# Sanitary Protection Through the Ages.

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/body/sanitary-protection-through-the-ages/
- Published: 2013-07-02T05:00:05+10:00
- Author: Kate Carlile

Sanitary products are not the most attractive items at the best of times. How fortunate
we are to live in the times of disposable, efficient protection! Next time you feel
the ardour of dealing with your period, take some time to reflect on just how far
humble sanitary protection has come.

Through the ages, women have used either tampons or bandages for sanitary protection.
But until World War 1, the only significant improvement over the basic bandage –
which really was more a statement of class anyway – was that the civilized women
of the Roman Empire used cloth bandages; whereas the ‘savages’ in Africa and Australia
used bandages made of grass or vegetable fibre.

Thrifty Frenchwomen were still washing out their menstrual rags in the 1940s; in
parts of South America, disposable pads have only been marketed in the last 30 years.

Women often used a variety of home-made menstrual pads which they crafted from various
fabrics, leftover scraps, grass, or other absorbent materials, to collect their 
period. Many probably used nothing at all. Women often used strips of folded old
cloth (rags) to catch their menstrual flow, which is why the term “on the rag” is
used to refer to [menstruation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle).

[⌊Historical sanitary products and methods for menstrual protection⌉⌊Historical sanitary products and methods for menstrual protection⌉ ](https://i0.wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/shutterstock_sanitaryproducts1.jpg?quality=89&ssl=1)
In underdeveloped countries, reusable or makeshift pads are still used to collect
menstrual blood. Rags, soil, and mud are also reportedly used for collecting menstrual
flow.

Among tampon users, there was more variety. In ancient Japan women used from eight
to twelve paper tampons a day, held in place by a bandage called kama (‘pony’). 
For centuries, Indonesian women made tampons from vegetable fibre. Roman women wore
tampons of soft wool, and Egyptian women, rolls of soft papyrus. Rolls of grass 
and roots served women of Equatorial Africa.

Until about 1925, American women wore a nappy of birds-eye or flannel, which were
washed and re-used. These were cumbersome, uncomfortable and often caused pain. 
Johnson & Johnson manufactured ‘Lister’s Towels’ in 1896 the first commercial, disposable
pad, made of gauze covered cotton.

Disposable menstrual pads grew from Benjamin Franklin’s invention designed to save
soldiers with buckshot wounds. Several of the first disposable pad manufacturers
were also manufacturers of bandages, which gives an indication of what these products
would have been like.

The first of the disposable pads were generally in the form of a cotton wool or 
similar fibrous rectangle covered with an absorbent liner. The liner ends were extended
front and back so as to fit through loops in a special girdle or belt worn beneath
undergarments. This design was notorious for slipping either forward or back of 
the intended position.

Even after disposable pads were commercially available, for several years they were
too expensive for many women to afford. It took several years for disposable menstrual
pads to become commonplace and the billion dollar industry it is today.

 

![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f6eaa21c311b8576fc4ea040de077b85b87578b18eb876601164f608073e3cc0?
s=300&d=mm&r=pg)

 Kate Carlile

 Kate brings sexy back to the office as our Administration Manager and all-round
most loveliest lady in the world. She is super Mum to four and the SAHM office would
literally fall apart without her. Her dream is to colour the world purple whilst
travelling around it in a lavender Winnebago!

 [See Full Bio](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/kate/) [  ](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/kate/)

## Comments

### By: Bee

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/body/sanitary-protection-through-the-ages/#comment-62458
- Published: 2013-07-03T11:59:35+10:00

It’s sad that disposable tampons and pads have now become the norm when there are
reusable options like the JuJu menstrual cup which are better for our bodies and
our environment.

### By: mel

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/body/sanitary-protection-through-the-ages/#comment-62459
- Published: 2013-07-03T12:02:26+10:00

What about an “Menstrual Cup”? A cup made of silicone for insertion and collection.
No TSS so it ca last longer in between emptying/changing. No waste or rubbish clogging
up the system!

### By: Mando

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/body/sanitary-protection-through-the-ages/#comment-69151
- Published: 2013-08-30T20:08:00+10:00

Washable, reusable cloth pads have come a long way in recent times, as have cloth
nappies. They are made of soft, comfortable, breathable fabrics with great absorbency,
and are easy to wash. Many women have reported lighter flow and less cramping pain
with continued use. Much healthier for your body and soooo much less landfill of
plastic and bleached chemically treated paper 😀