Sanitary Belts

[swankysister]

Don't read the following if you're squeamish or not wanting to learn about womanly menstrual habits (visiting gents, you've been warned, so no complaints!)

The belt with disposable napkins were still around in the very early 1980s. The metal 'buckles' dig in and the napkin shifts. Really not worth trying even if they're available.

Rad Pads and Moon Pads are made from a terry towelling cloth insert and a soft cotton 'holder' that's shaped like modern wing pad (the wings connect together outside your undies with a press stud). You need to have about half a dozen, so they can be washed and worn regularly during your cycle. I did find that they tended to shift around a fair bit, which wasn't good for feeling secure. And they're not reliable for heavy flows.

The Keeper is a kind of rubber cup that works like a non-absorptive tampon. It is kind of useful for situations where you're unable to dispose your stuff (e.g., camping), but it's problematic when the sink to wash your hands is outside of the toilet cubicle (as for most large public toilets, rather than single staff toilets). When used correctly, you cannot feel them, but they can be messy to remove (until you get the knack), they're not great for very heavy flow (menorrhagia) and they tend to hurt during insertion when being used over several days.

Sorry if that's more information than you really wanted, but I hope it's of use to some lady somewhere.

 

[Veronica Parra]

GOOD NEWS!

It turns out that tampons have been around since World War II. We don't have to use sanitary belts to be vintage correct. Here's an ad from a 1943 issue of True Story magazine:

 

[Lauren]

I'm with you. Here's some more old ads:
From a 1937 Mccall's

1938 (I think it's a predecessor or Tampax) from Photoplay

And from the Winter 38/39 Montgomery Ward's Catalog:

 

[AtomicBlonde]

The tampon concept has been around for quite a while! Something very similar to the tampon was available in the 19th century too. Sponges were used, or strips of a cloth, like huck towel were often rolled up, then basted together with a string tied around the end. After use, the basting stitches could be removed so the cloth could be washed. I'm sure this method was used into the 20th century, especially in more rural areas.

 

[swankysister]

Lauren, your last photo shows a Tass-ette which looks just like The Keeper.

I guess the Ancient Egyptians were using pulped papyrus like a tampon, so tampons would have come and gone through history!

 

[olive bleu]

jumping in late on this one, but my lord, could not resist. I remember my mother having a belt in the old washstand in the bathroom.I used to keep trying to steal it to use as some contraption for my dolls It was years before i understood why she didn't want me dragging that thing around the house!

When I got my first visit from "Aunt Ruby" my mother pulled out the kotex and got me to wear them without the belt. This might sound like a blessing, but they had no adhesive so they keep trying to fly out of my panties.lol I grew up in an EXTREMELY remote area & at the time that was all that was available... imagine my delight when i discovered that you could actually get pads that stuck on.

p.s. I was born in '66, so I'm not even THAT old!!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Don't read the following if you're squeamish or not wanting to learn about womanly menstrual habits (visiting gents, you've been warned, so no complaints!)

The belt with disposable napkins were still around in the very early 1980s. The metal 'buckles' dig in and the napkin shifts. Really not worth trying even if they're available.

Rad Pads and Moon Pads are made from a terry towelling cloth insert and a soft cotton 'holder' that's shaped like modern wing pad (the wings connect together outside your undies with a press stud). You need to have about half a dozen, so they can be washed and worn regularly during your cycle. I did find that they tended to shift around a fair bit, which wasn't good for feeling secure. And they're not reliable for heavy flows.

Sorry if that's more information than you really wanted, but I hope it's of use to some lady somewhere.

OMG I love the testimonials on the sites above, the hippy talk cracks me up:

"At first I used Rad-Pads just at night, or at home, now I use them exclusively. As I became in touch with my earthy woman I realised I don’t want to do much when I’m in my moon-time. I’ve organised my life around these needs and needless to say I now experience a joy-filled, complication free, intuitive bleeding time. I made myself a little moon bag to put my Rad-Pads in, and I love getting it out and caring for my special items. The menstrual blood goes on the herbs, and the washed pads flutter on the line with pride."

