South African women confront risks in everyday pads

FROM RASH TO ALARM

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

MANY women have become reluctant to use reusable menstrual pads. They say that hygiene, convenience, and comfort are paramount and that in light of potential chemical exposure from some commercial products, women need safe, reliable, and readily available options.

A University of the Free State (UFS) study has found hormone-disrupting chemicals in all tested sanitary pads and pantyliners, raising urgent questions about what millions of women are putting directly against sensitive tissue each month.

For one young woman, it began with an unexplained rash; for researchers, it ended with the discovery of chemicals that could have far-reaching health implications.

The UFS team tested 16 brands of sanitary pads and eight types of pantyliners, analysing them for three major groups of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), bisphenols, parabens, and phthalates. Bisphenols were detected in all pads and most pantyliners; parabens were in more than 81% of pads and 75% of pantyliners, while phthalates appeared in all pantyliners and half of the pads tested.

Although the study did not measure how much of these chemicals enter the body or directly cause disease, it raises concerns about repeated, long-term exposure, given that menstrual products come into contact with sensitive tissue for several days each month. The findings also highlight a lack of transparency in product labelling, leaving women unable to make fully informed choices. For many, the revelations were both shocking and unsettling.