What did women use as feminine protection before pads and tampons???

Question

I always wondered like what women born into slavery used.....
The only thing I could come up with is sheets or old clothing...but if anyone knows a definite answer, please let me know. Thanks!!

Answer 1

When I was a teenager, one of the ladies in my hometown was a historian who often took part in historical recreations. I worked as a cashier in the local supermarket, and one day she came in the store in full historical garb and bought a box of Stayfree. I made some sort of smarty-pants comment that it wasn't historically correct, and she proceeded to tell me all about pioneer feminine hygiene.

Evidently cotton covered rags were used, but most popularly in this area of the country was the form of hygiene used by the Indians: moss wrapped in tanned rabbit fur. I guess the moss was super-absorbant and the tanned rabbit fur would rinse out and last longer than woven material.

It's amazing what you learn when you're a smarty-pants!

Answer 2

The ancient Egyptians invented the first disposable tampons made from softened papyrus. The ancient Greeks invented tampons made from lint wrapped around a small piece of wood, recorded in writing by Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. Other materials used for the first tampons have included: wool, paper, vegetable fibers, sponges, grass, and later cotton.

Answer 3

Menstrual pads have been mentioned as early as in the (10th century) Suda, where Hypatia was said to have thrown her "feminine rags" at an admirer in an attempt to turn him off.

Through the ages women have used different forms of menstrual protection. The Museum of menstruation has articles and photos of some early forms of menstrual protection. Including among other things, knitted pads, and menstrual aprons. Women often used strips of folded old cloth (rags) to catch their menstrual blood, which is why the term "rags" was used to refer to menstruation

Answer 4

from what I remember this in class in high school...
they said they used cloth bits. We couldn't figure if they inserted the cloth inwards since virginity was a huge deal back then and didn't want to damage the lining.
So we figured that it was justs lined up in the undergarments back then.
Might be able to find it on a women's undergarment history site or google it,
Maybe the history of femmine products??

Answer 5

They made pads out of things like sheets or old towels, They would wash them and reuse them.
Before that, Native American women used to use types of moss, it's absorbent, and since cloth wasn't easily available to them, and it was, it's what they used.

Answer 6

Yes, women used old rags-after WWI the Kotex company had tons of field dressings left over from the military and came up with the idea for sanitary napkins from that to sell to women. Another civilian use for surplus war materal, huh?

Answer 7

Cotton
Pieces of sheets or of old clothing

Tampons is pretty recent invention (patented in 1933), they didn't use anything in place of tampons, they only used homemade pads. My grandmother still thinks tampons are "wrong".

Answer 8

it actual relies upon on what you like. in case you like pads, then continuously is a sturdy variety. and tampex pearl is a sturdy tampon variety. it ameliorations lots. many times pads are extra much lower priced yet tampons supply you extra interest innovations

Answer 9

I saw a tampax poster once in our gym locker room that explained things like this (weird yea) but it said that they would wrap a small stick with rags and tie it for like the first ever tampons

Answer 10

hmm slavery

how about processed cotton pad in between two clothes. it looks like a normal menstrual pad today.