 

[RaasAlHayya]

I saw the Luna Pads site a while back and thought they were really really cute.

Tampons were indeed used by ladies in ancient Egypt. I can't remember whether the Egyptologist who gave the lecture (Medicine in Ancient Egypt) mentioned what fiber was used. Linen would be my guess.

After trying "Instead", I am pretty sure I want a Luna Cup/Diva Cup/Keeper.

--Leslie

 

[Tourbillion]

I was issued a sanitary napkin belt compliments of Kotex in school as part of sex ed, this would have been around 1980. I took on look at it and said, right, I am so going to use the stick-on ones. All the same I might still have a belt somewhere around here, not sure where. I am not in a hurry to find it and use it.

If you put a quarter in the machine at my work, you still get belted pads and two safety pins (well last time I checked). So, I guess in theory that I could try them with the belt, but nah, I'll pass.

A friend of mine uses the Keeper and the washable pads. I was thinking that they would be a good idea, but the pads aren't waterproof. Plus I am not taking those things to the laundromat.

I'm am just waiting for menopause.

 

[crystalface]

I would hazard a guess, that if you go far enough back, you'd find that women were not too active at certain times of the month. No doubt because they dealt with cramps AND messy contraptions that didn't really lend themselves to activity.

I think they were told they were at greater risk for disease/injury at that time of the month, too. Has anyone else ever heard that?

Now, having 3-5 days every month to "rest"---that vintage idea just might catch on!!

The vibrator was invented by physicians so men wouldn't have to sleep with their wives while suffering from their monthly bout of "hysteria." (hysteria meaning menstruation of course.)
lol
The point being that, I'm sure your guess is correct. My grandma used to tell me (when I was 12) not take hot showers during my time of the month because they made you bleed more. I never found that to be true. [huh]

 

[GOK]

Wow, my nanny used to tell me not to wash my hair during a period. Mind you, she also told me never to go outdoors with wet hair or I'd get a cold! And I was in my twenties before she stopped asking me if I had my vest on (that's vest as in something that goes under the clothing, not a waistcoat!).

That hippy quote is priceless; I had this look on my face as I read it
Heheh! I've seen similar about Mooncups (Keepers/DivaCups)...with the contents being "given back to Mother Earth". Ewwwww.

I've been using a Mooncup for around a year and have never had any problems. Since I get dehydrated easily, I always have a bottle of water with me anyway, so using public loos with no sink in the cubicle is not a problem. It doesn't hurt at all to use (although you do have to make sure the stem is trimmed) and it doesn't leak - even on very heavy days. It also helps with cramps because the flow is expelled naturally using gravity, as opposed to being 'wicked' out as with tampons. When wearing a tampon, the uterine muscles have to contract harder to expel the menses. (Of course, users of towels wouldn't notice any difference.)

Kim B posted this thread relating to vintage adverts - there are scores for sanitary products. Quite amusing, some of them!

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13203

I agree with the comments about not sitting around bemoaning the cramps - I find that good old fashioned physical labour helps immensely! I imagine that for most of our foremothers, they simply didn't have the option of 'indulging' their cramps - there was work to do and it had to be done. No point in moaning about it. Also, it's possible that some women just didn't get them. I didn't know what period pains were like until I was sterilised after the birth of my youngest son. The first visit I had from Auntie Flo afterward sent me running to my doctor, convinced there was something wrong with me! She smiled and told me it was perfectly normal. Not for me it wasn't!

 

[Elaina]

A friend of mine from HS is amish (we've been friends for so long even her community doesn't look askance at me anymore when I go over) and they use the the washable kinds of pads, but the pattern she gave me uses industrial strength velcro to keep the "wings" in place pretty secure. I've got a couple for emergencies, and to be honest, I don't have all the chaffing I do with purchased ones, BUT I'm not going trough all that trouble every time I have my menses. I'm going to keep wearing my tampons. I really don't care if I'm period correct, but there is NO way I'm going back to the diaper like pads or the cadboard applicators that aren't rounded.

