A Brief History of Menstrual Hygiene. How in the Middle Ages they coped with menstruation, did without pads

Sometimes, in a completely unexpected way, we may be interested in the history of things - all the way from their origin to the current level of development. In this case, an entertaining, popular science service, which is called " History of things"and where you can learn a lot of curious facts about the objects of our usual environment ...

And I found this site when, together with a friend, I asked myself: "How before a woman solve hygiene problems during menstruation"?

Girls, you represent. How happy are we now, having in our everyday life an unlimited number and the widest range of pads and tampons for all occasions?

You see, recently a gynecologist forbade my friend to use tampons - he said that this particular option for maintaining hygiene is contraindicated for her. Of course, Irina obeyed her doctor, but this ban resulted in kitchen indignation from the realization of the impending inconvenience. Word for word, and suddenly, we became concerned about the problem of gaskets in "prehistoric times." We were really interested in how women got out of this monthly difficult situation before, including in the Middle Ages in Europe - when it was believed that washing was injurious to health, and even earlier, when a person was not very familiar with clothes either .. .

In general, we booted into the Internet, we did not find the details that we were interested in, but dug up some information about the gaskets. So I share.

1. AT Polynesia and some African tribes they preferred to take the "easy" path and instead of inventing pads or tampons, women were simply "isolated" from the tribe for the period of menstruation. For this, special huts were built, where the woman stayed for the entire period of her "illness".
2. The first means of hygiene during menstruation were not pads, but a kind of tampons.
   Babylon- they built rolls from soft papyrus or more affordable, but also more rigid reeds.
   Rome- they combed out and rolled the wool into balls, they also performed the function of modern tampons.
   Japan- for such purposes, balls were rolled from thin sheets of paper, or paper was folded in the form of a gasket and a handkerchief was attached to the belt, which held the gasket in the intended place.
   Europe- they built pads from fabric, fastened them to skirts as best they could, there were a lot of skirts, so blood stains were not noticeable with this approach, poor women instead of pads simply tucked the floors of petticoats and shirts between their legs.
   Eskimos- laying of reindeer moss and small shavings of bark.
   Rus- hay pads, which were adapted to the belt, since underwear was not worn before, or "shameless ports" - pants that were worn only on critical days and these pants absorbed the discharge.
3. The first pads began to be sold only at the beginning of the 20th century; they were constructed from soft fabric with high absorbent characteristics.
   Then there were pads from cellucotton- a means invented for bandaging wounds and remarkably absorbing moisture.
4. In the 30s of the 20th century. released to the market first tampons, created from cotton wool and threads that gave the tampon its shape and "tail".

The entire subsequent history of the development of the gasket business includes work to popularize gaskets (ladies did not buy them for a long time, because they were embarrassed) and to improve the structure, fastening, storage, filling and other things. The achievements of these scientific developments and made the life of a modern woman quite comfortable and convenient on any day of the menstrual cycle.

Articles about the female organism.

Very interesting article.

Essay on menstrual hygiene. And so much more to learn.

“The vulva is not ideal for menstruation, as evidenced by the fact that over its centuries-old history, mankind has not come up with an impeccable hygienic option for women.

Consider briefly the history of menstrual hygiene. For centuries there have been the most various options hygiene. One of the oldest methods is the seclusion (i.e. isolation) of menstruating women from society. It was quite common in Polynesia and among African tribes. Each settlement had a special menstruating hut, in which women were supposed to stay during menstruation. Why was this done? In short, the essence is to isolate menstruating women in order to ensure their greatest safety. However, was this the only goal? Here is a quote from one historian: “... since the clothes of women of that time did not completely hide their condition, such a woman would become the subject of ridicule for others, if even the slightest trace of her illness was noticed on her, she would lose the favor of her husband or lover. Thus, we see that natural modesty has as its basis solely the consciousness of one's own shortcomings and the fear of being disliked. So, the lack of elementary hygiene products in ancient times forced a woman to isolate during menstruation. The appearance of menstrual hygiene products made seclusion optional, but it became necessary to develop hygiene products, the main task of which was both to ensure the absorption of secretions and to hide the condition of the woman from others.

