5 women share their experience with feminine hygiene products

The most important thing every woman needs when she is on her period are feminine hygiene produ – pads, tampons, period cups and so on. Nowadays, women are prioritizing their comfort and looking for the best products.

I asked five women about the menstrual products they use and how they dispose of their products in a superstitious country like Nigeria, where a few women wash their pads or burn them for fear of being attacked spiritually. Here are their answers;

“I use Molped pads because they are quite comfortable. When I want to dispose of my sanitary pads, I wrap and burn them. It doesn’t matter if I am away from home, I can never leave my sanitary pad anywhere. I will take it along with me and burn it at home because I am an African and from childhood, I have been taught to dispose of my pads properly.”

“I don’t use sanitary pads. Before I used a very popular sanitary pad brand in Nigeria, but I was always getting itchy because I was allergic to it. It was very uncomfortable to be on my period and my vagina would be itching me. So now, I use Kotex tampons. Ever since I started using tampons, I hardly feel menstrual pain. When I am done, I roll it up in a tissue and throw it in the trash.”

“I don’t use sanitary pads anymore and have stopped using them since secondary school. Plus, my flow is usually so heavy and using pads means sitting on something wet, and I don’t enjoy the feeling – even though they say pads are absorbent. I use Tampax tampons. When I am done with my tampon, I flush it down the toilet.”

“Because I have three kids, I am on a contraceptive injection that stops me from seeing my period. When I used to menstruate, I used a very popular sanitary pads in Nigeria, but I was always getting stained on them, and I couldn’t use them for the whole day. I had to find a place to change. I dispose of used pads by wrapping them in a polythene bag and dumping them in the trash.”

“I switched from another sanitary pad brand to Molped and I use Diva sometimes because they are soft and absorbent. The former one I used always got me stained. I remember one time I wore a pad on G-strings and I got stained – maybe that one was my fault, but ever since I started using these ones, I feel very relieved. I dispose of it the normal way; by throwing it into a trash can.”