensitive and some of the substances that manufacturers of hygienic needs can cause irritation.Synthetic and semi -synthetic materials are a common part of inserts or tampons, including silicones or plastic.Although, for example, the upper layer of inserts is covered with cotton, the absorption layer has as much plastic as it corresponds to four plastic bags.Despite the fact that manufacturers, for example, add bleaches such as chlorine.

Rely on your own body

So while the vaginal mucosa tampons exaggerate, the inserts are a breeding ground for a variety of bacteria.”In long -term wear, some types of inserts, especially the less breathable and with stiffer wings, cause skin irritation in the groin area and on the thighs. Proto je důležitý výběr vložky co do její velikosti i použitých materiálů,” upozorňuje gynekolog Pavel Turčan, který zároveň nedoporučuje používat více menstruačních potřeb současně, protože to svádí k nižší frekvenci jejich výměny.

It is generally believed that disposable liners should change a woman after four to six hours, disposable tampons every two hours, even if the bleeding is not too strong.

”After these intervals, simply replace the insert or swab even if they seem clean to look at. Z pochvy se do nich dostávají mikroorganismy, které se poté ve vlhkém a teplém prostředí rychle množí a mohou způsobit infekci močových cest, vaginální infekce nebo vyrážky,” varuje gynekolog s tím, že žena by si měla vybírat menstruační potřebu hlavně podle citu a osobních preferencí, a pokud možno produkty příliš nestřídat.

Ilona Bittner advises the same to women.”If a woman tries various aids and finds a comfortable and one she can rely on, then she often improves her relationship to menstruation or to her body.This may have a positive impact, for example, on the disappearance of pain.The explanation is easy in many cases.Pain is related to body withdrawal, blood through the cervix does not run as it should.By being at rest in terms of flowing or discomfort, it is even more relaxed and menstruation hurts less.”

For the first time

Like a fitting hairstyle or an ideal cut of a dress, women should patiently choose a menstrual aid until they find the right one.Carefully try and not look at the fact that friends have it differently.And above all they should not be ashamed of talking about it.

„Snažte se přijmout menstruaci jako součást života, které se není třeba obávat, ani ji protrpět,” nabádají lékaři i ženy, které se v menstruačním byznysu pohybují.It is precisely the breaking of the social taboo to help especially girls who are just getting to know their body.

It often happens that a teenage girl of menstruation surprises.It is embarrassing to walk at a break with a liner in hand to the toilet, she can't introduce a swab.Just dive into the memories and most of us agree that the first marigolds were a mixture of disillusionment, pain and mad panic.

"One friend gave her 'preventively' insert because she was nervous that she didn't get it at the age of fifteen, and she was afraid she would never have children.Other had no information again and thought she was sick when he bleeds. Říkaly jsme si, jak by bylo skvělé, kdyby tohle všechno, co my víme ve čtyřiceti, věděly dívky už třeba v páté třídě a necítily se špatně, když nezapadnou do průměru,” vzpomínají Jitka Plevová a Jana Rucká, které stojí za dalším „menstruačním projektem” s názvem Sada menarche.

With the help of experts, they assembled a set for the first menstruation, in which the girls will find in addition to obligatory brochures and menstrual calendar mainly available hygiene supplies, including information on how to use them.

”We didn't want to substitute a gift that my daughter should get from her mother.So we started with a list of all existing menstrual aids that we chose according to experience or contacts.So that either the manufacturer or at least the importer be a Czech company.I then added cards to them, which is always description, advantages and disadvantages.We do not say what is wrong and what is good.We want girls to make a choice, depending on what they are and what suits them.”

The Menarche set helps to open a sensitive topic not only at home but also in schools where it serves as a tool in teaching.If a father lives alone with a daughter or a girl raising grandparents, it's an ideal tool to pass on relevant information.It happens that Jitka Plevová and Jana Rucky also write women that they learned things that they had not known about their body before, and recognized the aids that had no idea of which they had no idea.

Panties instead of insert

As you can see, various menstrual supplies have great business potential.“At a certain moment of your life menstruated half of the population. Každá žena má jiné potřeby, každá chce menstruaci prožívat jinak, každé ženě je pohodlné něco jiného,” říká Nicole Karráová s tím, že to představuje obrovský trh.

The marketing manager Linda Šejdová and software developer Tomáš Zahradník, who created menstrual panties with nanofibers, also sensed.“We wanted to give the product innovation within the substances and try to bring something to the menstrual industry that is really interesting from the technology point of view. Rok jsme látku vyvíjeli společně s experty z Technické univerzity v Liberci,” vypráví Linda Šejdová, která společně s kolegou založila značku Snuggs.So they named menstrual underwear composed of a total of three layers.

The upper material consists of special functional fibers that have a high absorption ability and help maintain body temperature. „Je to možná patnáctý materiál, který jsme zkusili, a je to naše know-how,” podotýká Linda Šejdová.The second layer is a material similar to cotton that has a special nanofiber built into it.This is replacing the plastic layer at the inserts because it retains liquid.

This is followed by the final substance from which the rest of the panties are made.“We have different dimensions and seams than classic panties to avoid and sit well.Therefore, we have to have the right entire production procedure and we have an expert on each part of the panties. Zároveň od začátku produkt testuje zhruba třicet dívek a žen, včetně mě samotné,” vysvětluje Linda Šejdová, která se svým kolegou věří svému výrobku natolik, že kromě českého trhu se chystají cílit i na německý či britský.

“We examine the product not only in terms of technical aspect but also from emotional. Chceme, aby ženy vůbec nevnímaly, že mají menstruaci,” říká mladá podnikatelka.

Snuggs have the advantage that the popularity of menstrual panties is rising in women, which records companies that do with them.Only on Kickstarter, which is foreign equivalent to the crowdfunding platform Hithit, can be found in twenty similar projects over the past five years.Some of them failed, but most of them managed to realize.

It is important that the company does not play for anything.“I believe that brands can change the way we look at ourselves and the whole society. Někdy se však snaží vyloženě zachránit svět, což od nich nikdo nečeká a ani nechce,” zamýšlí se Nicole Karráová s tím, že bude stačit, když budou výrobci zobrazovat svět bez příkras.

So when we talk about menstrual aids, it is a world that includes a woman's regular monthly bleeding.So why should we be ashamed of something so natural?