I didn't realize how bad the recession was until last night. You see, I went out to get some Tampax and horror of horrors... none were available. I am sure that everyone of you out there has heard of Tampax... the name synonymous with tampons. Tampax in this country is an imported product... believe it or not, there are only two brands of tampons available in this country... "o.b." and Tampax. I have a feeling that o.b. is locally made. What is the difference you might ask... well, Tampax is the tampon with an applicator... one has to manually insert the o.b. tampon. Now, laugh if you want but I have a serious problem here... I have no tampons to use!!
The Tampax line has been discontinued in this country and I suspect that it is an economic decision. Imported goods are getting very expensive due to the fact that our currency is dropping i.e. it is getting more expensive to pay for foreign products... hence, some suit out there weighed the opportunity cost and decided that women in Malaysia should be without tampons with applicators.
Now, this poses a serious problem to me. You see, I don't like using the normal sanitary pads and I hate the idea of manually inserting a tampon. It is kind of gross to stick one's finger up one's vagina (which is laced with blood) in order to insert a tampon. Also, the positioning of the tampon is rather tricky... it has to be deep enough so as to not cause any discomfort. I shudder at the thought of withdrawing my finger which will be covered in dirty blood (and it doesn't smell so crash hot I can tell you). Also, if one has a hangnail, some serious "tearing" damage may occur inside the uterus passage... this is another one of the hazards of using a tampon without an applicator.
What about sanitary pads you might ask... well, the last time I used sanitary pads was when I was about 12 - 14. My mum didn't believe in tampons so we (my sister and I) were taught to use pads. However, pads at that time resembled baby nappies... thick and bulky... we sent away for some samples of Tampax and were hooked ever since. There used to be these ads in women's magazines for free samples... complete with instruction kit and everything. Well, it is a LOT more comfortable to wear tampons than pads I can tell you.
Plus, the incidence of leaking is minimized. Let me a little graphic here. One sticks a sanitary pad to one's panties... it is like wearing a nappy I can tell you. Humans are built in such a way that is it natural for one to cross their legs... hence, the sanitary pad gets bunched together. When this happens, the exposed absorbancy area is somewhat reduced and at times, leaking does occur. Have you ever noticed how some women look at their backsides after getting up? When this happens, you know that they are having the period and that they are wearing pads. This used to happen a lot in high school... when females just start getting their periods and they sometimes forget about changing their pads.
Aside from the leaking issue... I hate using pads... firstly, it feels weird... like one is wearing a nappy. Secondly, some sour smell does tend to escape... that is throughly yucky. Then, of course there is the environmental issue... sanitary pads are NOT environmentally friendly... sure neither are tampons but tampons are smaller. Did you know that sanitary napkins are not biodegradable? It takes Mother Nature something like 10 years in order to break it down? Fourthly, not many public toilets in this country have places where one can dispose of a sanitary napkin... there is usually a bin on the outside of the toilet stall and one just chucks it in there. Tampons on the other hand are flusable. I mean, come on... it is a little embarassing walking out of a toilet stall with a used sanitary napkin in hand... yes I know, wrap it up in toilet paper but then, the general public still knows that you are dumping in a used sanitary napkin. Female toilets in this country always have a sourish smell... it usually comes from the bins. I don't even want to think of all the germs in the air. Don't get me wrong... I am not saying that all toilets are like that...some even have those sanitary waste disposal bins located in the stall itself but the idea of even lifting the lid is a little repulsive to me. Just think about it... you know that the last person who lifted the lid has her period and hasn't washed her hands... the probability of getting germs from that lid is quite high. I am a little anal when it comes to other people's germs I have to admit... actually, I am very anal when it comes to germs.
When I used to use pads... way back in the dark ages... I used to be a fat child... when I mean fat, I REALLY mean fat. Anyways, when I went to sleep at night, for some really weird reason, my sanitary pads didn't work... the blood just went past the pad, through the crack of my very ample butt and landed up in the small of my back. I used to wake up to patches of blood on the bedsheet, mattress etc. In order to combat this, I used to set my alarm for every few hours so that I could clean myself up... is this getting too disgusting for you? Hehehehe.... it is getting too graphical and personal for me as well. Let's move on...
So, after visiting one supermarket and three pharmacies, I didn't end up getting any Tampax. I didn't realise how dependent on Tampax I am until last night. I still have a few left but it is going to run out by the end of this week... I have got no idea what I am going to be doing when my next period comes along. My sister freaked out when I came back and told her last night. She is also facing the same problem. I am willing to bet that hundreds of Malaysian women are currently wondering what they are going to be doing when their next period starts.
People, you might laugh but this is a serious problem for us females... if I ever meet up with the idiot who decided that Tampax isn't a necessity for women in Malaysia, I am going to kick him in the balls... you can be assured that it is a male who decided to discontinue the line. No female would ever do something like this... no way.
My sister and I are desperately looking for a new source of Tampax... and this involves thinking of friends who are overseas right now and asking them to bring some back for us. So, if anyone of you out there feels like sending some down (unused and still in their original packaging), feel free to drop me an email.