In ancient Egypt, papyrus was used, from which rich Egyptian women made tampons. Papyrus was very expensive, so ordinary Egyptians used linen, which was washed after use. In Byzantium, tampons made of papyrus or similar material were also used. Such tampons were hardly comfortable, since papyrus is very cruel.

In ancient Rome, cloth was used for pads, and sometimes tampons made from wool balls. There is evidence of the use of tampons in ancient Greece and Judea. But, apparently, the most common means of hygiene in ancient times were reusable pads made of one or another material such as canvas, fabric, silk, felt, etc.

In medieval Japan, China, India, feminine hygiene was very high, many orders of magnitude better than in Europe. It was in Asia that disposable pads first appeared. Asian women used disposable paper napkins folded in an envelope. Such an envelope was held by a handkerchief attached to the belt. Later in Japan they began to make menstrual belts (if the author is not mistaken, they are called "You"), which was a belt with a strip passed between the legs. A napkin was placed between the strip and the vulva: the belt was reusable, the napkin was disposable. Outwardly, such a belt somewhat resembled an inverted basket. Every intelligent Japanese woman should have been able to make such a belt for herself.

In Polynesia, specially prepared plant bark, grass, sometimes animal skins and sea sponges were used. Approximately the same, apparently, did the Indian women of North America.

In Europe during the Middle Ages, feminine hygiene was at its lowest level. Commoners, for example, simply used the floors of shirts or petticoats tucked between their legs. In Russia in the XVII-XVIII centuries, the so-called. "shameful ports", that is, something like tight pantaloons or long underpants (normal underpants were not worn then) made of thick material - menstrual flow was absorbed directly by the ports, which were under the extensive skirts.

It should be noted that in the Middle Ages, menstruation was a rare "guest" for European women. Menstruation then began at the age of 16-18 years, stopped at the age of about 40-45 years. Since contraceptives were not available, many women were almost constantly pregnant or lactating (menstruation is usually absent during breastfeeding). Thus, many women in their entire lives could have only 10 - 20 menstruations, that is, as much as modern woman has an average of a year or two. It is clear that the issues of menstrual hygiene did not then confront European women as acutely as they do now. However, by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the problem of menstrual hygiene was already extremely acute for American and European women.

In America and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reusable home-made pads made of felt or canvas were used, which, after use, were folded into a bag, then washed and reused. Some adopted the Chinese method using paper envelopes. In cases where it was impossible to carry a used gasket with them or it seemed impractical to save a gasket, women burned it in a fireplace. The custom of burning gaskets in the fireplace did not arise by chance. The fact is that the toilet became widespread only at the end of the 19th century (although it appeared two centuries earlier). Before the advent of the toilet in England (and in many European countries as well), women peed in pots while closing themselves in a bedroom or other room; after urination or defecation, the pots were taken out by the servants or by the woman herself. Therefore, the change of menstrual hygiene products was also carried out in the rooms, since there were simply no special toilet facilities then. Note that in those days, almost any living space was equipped with a fireplace. Therefore, it was easier to burn the gasket in the fireplace than to take it to the trash. This was especially true when a woman traveled - in this case, apparently, it was easier to donate a reusable pad than to carry it with you for a long time. For this purpose, a fireplace was used. At the end of the 19th century in England there were even special portable crucibles for burning gaskets - in those cases when there was no fireplace at hand!

The habit of wrapping used pads in paper or newspaper and throwing them in the trash didn't start until the 1970s. XX century with the widespread use of disposable pads - before that, as we see, either saving pads for subsequent washing, or burning or throwing them away was used. However, reusable pads were inconvenient for women, not only because of the unpleasant washing (which the maids did for the rich), but also because of the need to collect used pads during menstruation.

For additional protection, aprons were worn in the manner of underwear, that is, they additionally protected the overskirt from contamination. Quite a long time in the 10's - 30's. In the 20th century (or even longer) in America (and possibly in Europe) menstrual underpants were used, called briefs or bloomers (the origin of the names is unclear, they are not translated into Russian). Tampons, like disposable pads, were virtually unknown in America, Europe and Asia at that time.

