My sister tried explaining to me and I didn’t really understand it. How does some absorbent cotton manage to do… that?
In: Other
Honestly, not well. Because they were never tested to absorb blood. Ever. At least not until August 2023.
Turns out all previous studies used a saline solution to test absorbency, which shockingly, doesn’t in any way realistically mimic period blood and uterine lining.
The first ever study of absorbency of period blood in menstrual products started last year. Which basically means there aren’t any products on the market that can make accurate claims about absorbency.
I kid you not. For decades they tested menstrual products with flipping salt water. They figured that was close enough. SMH. We won’t know until they’ve concluded the first study of its kind about the absorbency of menstrual products, how absorbent they are.
And I’d wager that the results won’t be shocking to women, because we know that they aren’t very absorbent, and they don’t work very well.
[Scientific American: No one Studied Menstrual Product Absorbency Realistically Until Now](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-one-studied-menstrual-product-absorbency-realistically-until-now/)
[Vox: The Weird, Bad History of Tampon Testing](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23893044/period-tampon-menstrual-cycle-menstruation-cup-pad)
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