I know that Davita isn't allowed to go outside of her house (they have a working farm) because of the animals during her time. They don't like her to have visitors either during that time. When she had her daughter (by a midwife, at home with no hospital) she was kept in seclusion for 6 weeks. She came early and I went over there to make the clothing (and fix her machine since he treadle got out of whack about the same time Davie got too ill to do much) for the baby, and it was more backwards then just the 30's and 40's. But unlike now when we have babies, go to the hospital, and have to take care of them several hours after giving birth, or too crampy to do anything more then groan the amish DO help each other when they're indisposed like that.

 

[DancingSweetie]

In the late 70's when I had my first period my mom bought me one of those belts but it was used with disposable pads. I only used it a short while and went to the self stick kind right away.

 

[pigeon toe]

I actually use a pretty vintage method of dealing with my time of the month! At night, and when I'm lounging at home (they are a little too bulky to wear with regular clothes), I use cloth pads made from flannel and terry cloth. Ladies used to make their own cloth pads way back in the day before menstrual products were manufactured.

They are re-usable and you just rinse them in the sink, then toss them in the laundry. They have a little flannel cover with terry inserts, and the cover snaps around your underwear, kind of like those pads with wings. They are very comfortable, very good for you (free of plastics and dioxin!) and environmentally friendly.

If you ladies want any links for cloth pads or other alternative menstural products (like the keeper or unbleached tampons/pads), let me know!

 

[pigeon toe]

A friend of mine from HS is amish (we've been friends for so long even her community doesn't look askance at me anymore when I go over) and they use the the washable kinds of pads, but the pattern she gave me uses industrial strength velcro to keep the "wings" in place pretty secure. I've got a couple for emergencies, and to be honest, I don't have all the chaffing I do with purchased ones, BUT I'm not going trough all that trouble every time I have my menses. I'm going to keep wearing my tampons. I really don't care if I'm period correct, but there is NO way I'm going back to the diaper like pads or the cadboard applicators that aren't rounded.

Oops, I should've read your post all the way through before I posted mine! I don't use my cloth pads all the time either, so when I don't I try to use the brand "Natracare" pads. I'm not really a fan of tampons, but they make unbleached tampons as well. The pads are made from unbleached cotton and no platics, so they are very breathable and reduce chaffing quite a bit. Plus, because they aren't bleached, there's no dioxin involved, which is a byproduct of bleaching that may cause cancer.

You should check em out! You can usually find it at organic style grocery stores, like Whole Foods, but sometimes even regular markets carry Natracare.

 

[Elaina]

LOL! I just got back from Whole Foods. One of the products I needed to get was the topic in question. I'm having all kinds of all kinds of health issues that's women related.

I think we're talking about roughly the same product to be honest. I haven't even gotten mine out of stroage it's been so long since I even needed to look at them, much less USE the non-disposable napkins.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I do like the idea of unbleached cotton tampons. I have been purchasing all organic soaps and face washes lately at Trader Joe's (cheap!), and noticed they have what appear to be organic tampons. I shall have to check them out.

Because if you think about it...do you really want BLEACH...in that area? I don't really care to risk it!

 

[Tabitha]

Sorry I just had to jump in. Here is a link that is helpful for finding out information about cloth pads. http://community.livejournal.com/cloth_pads/
They may not be "vintage" but they have some interesting health information for why a woman should consider using cloth pads. I have bought pads from http://www.saucytots.com/catalog.php?category=49 and been very happy with them. I do not use a belt, but using cloth pads still gives me a vintage "feel" to my monthly!

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Love your pic, Tabitha. And your name. Welcome.

 

[Tabitha]

Thank you! I have been lurking for a long time. I love this forum. I have gotten such great tips. Everyone is so nice and informative. I won't be so "quiet" in the future!