Significant changes took place during the First World War. Then the French sisters of mercy in military hospitals noticed that the cellucotton material developed by the American company Kimberly Clark (something like cotton wool made from cellulose), widely supplied to Europe for military purposes, perfectly absorbs menstrual flow and began to use it, in fact having created in Europe the first home-made, but already disposable pads.

This discovery had a significant impact on the further development of menstrual hygiene, prompting the Kimberly Clark company to produce pads from this material. The first disposable pads, called "Cellunap" (Cellunap) were released in 1920, but their marketing in America proved to be extremely problematic. In principle, women were enthusiastic about the idea of ​​disposable pads (this was shown by a thorough and very difficult sociological survey at that time), but it was obvious that women were very embarrassed about menstruation. Advertising or displaying pads was then unthinkable, women were embarrassed even to buy pads, which were then sold only in pharmacies; often mothers sent their little foolish daughters for pads. When buying, women were very embarrassed to even pronounce the name of the product, using only the last syllable, i.e. “nap”. Nap (nap) - in English means “napkin”, and this term has taken root quite widely - for many years the word nap, i.e. napkin, was used to refer to gaskets, although gaskets, of course, were not napkins. Soon, Cellunaps were renamed Kotex, but they were still sold in packages without inscriptions and drawings.

However, sociological surveys confirmed that only embarrassment at purchase prevents the wide distribution of new products - women really did not like reusable felt pads, but they were embarrassed to ask for “sanitary napkins” at the pharmacy. Times were very puritanical, especially in America.

Then manufacturing firms (such as Kotex, Fax and others) launched a wide campaign of very careful, but persistent and thoughtful advertising of hygiene products, the most important link of which were books for girls, which talked about puberty, menstruation and “unobtrusively” carried out the idea of the need to use the products of a particular company (the most famous such book is Marjorie May's 12th Birthday, which caused an explosion of indignation among old-fashioned moralists). The Disney company made an educational cartoon about menstruation for girls. Ads for panty liners appeared on the pages of women's magazines.

This policy led to fairly rapid success, by 1940 the share of felt reusable pads had decreased to 20%, and after the war, by the end of the 40s. - up to 1%, after which reusable pads are a thing of the past. However, only the sexual revolution of the 60s. finally removed many taboos, including the taboo on television and street advertising of feminine hygiene products.

What were the first industrial gaskets like Kotex? Menstrual belts were used to wear "napkins". Euro-American belts differed from Japanese ones, which resembled an inverted basket in shape - they were a rather thin horizontal belt made of elastic, worn at the waist, from which two straps descended in front and behind, ending with metal clips (like clips for curtains). A pad was attached to these clamps, passed between the legs. The designs of the belts were somewhat different, but had the same basic scheme. The pads themselves were very long and thick, usually rectangular in shape, and covered the entire crotch. The absorption capacity of the pads was quite low, so sometimes two pads were attached to the belt at once. Changing the pad was not an easy task, after urinating women most likely always installed a new pad. This led to the fact that women preferred to endure as long as possible before going to the toilet, which adversely affected their health. If we consider that then they wore stockings, also attached to the girdle, then you can imagine how much time and effort the process of urinating a menstruating woman then took.

The pads were different, and the opinions of women about them vary greatly, so it is not easy to generalize. Apparently, these pads were soft and did not rub the vulva. On the other hand, they were difficult to install in the right position, they often went astray and leaked, even though they were somewhat thickened at the bottom. Therefore, women wore special tight underpants, sometimes with a waterproof layer in the crotch, which reduced leakage, but caused increased sweating of the vulva. Some shorts had special devices for additional fastening of the pad. If a menstruating woman was about to dance or dress in an expensive nice clothes, then for additional protection they also wore something else like a sash. These pads had to be changed several times a day.

Nevertheless, for Europe and America it was a huge step forward - from reusable to disposable hygiene products. Such belts were quite widespread until the end of the 60s, but later they gradually disappeared with the advent of pads with a sticky (adhesive) layer, which had a different wearing principle.

