Rumor: female friends are advised not to use sanitary products such as cool sanitary napkins with added preparations, herbs, fragrances and so on! The cool sanitary napkin feels cool when used because it adds Mint agent to the surface material. The mint agent will be released slowly during use, thus destroying the weak acid environment of the genitalia. The destruction of the weak acid environment will reduce the resistance of the genitalia itself! It will make menstruation less and less.
Since the package of the cool sanitary napkins on the market does not indicate the added ingredients and the added amount, it is impossible for us to determine whether it will have beneficial or harmful effects on the human body. This article only briefly analyzes whether the cool sanitary napkins with mint substances are harmful to women’s health.
Truth: using cool sanitary napkins will not damage the weak acidic environment in the vagina, nor will it lead to less menstruation. As long as the sanitary napkin is qualified, it is only a personal habit to use what type. However, it should be noted that women with sensitive skin and allergic constitution should use sanitary napkins with spices and pharmaceutical ingredients with caution to avoid skin irritation and allergic reactions.
how does the cool feeling of sanitary napkins come from?
“Cool” is usually the feeling of skin or mucous membrane to temperature. However, not all “cool” feelings are due to temperature changes. Mint contains a substance called menthol. This substance and some of its derivatives can stimulate the cold receptor TRPM8 receptor (a special protein) in the skin and mouth, making the body feel “cold”. In fact, the temperature has not changed.
TRPM8 receptor exists in sensory neurons and has been called “cold and menthol receptor 1” (cmr1). As the name implies, chemicals such as menthol can activate this receptor like cold itself, producing a feeling of “cold”. In addition to menthol, the agonist of TRPM8 receptor also has a synthetic compound “icilin”, which produces a cold sensation 200 times stronger than menthol. In addition, linalool, citronellol, hydroxycitronellal, menthalamide (ws-3, ws-23), menthol glycerol ketal, menthol lactate and other substances are also agonists of TRPM8 receptor, which can make it feel cold.
will peppermint destroy the weak acidic environment of vagina
We know that the vagina is not a sterile environment, but the balance of its microenvironment has a certain defense function against the invasion of external microorganisms, which is called the self purification effect of the vagina. Estrogen, Lactobacillus vaginalis and the weak acidic environment of vagina are the three important links of vaginal self purification ability. If one or several of these three links are broken, the vagina’s defense ability will be reduced, and it is easy to be attacked by foreign pathogens, leading to vaginitis.
The research on menthol shows that menthol itself has certain bacteriostatic ability, which is probably the source of the rumored “weak acid environment that destroys genitalia”. If menthol inhibits the propagation of Lactobacillus in the vagina, it may indeed lead to the destruction of the weak acidic environment of the vagina in theory, thus making users vulnerable to vaginitis.
However, in the actual situation, we should note that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of menthol against most bacteria is about 0.04-0.2 mg / ml, which can be converted into 40-200ppm (1ppm is one millionth). The threshold of menthol’s cooling sensation is about 0.8-3ppm, and the concentration required to produce a cooling sensation is far less than the minimum inhibitory concentration of menthol. If it is only for the purpose of cooling the skin or mucosa, the concentration of menthol used locally may not reach the minimum inhibitory concentration. At the same time, if a sanitary napkin with menthol added is used, it is only placed near the vaginal opening, not an insertion type tampon. The amount of menthol that can actually enter the vagina is very small, far from reaching its minimum inhibitory concentration. Therefore, it is probably unnecessary to worry that the micro amount of menthol added to the sanitary napkin will affect the normal flora in the vagina.
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