JoBoFirst (I repeat, first) test of menstrual products using actual blood published last week (I repeat, last week)
I imagine that its extremely hard to get the mass quantities of blood you need for actual testing.
I’m still not satisfied because menstrual blood is much chunkier than a donated pint from your arm. Until they’re using mucus blood we’re still in the dark ages.
jennwiththeseaYes, menstrual fluid includes tissue. It’s not just simple blood.
But how on earth would you get period blood?
Eh - it depends on the test.
Laboratory tests for pure absorbency makes sense for blood volume.
Functional absorbency is always going to be so much more nuanced as each woman has multiple factors in play. You’re better off calibrating pure absorbency first, then carrying those results forward to study and understand functional usage.
I guess it depends on your goal: better tampons or better healthcare. Is the problem that you can’t switch brands and have any expectation of similar absorbency? Or is the problem that your doctor asks “how many tampons do you use in a day?” and thinks it will tell him whether you really have a heavy flow, because he doesn’t believe you and doesn’t really understand how periods work? Both are real problems. Both deserve better research.
Both deserve better research.
Agreed.