The first industrial tampons appeared in America in the late 1920s. (Fax, Fibs, Wix). They did not have applicators, sometimes even lanyards. The first tampon with an applicator (the famous Tampax) appeared in America in 1936 and began to spread gradually. The spread of tampons was greatly facilitated by Dickinson's famous report "Tampons as a menstrual protection", published in 1945 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This report, to a certain extent, helped overcome women's mistrust of the very idea of ​​a tampon. However, in the 20's - 50's. tampons for American and European women were still “exotic”, and tampons were widely used, apparently, only in the 70s.

Disposable pads of the current concept appeared around the end of the 60s. - thinner ones, which did not require belts to be worn, but were placed in panties or stockings. Note, however, that the very first such disposable pads Johnson & Johnson appeared back in 1890 (!) Year, Curads in 1920, but then they did not take root at all, because the women's society was simply not yet ready for the idea of ​​disposable hygiene products.

In the 1960s, tampons with applicators became more and more common. different types- from pin to telescopic, as a rule, plastic. At the same time, advertisements for pads and tampons were widely deployed on television and in women's magazines.

Acceleration (thanks to which the age of the first menstruation has decreased from 16 to 12-13 years in just a few generations), an increase in the age of menopause (cessation of menstruation), the widespread development of contraceptives, a significant decrease in the number of children in a European and American family, the development of emancipation - all this led to an increase in the number of menstruations in women's lives and made the problem of hygiene much more urgent than before. The revitalization of women's lives also set new requirements - the speed of changing hygiene products, invisibility to others, availability for sale, reliability, ease of wearing, etc. All this could be provided only by disposable hygiene products of industrial production. Already in the 70s. the life of a civilized woman without factory-made tampons and pads has become unimaginable.

In the 80s, pads continued to improve, there was a protective bottom layer and a "dry" absorbent layer, wings; they began to use absorbent materials that turn blood into a gel; gaskets began to be made taking into account the structure of the female perineum (anatomical shape). Gaskets became more blood-intensive and at the same time thin, the range expanded - from the mighty "overnight" to the thinnest "every day". Tampons also developed - thus, tampons with telescopic applicators became more popular, which were more often made from cardboard (because, unlike plastic, cardboard dissolves easily in water and is therefore more preferable from an environmental point of view).

Around the same period, feminine hygiene products began to internationalize rapidly - brands such as Tampax, Ob, Kotex, Always, Libresse and others are distributed throughout the world and are rarely found only in poor countries (however, the richest ladies, even in the poorest countries, are increasingly use global brands). In some countries, their "national" brands are added to them. National stamps can be roughly divided into two categories. The first is cheaper compared to international models. In Poland, these are Bella pads, in Russia - Angelina, Veronica and others, including Polish ones. Such products, as a rule, are not as convenient as international ones. The second category is products that are more in line with national tastes and preferences than international ones. In France, these are, for example, Nana and Vania pads (supplied with a wrapper in which the pad can be wrapped after use), in Japan - tampons with longer and usually plastic applicators, supplied with plastic bags for wrapping used tampons, etc.

Note that there are certain national preferences in the choice of hygiene products. They are not always easy to explain, but often very well traced. So, Japanese women categorically do not accept the idea of ​​inserting a finger into the vagina, so almost all Japanese tampons have applicators, and rare non-applicator brands are supplied with rubber fingertips! In general, Japanese women definitely prefer pads. Asians, Hispanics and Russians also prefer to use pads. American women definitely prefer tampons, in Western Europe the prevalence of tampons and pads is comparable. The author assumes (but does not have confirmation) that Muslim women use only pads, and homemade ones, since menstrual advertising is prohibited in Muslim countries.

In the USSR until the end of the 80s. industrial tampons did not exist at all, and industrial-made pads were extremely rare and were occasionally sold in pharmacies under the name ... "hygienic product" - in a word, the situation in America of the 30s was reproduced with anecdotal accuracy. But each book for schoolgirls explained in detail how to make pads from cotton wool wrapped in gauze. This "know-how" was perfectly owned by all Soviet women.

