Responses to Bloody Disgrace

From Lizzie Garcha

I agree in that there should be some sort of sanitary products provided on the NHS in the same way was condoms are, and I think that it would benefit a lot of girls, and women.

But, if you want to be proud of your period, then look to Vinnie and his tampon cases! This is going to sound like an advert, but ‘Vinnie’ has a diary that you can use to keep track of your period, and how heavy it is with stickers, and fun things! It also has loads of useful tips on things to do if you have PMS. It’s bright, loud, and proud! So there are men out there who realise that women need to be more ‘out there’ with their periods and be not see it as ‘the curse’.

I happened to be able to get the Vinnie Book and Tampon case in Waterstones, but that’s the only place I’ve ever seen the in the UK, usually it’s best to buy them online, I think that the official site is www.tamponcase.com or if you search for Vinnie’s Tampon cases on something like google, you can also find other places to buy them! The shipping makes them expensive, but they are also very cool!

Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies

Lizzie, Where can you get the Vinnie stuff in the UK – or do you have to buy it off the web from American sites? – Editor

From Helen

Hi Catherine and co

I really liked the article “Bloody Disgrace“, as the awful waste (both environmental and money-related!) involved in disposable san pro has been bugging me just lately. So I was overjoyed to find a link at the end of the article to a site in the UK which sells the Keeper. However, I went back to the site today to order one and they’ve stopped selling them! Undaunted, I asked Google, and found a site selling both the Keeper and a silicon-based, UK-manufactured (and cheaper) alternative. It’s at: http://www.mooncup.co.uk

Thanks for another great issue of the F-Word!

From missmogga theunpopular

Re: Bloody Disgrace

hey i thought this was good, but DON’T EXPECT ANYTHING from this system, free tampons, well thats last on the list, behind weapons/boys toys etc etc

From Zoe Bremer

Re: Sanitary protection, A diaphragm works perfectly effectively and is FREE on the NHS. Personally speaking, I don’t need to bother; thanks to years of menstrual problems, I’ve had a Mirena coil fitted. I still get the occasional twinge of pain but it’s cheaper than buying tampons.

From Davina Henderson

It’s all very well to say that we might not want the economy style towels etc. that we might get if we got them free on the NHS but why the hell have they got VAT on them. Last time i checked they weren’t a luxury item, but a health issue. Diane Abbott campaigned for this to be taken off for years but the male-dominated House of Commons so persistently ignored her that it ended up completely off the agenda. Anyway the condoms we get free on the NHS are perfectly ok so why shouldn’t we expect the same from our sanitary protection?

From Laura Vivanco

The article on menstruation was interesting and I’m glad that the issue was raised. I just wanted to make a couple of points of information. The menstrual cup (there are two sorts – the Keeper, made of rubber and the Mooncup, made of silicone) is easy to use in public toilets. The outside of the cup tends to stay clean, so all you need to do is give it a wipe with a piece of toilet paper. There’s no need to march out of the cubicle, wash the cup, hop back into the cubicle and reinsert it! As long as the cup is washed properly a few other times in the day, there should be no problems. WEN (the Women’s Environmental Network) have been campaigning on this issue, and the link might be of interest:

http://www.wen.org.uk/sanpro/sanpro.htm

I don’t know if this would be helpful for you, but I’ve tried to collate links and lists of sellers. This is probably far more information than you would want to put on the f-word, but I’ll send it anyway, just in case it’s of use. These are all UK sites.

Cloth pads

(Most of the sellers of cloth menstrual pads also sell cloth nappies for babies, so on many of the sites, the cloth menstrual products are listed in the ‘for mum’ section).

The Keeper

Mooncup

Maybe you should get someone to do a review of some of the ‘alternative’ menstrual products available? The review section is looking a bit empty.

Catherine Redfern, editor of The F-Word, replies

Reviews of alternative menstrual products would be welcomed