I have been reading about different menstural alternatives and have officially made two cloth pads for myself.

My question:

Has anyone used the sea sponges? What are your reactions?

Naomi

(yes, I am Leann's daughter!)

-- Naomi Banta (lionlamb@bloomington.in.us), April 14, 2001

Answers

Yes, I have used them for years. My reactions: they do not fully take the place of conventional protection (pads and tampons,) mostly because if you are out and about and need to rinse one out, you get some pretty wierd looks from others in the restroom. I mostly use them at home, and usually back up with a mini pad. I have several different sizes for variable flow. Finding them in the right shape could be a problem, although I have bought some and cut them to shape. Wal-mart sells them as cosmetic sponges in nice sizes, and they are cheaper there in the cosmetic department than in the paint and craft department--go figure. I suppose if they are clean enough to be used on your face for make-up application, they are clean enough for sanitary use. I blot or squeeze them out, rinse under cool running water and re-insert them during use. I boil them at the end of the cycle for 2-3 minutes, allow to dry and store til the next time. My oldest sponge is now at least 20 years old and still working, but some of my newer ones seem to be wearing out. They are comfortable to wear--you don't feel anything as opposed to a tampon (at least for me). Buy them wherever you can find them. Also, there is actually a website called the Museum of Menstruation and they have photos of a sea sponge issued to women military personnel during WWII for just this use--the idea has been around a long time. I say, try it, just be prepared to experiment with the amount of flow, size of sponge, etc. I have never had any side effects or problems associated with them, and I've used them 20 plus years. Good luck.

-- Denyelle Stroup (dedestroup@hotmail.com), April 18, 2001.

Hi Naomi,

I don't know anything about sea sponges but I do know about a cup that you can buy. It is a rubber cup that you insert. Alls you have to do is take it out every so often and clean it. It works great. It is advertized in the magazine. That is where I first seen it and ordered mine. I have been using it for several years not with no problems. I would never go back to the store bought items. It saves you over $150 per year. That is what I was spending on cheap store bought items. Give it a try, there is a full money back guarentee on it. I think it is called the Keeper. You will see it advertized in the back of Countryside. Good Luck.

-- Lon (maewag@hotmail.com), April 20, 2001.

I have heard of the Keeper and am looking at all alternatives... Someone also told me about "Instead" which is similar in theory to the Keeper except it is disposable... (which is nice at work)

I made some cloth pads too... Still debating the keeper though.

-- Naomi Banta (lionlamb@bloomington.in.us), April 20, 2001.

The Keeper works fine for me. I can feel it a little though. But I could also feel tampons a bit also. I just may look for some of those sea sponges!

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), April 20, 2001.