The first Tampax tampons and pads appeared in the USSR in the early 90s. and caused a real sensation among women. The first advertisement for Tampax appeared in Burda magazine in 1989. The page showed a tampon with an applicator in front of a box. There was short text, the essence of which was that with Tampax tampons in the vaginas, Russian women would gain freedom and unprecedented comfort.

The author personally observed how female students literally froze when they opened the page with this advertisement and studied the contents of this advertisement for a long time, spellbound. The magazine passed from hand to hand until all the students had read this advertisement. An interesting psychological subtlety: usually the girls looked at the page in groups of two, often whispering to each other. Consequently, they were not embarrassed about menstruation among themselves, but when the guys appeared, they pretended to consider the styles of dresses. It should be noted that at the time of the appearance of this advertisement, there were no tampons or pads on sale yet, and girls could only use homemade pads. The idea of ​​a tampon caused delight among the girls.

At first, hygiene products were expensive, there were many cheap, low-quality Eastern European crafts, so the spread of new hygiene products was rather slow. Rich ladies, friends of bandits, thieves and other "new Russians" were the first to menstruate into industrial products. However, the spread of global brands was hampered not only by the high price and general poverty, but also by a certain prejudice Soviet women against industrial hygiene products (“why buy expensive when I can make my own sanitary napkin for much less”). Foreign manufacturing firms were interested in the speedy distribution of their products on the Russian market. And then, as in post-war America, advertising was launched into battle, the purpose of which in our case was to convince Russian women that menstruating “the old fashioned way” in homemade pads is now simply unfashionable. It was necessary to break the stereotype and convince women, especially young women, that life without Koteks, Tampaks, Olveiz is simply impossible.

Everyone remembers the times when the country literally choked in advertising menstruation. This stream of advertising, very tactless, loud and intrusive, at first terribly embarrassed and shocked both women and men. There was even a movement “Against pad advertising and for girlish honor” (however, we note that pads have nothing to do with girlish honor, rather the opposite - the one that “observes honor” just definitely menstruates, unlike her “flying” girlfriends ). However, impudent and assertive advertising has done its job - the current generation of 15-25-year-old girls menstruates only in pads and tampons of industrial production and simply does not agree to any homemade products (although the secret of making homemade products is probably not lost in the Russian outback). In addition, the embarrassment of girls in this matter has decreased - if earlier girls did not talk about their menstruation in principle and were extremely embarrassed of any mention of it, now girls look at menstruation as a completely natural phenomenon - intimate, but in principle not shameful. That's what advertising can be thanked for."

Text: Elena Dogadina

The topic of menstruation in the media is still taboo- and its discussion is also veiled with euphemisms like "these" or "critical" days. It seems that it has always been like this, but in fact it is not - in the USSR for many years they openly wrote about menstruation, and articles were accompanied by drawings of the uterus. We understand the history of attitudes towards menstruation in the USSR - with the help of the press, books and historian Pavel Vasiliev.

By this time, when the egg matures, the woman has blood, or, as they are otherwise called, regula, or menstruation.<...>In Russia, this usually happens in the 13th or 14th year.<...>From the age when the maturation of eggs and regulation begins, the girl begins to turn into a girl. She begins to grow stronger, her voice changes, sometimes her character changes. At this time, girls sometimes become very irritable.

"WORKER", No. 6, 1923

← IN THE TWENTIES AND THIRTY YEARS the party press published texts about menstruation in at least every second issue. Doctor of Historical Sciences Alisa Klots believes that this can be explained by the early Soviet hygiene campaign - it was actively carried out until the post-war years, when the main migration from villages to cities took place and the population learned basic hygiene skills. During this period, they wrote about menstruation in a medically dry and to the point. Candidate of Historical Sciences, postdoctoral student at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem Pavel Vasiliev says that in the first years after the revolution in the country « emancipatory sentiments were strong » .

