Menstruation is a natural event that most women experience throughout their fertile years. During menstruation, which normally occurs once a month, blood flows from the uterus and out of the vagina. In order to keep this blood from staining clothes, furniture, and other items, a maxi pad can be used to catch and contain the blood. A maxi pad is a pad of absorbent material that is placed on a woman’s panty. The idea is to keep this pad and the blood it catches out of sight, and to that end many designs and techniques have been developed.
Though maxi pads are commonly used to absorb the blood during a woman’s menstruation, they can also be used virtually any time a woman needs to absorb blood flowing from her vagina. For instance, a maxi pad can be used to catch the flow that a woman experiences after giving birth or having certain kinds of surgery. It can also be used to catch blood after a miscarriage. Though many maxi pads are disposable, they should never be flushed down a toilet because doing so can cause the toilet to back up. Instead, they should be disposed of in a proper waste receptacle.
In order to keep a maxi pad in place, the pad will usually feature an adhesive strip on the back. This strip is usually covered by a piece of paper that helps to keep it sticky until the pad is used. In order to use the pad, a woman will peel the paper off, place the pad properly on her panty, and put the panty on. Properly placed, the pad will help keep leaks and accidents from happening. There are, however, times when a maxi pad will leak, and preventing this is one goal of pad manufacturers.
Various types of maxi pads are available for different menstrual flows as well as various women’s preferences. Overnight pads are one the longest and most absorbent, being made for use during the night when a woman sleeps. Light pads are made for light flows that usually occur at the end of menstruation, while regular pads are made for regular flows. In addition to the absorbency levels, some pads come with wings, little strips of material that wraps around the sides of the panty. These wings help keep the sides of the panty clean.
For times when maxi pads are too thick for a woman’s preference, ultra thin pads can be used. Ultra thin pads are like maxi pads, but instead of a thick absorbent material, these pads use a thinner, more compressed core. These thinner pads can help keep a woman feel more comfortable while wearing a pad. Still, ultra thin pads may not be a good choice for very heavy flows, such as a woman may experience after giving birth. For these instances, maxi pads may be the best choice.