In 2020, a vintage products company used a red liquid to show how absorbent its sanitary pads are in a television commercial. It was the first time a major company in the US changed the typical blue liquid to red to represent menstrual blood.
After the ad aired, some people took to social media to applaud the realistic depiction.
But that’s all it was. A representation.
Manufacturers actually test the absorbency of menstrual products using saline (a mixture of water and salt) and not real blood.
This fact was recently noted in a 2023 report. study where four researchers from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) used human blood to test the accuracy of absorption in menstrual products for the first time.
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As you can imagine, the study received a lot of attention. If you didn’t know this mind-blowing detail about period products until now, it can be a lot to process. Although the lack of industrial testing with real blood may be shocking to some, Bethany Samuelson Bannow, MD, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at OHSU, was unfazed. “I’m never really surprised that things haven’t been done for women’s health,” he said.
Heavy menstrual bleeding and health problems
The study also drew attention regarding the results. The researchers found that most existing absorbency labels on menstrual products that had been tested with saline indicated that they may contain more compared to what the researchers found during testing. This discrepancy is because blood and saline have different physical properties and are absorbed at different rates. What that means is that using the estimates on the label of most period products will result in an underestimation of the blood loss a menstruator experiences.
These findings are especially concerning considering that heavy menstrual bleeding is usually diagnosed based on a person’s experience with their menstrual products. “The important thing to keep in mind is the distinction between medical diagnostic tools and products used for other purposes. So if I’m going to test someone for thyroid disease, I’m going to send them to a lab and give them a test created specifically for that purpose. But when we diagnose heavy periods, we really rely on reports of what patients use,” Samuelson Bannow said.
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And if people think their products contain less blood than they actually do, that could mean that people with heavy menstrual bleeding are not being diagnosed. This is a serious problem because heavy bleeding can lead to anemia or lack of iron, which can lead to fatigue, headaches, and weakness, among other problems. Heavy bleeding can also be a symptom of other serious health problems, such as endometriosis, fibroids, and some gynecological cancers.
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To diagnose heavy menstrual bleeding, healthcare providers (HCPs) also use the pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) so people can tell their healthcare professionals how saturated their pads or tampons are. But again, this is wrong if providers assume that a “full” pad or tampon contains more than it does. (The PBAC does not include newer menstrual products, such as menstrual cups. And menstrual cups are commonly used among people who have heavy periods, Samuelson Bannow said.)
“Wait [the research] It helps make people aware of the varied capabilities of these products and I hope that changes the way they [healthcare providers] Look at the medical history,” Samuelson Bannow said.
Heavy menstrual bleeding and mental health
Heavy periods can affect all aspects of life and also have a negative effect on mental health. “Heavy bleeding can cause stress for women: worrying about bleeding through products and on clothing, the cost of purchasing products [and] just the tiredness that heavy bleeding can cause,” said Heather Bartos, MD, OB-GYN and member of HealthyWomen’s Women’s Health Advisory Council. “Heavy bleeding can also affect a woman’s sex life.”
If you think you may have heavy menstrual bleeding, it is important to talk to your doctor about your symptoms. “Usually a simple ultrasound and lab tests can diagnose the problem, and there are many options to control the bleeding, not only birth control, but also newer treatments,” Bartos said.
It is still difficult to think that an essential product that all menstruators will use at some point in their lives has been developed without using what it was created for. Periods are natural. And people who menstruate deserve products and healthcare options that reflect this normal, yet complicated, part of life.
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