During bleeding, the insides of the uterus swell, the uterus becomes loose, filled with blood. The opening in the cervix opens a little, and the blood pours out. Menstruation lasts differently: 3-5-7 days - and appear every 3-4 weeks. If menstruation lasts longer or appears more often, then this is already a disease, and you need to see a doctor.

"Worker", No. 6, 1923

→ RESEARCHER ERIK NAYMAN WRITES, that Alexandra Kollontai treated menstruation as something unpleasantly obligatory for women, from which it would be nice to get rid of. It was believed that menstruation stood in the way of a woman to full equality with a man, but at the same time they were not considered as an important female experience. This is just a phenomenon that women are subject to, and therefore they wrote about them, as well as about any other "medical", highly specialized information - a necessary minimum. For additional data or in case of cycle deviations, it was advised to go to the doctor.

Menstruation is thus not a disease; by the letter of the law, a woman during menstruation is not subject to exemption from work. But there are a number of women in whom, due to certain conditions of the body, menstruation is extremely difficult, especially in the early days.<...>Doctors prescribe to a woman who is not working at the enterprise complete rest (lying in bed) for one or two days.

"WORKER", No. 7, 1924

← DISCUSSIONS ABOUT MENSTRUCTION AND EQUALITY were also conducted at the level of whether to take days off on the days of menstruation. Soviet history professor Melanie Ilich writes in her study "Soviet Women Workers and Menstruation: A Research Note on Labor Protection in the 1920s and 1930s" that there was a menstrual holiday in factories and industries where there were more women than men. Women could take a day off a few days a month - although some deliberately did not use it. Pavel Vasilyev believes that this is also characteristic of the current situation: on the one hand, menstrual time off can be considered a progressive legislative initiative; on the other hand, they seem to automatically imply that the female body functions worse than the male body for several days a month, and the male body is taken as the standard.

But not all party publications of this period have strong feminist sentiments. For example, in the "Women's Journal" in 1926, the material "Chemistry of Women's Moods" was published - it describes that a woman becomes uncontrollable for several days a month, and in psychiatry she is destined for a diagnosis of "menstrual psychosis": "Consequently, the sanity of a female personality in the period of menstruation is definitely limited. Statistics illustrate this idea by pointing to an increase in the propensity to crime. It turns out that about 50% of all suicides among women fall during the period of regulation.

If the meeting of the female egg cell with the sperm does not occur, the unfertilized egg cell still moves into the uterus and dies. The surface layer of the swollen mucous membrane of the uterus narrows; it is accompanied by bleeding; there is what we call menstruation.

"Worker", No. 7, 1947

→ AFTER THE WAR, in the second half of the forties - early fifties, in magazines, medical details, attention to health and hygiene is replaced by concern exclusively for the reproductive condition of women. The press reminded that if menstruation went astray or discharge appeared, a woman immediately needs to see a doctor until complications arise - she will have to become a mother.

Pavel Vasiliev adds that in the Stalin period, in the context of militarization, the country was interested in new citizens, and above all in soldiers. This is most noticeable in the post-war years, when a woman was seen as an "incubator" for the production of people, and not only in the USSR - other countries affected by the war also sought to make up for the losses. During this period, medical negligence, cases when a doctor caused damage to a woman’s reproductive health by his actions, were punished especially severely, adds Vasiliev. Accordingly, menstruation itself was not talked about at that time - they were simply mentioned in articles about pregnancy, the causes of infertility, or abortion.

The main concern of parents in this regard is to better prepare the girl's body for a normal menstrual cycle.<...>In physically developed, hardened, healthy girls, menstruation usually takes place regularly, without disturbances; on the contrary, sickly girls often find it difficult to endure the onset of menstruation, lose weight, and lose their already modest strength.

"Worker", No. 3, 1963

← FROM THE END OF THE FIFTY- in the early sixties, mentions of menstruation in the press pop up only as part of advice for the mother of a teenage girl. Grandmother, doctor and teachers at school should be ready for the girls' menstruation, and mom should provide information to her daughter in advance so that she is not afraid of blood. And the entire environment of the schoolgirl should be prepared for the fact that her behavior will change, she will begin to study worse and be rude - it is believed that this is a normal stage in her life associated with "turning into a mother." Pavel Vasiliev suggests that menstrual knowledge from the late fifties to the eighties goes into the sphere of the family, and the responsibility for storing and transmitting this information lies only with the mother.

There is another theory explaining this state of affairs: in the sixties and eighties, it becomes more difficult to talk about menstruation, perhaps also because of a new, even more conservative view of the family. In The High Title of a Communist: Postwar Party Discipline and the Values ​​of the Soviet Regime, Edward Cohn concludes that the Khrushchev period in the USSR became almost more "moralizing" than the Stalin period. For example, if under Stalin it became known about the mistress of some official, this could be followed by simple conversations and reprimands - under Khrushchev, the sanctions for such actions were much stricter. The moral image of the builder of communism is constructed as never before clearly and in detail.

At least twice a day, with clean hands with short-cut nails, it is necessary to wash the external genitalia with slightly warm boiled water; dried blood on the external genital organs leads to contamination and irritation of the skin, from here the inflammation can go to the vagina and internal genital organs. You should not take a bath during menstruation, swim in the sea, in the river (you can not douche the vagina). Washing should be in the shower. You can't have sexual intercourse. It is necessary to use hygienic gauze pads, which should be tied to the belt and changed as they get dirty; Loose tights should be worn and changed more often.

"The Concise Encyclopedia of the Household"
1966

Who Invented Gaskets? How did women get along without them before? What's new today in this sector of the market?
The candidate of philological sciences, lecturer in the department of advertising at the Moscow Institute of International Law and Economics named after V.I. A. S. Griboyedova Marina Vladimirovna PETRUSHKO.

The topic of "critical days" has been and still is a taboo in many cultures of the world. Over its centuries-old history, it has become overgrown with myths - somewhere women were forbidden to cook during this period, somewhere they were isolated in special huts. Until now, completely different religions forbid them to cross the threshold of temples on such days. Like women in different times and in different countries solved this problem? The Egyptians, for example, rolled papyrus tampons. In Greece and the Roman Empire it was customary to use sheep wool processed in a special way. Residents of the North crushed alder bark to the state of sawdust or used moss. In China and Japan, they used special paper. Russian peasant women are self-woven linen... Until the end of the 19th century, washed pads hung on ropes, resembling a crocheted washcloth with loops at the ends, were a common landscape of European and American courtyards. They were fastened to clothes or a special belt.
German ladies' magazines and brochures published patterns that could be used to tailor and sew such belts to individual measurements. It was the practical Germans who set up the process of industrial production and "public" advertising in the press of disposable cotton pads. Paul Hartmann's factory produced "Hartmann's MULPA Damen-binde". "MULPA" was positioned as the only pocket-sized pads, indispensable for travel.
In 1895, these products appeared in England and the USA, bringing the factory to the level of an international manufacturer. A year later, Johnson & Johnson released their Johnson & Johnson disposable pads, named after Dr. Lister, a promoter of surgical antisepsis. But both of them did not have much commercial success. Cultural and religious traditions, as well as public opinion, interfered with the appearance of bright and noticeable advertising of essential goods.
The boom in the popularity of disposable hygiene products came in the 20s of the XX century. Women felt their own social significance, felt freer and more relaxed. They began to drive cars, play sports, and obtained permission to smoke in public places. In the First World War, women from many countries took an active part as medical personnel, sisters of mercy. It is with the professional activities of the sisters of mercy that the success story of disposable pads is also connected.
Medical authority has always been a favorite means of persuading buyers. People trust doctors more than anyone else. In its first press advertisements in January 1921, the Kotex company, a pioneer in the production of disposable pads, explained the origin of the new type of pads as follows: "American nurses working in France during the First World War first tried the new bandage based on wood pulp as sanitary napkins. It turned out that this dressing is more hygroscopic than cotton. And at the same time, it is not as expensive." So the popular "Kotex" were born today.
The German manufacturers of hygiene products for women "Camelia" in the same years attracted sister of mercy Tekla for cooperation. In addition, the pad brand logo was complemented by a cross, emphasizing the connection between the advertised product and the fact that the sister of mercy is also a representative of the Christian Hospital.
80 years ago, public advertising of an intimate hygiene product met resistance and condemnation in European and even American cities no less than today in Russia. Therefore, companies tried in any way to enlist the support of an authoritative church, so that customers would not be embarrassed to use them.
But the most successful and truly large-scale sales of disposable pads did not begin until advertisers found a way to save the lady from saying aloud to the male seller the name of the product they needed. This brilliant idea is attributed to the American Albert Lasker.
The lady was asked to drop the money into a special box on her own, taking a package of gaskets from a stack on the counter.
Customers of "Camelia", for example, found a special leaflet in the bag. And when they again needed to prepare for the "critical days", they could silently hand this sheet to the pharmacist. It said, "Please sell me a package of Camelia.
In the 1930s, the first American tampons appeared.

The most famous brand "Tampax" in 1936 released the first tampons with an applicator and string, invented and patented by Dr. Earl Haas. Doctors have long used a similar technology for the vaginal administration of drugs, impregnating them with surgical cotton. Researchers of Egyptian papyri testify that women in those days soaked their homemade tampons with honey for medicinal purposes.
A natural innovator, Haas sewed compressed cotton wool on a home sewing machine and designed a cardboard package called an applicator, which allowed him not to touch sterile swabs with his hands. On the subsequently sold invention, the doctor earned about $30,000 and the thanks of his wife.
Modern companies, it would seem, have perfected the means of dealing with "critical days" to the limit. They find it increasingly difficult to invent true innovations. In the meantime, corporations with world-famous brands are excelling in competition, small firms are winning back the market with the help of the "old", but more and more relevant in our technogenic age, gasket model. These are reusable washable pads made of fabric, organic cotton and flannel.
They place their bet on the care of women about their health and environment. According to supporters of reusable pads, in the production modern types this tool is used too much chemical substances, contact of which with the body does not pass without a trace.
The most conscious part of the representatives of the weaker sex across the ocean is already "voting with currency" for environmental cleanliness, trying out "new old" pads from fabrics of cheerful colors.

The pace of life forces you to be active: a friend's wedding, a meeting with school friends, a trip to the sea, romantic dates...

But there are days when, for obvious reasons, your freedom is limited.
It is during this period that the menstrual cup will help you a lot, thanks to which you will have time to do everything you have in mind, without slowing down and without changing habits.

So what is this thing? This is a container for collecting secretions, which can have a different shape, texture and color. It can be made from various materials and have different tails. But its main task is to make your critical period more comfortable without hitting the budget.

Installs just like a tampon, does not require frequent monitoring

Tight installation prevents liquid from spilling in any position and in any environment. Therefore, you can safely go in for sports, including swimming, or just relax alone or with loved ones, at least day and night. For you and other people, your cycle is in the "off" position.

Unlike tampons and other hygiene products, a menstrual cup does not betray its presence even to you. It takes shape inside the body and you don't feel it at all.
cap is absolutely neutral. It maintains the natural balance of the flora, leaves no fibers and does not allow the liquid to come into contact with the internal environment. Thus, it is more physiological for the body than other hygiene products.
In addition, the cap is quite an economical thing. Having bought only once, you will forget about other means for several years.

If our arguments seem insufficient to you, you can read the real reviews of our clients.

Why should you buy it in our store?

We have been working since 2009, and we advise girls on a daily basis. Use the feedback form. We have the most wide selection. And this is not surprising, because we know that you are different, each with its own characteristics. Therefore, we always have a product that will suit you perfectly.
We offer the lowest price on the market. And if you can find cheaper, write via the feedback form, and we will sell you at this price.
We provide cheap delivery, and we carry it out throughout Russia. You can choose the most convenient one.

Silicone cap. Where could I buy? Internet shop

We invite you to learn more about the advantages over pads and tampons, to find out how different brands differ: MeLuna (meluna) with a ball, with a ring, with a stem,