Girl stuff!

[Toddy]

I managed with a mooncup in a small all female camp, but it was a real skiddle. It was the washing out and the hands scrubbing bit that surprisingly got awkward. Needed a seperate bowl for water, it needs both hands and one has to hold the water bottle or have a really close friend to pour for you.
The real sponges works better to be honest. I can manage that one handed so the other can be used to clean off without getting the water bottle *dirty*. So long as the sponge is properly washed out and squeezed really dry it can be re-used right away. I'm told a cider vinegar rinse is a good thing though.
I have also when in need , well I don't count to 28, that's HWMBLT's job and I forgot, I don't get pmt, and used picked clean sphagnum moss wrapped in a linen handkerchief. I have to say it was incredibly effective. It was really absorbant, totally biodegradeable, apparantly the moss contains antibiotic and antibacterial stuff too, and was neither itchy or scratchy. So I have to say the past wasn't primitively pathetic, but a skirt and close fitting knickers helps

Cheers,
Toddy.

 

[NicfromBristol]

Thread resurrection!

I am interested to know if anyone has done any further experiments with absorbent foragable materials?

I have found that wrapping old man's beard in a bit of towelling was comfy and made the towelling last longer.

For those who have used sphagnum, do you just dry this out a little before use?

Thanks
Nicola

 

[NicfromBristol]

Also, the bark of Guelder rose is fantastic for the easing of cramps

 

[sunndog]

Well, I could have gone my whole life quite content at NOT having read post 6 on this thread


can't un-ring that bell

 

[Toddy]

I just squeezed it bone dry the first time I used it. I gathered extra though and squeezed that and laid it out to air dry for the next change.

What do women in places like Lappland do ?

Sunndog….me too

M

 

[NicfromBristol]

I can't find anything on the web about Laplanders, but I came across references to Inuit use of sphagnum for this purpose.
I also saw the following link, which is an interesting read concerning moss as a nappy fill:
http://www.dougelliott.com/adventures/moss.html

 

[Toddy]

That link was a good find Nicola
Interesting read, and it agrees very much with my own experience of using it of necessity.

Have you looked at the natural sponges though ?

M

 

[xylaria]

Spagnum eeerrrrmmmm Well some years ago I was told a story by a friend. She went to the woods with a male freind and fell over the euphemistic log. In the course of passion some moss and other nonsterile woodland matter got caught up in proceedings. Three days later he thought he had contracted a social disease and she needed to see the practice nurse and get "cleaned" and antibiotics.

I wouldnt use anything bushcrafted unless it was knitted.

 

[Toddy]

I wrapped it in a linen hankie…one of those large gents sized ones. I wouldn't advocate stuffing raw anywhere. The article that Nicola linked to discussed the soil contamination issue that is known about among folks who work in greenhouses with it.

As a child my father helped his grandfather gather moss for bandages for the soldiers in WW1. Again, the moss was packed in linen dressings.

M

 

[bb07]

Umm, I'm a bit hesitant to poke my nose in here but I've always had an interest in using natural materials in daily living, most particularly in relation to Indigenous peoples.
Here's a couple links that may be of interest regarding the subject at hand. I will now bow out and please forgive my intrusion into the ladies area.

Sphagnum was not only used by aboriginal peoples:
http://menstruationresearch.org/tag/katherine-ott/

An alternative plant used elsewhere in the world, water hyacinth and processed banana fiber:
http://www.womensglobaltoolkit.com/2013_06_01_archive.html

 

[NicfromBristol]

Umm, I'm a bit hesitant to poke my nose in here but I've always had an interest in using natural materials in daily living, most particularly in relation to Indigenous peoples.
Here's a couple links that may be of interest regarding the subject at hand. I will now bow out and please forgive my intrusion into the ladies area.

Sphagnum was not only used by aboriginal peoples:
http://menstruationresearch.org/tag/katherine-ott/

An alternative plant used elsewhere in the world, water hyacinth and processed banana fiber:
http://www.womensglobaltoolkit.com/2013_06_01_archive.html

Your input is welcome!
Men's support for women when women need it, is as essential as it is the other way round (if that makes sense!).

 

[NicfromBristol]

Sphagnum was not only used by aboriginal peoples:
http://menstruationresearch.org/tag/katherine-ott/

An alternative plant used elsewhere in the world, water hyacinth and processed banana fiber:
http://www.womensglobaltoolkit.com/2013_06_01_archive.html

2 interesting links, thank you.
I wonder, if sphagnum had 'won' the marketing battle with wood pulp manufacturers, would sphagnum now be extinct? Can it be farmed?

 

[NicfromBristol]

Have you looked at the natural sponges though ?

M

Thanks for the idea but not for me at this time
I'm off to a bog asap to find sphagnum!

 

[Toddy]

Many of our bogs are SSSi's. They are considered under threat from over drainage, etc.,

That said, when the water level is re-secured, then yes, sphagnum does regenerate and it can be farmed.
To be honest, it makes much more sense that using cotton or rayon.

M

 

[NicfromBristol]

I would definitely harvest with sensitivity- I'm not sure there even are any bogs left my way...
Washable pads are preferable really

 

[Dave-the-rave]

Just bury them. There I've said it. Now the enviromentalists can have a field day.
I'll bet my titanium poop trowel I wasn't the only one thinking it though.

 

[bb07]

Your input is welcome!
Men's support for women when women need it, is as essential as it is the other way round (if that makes sense!).

Thank you.
It makes perfect sense, yes.

2 interesting links, thank you.
I wonder, if sphagnum had 'won' the marketing battle with wood pulp manufacturers, would sphagnum now be extinct? Can it be farmed?

It is farmed, and it's a big business.
http://www.peatmoss.com/blog/harvesting-peat/

http://thpeat.com/an-overview-on-canadian-sphagnum-peat-moss-and-th-peat-moss-products/

 

[Robson Valley]

Jane Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear) deals with these matters in the second or third volume of her series
(which have yet to be relocated to my library). Given the otherwise botanical accuracy of her novels,
I suggest that open, wild grown sphagnum would be adequate.
The whole downside of cultivation is just that vermin of all sorts can and will assaut a HUGE CROP
of their FAVORITE FOOD in very shrot order.
In the meantime, I suggest that the available feminine hygiene products are a safe bet.

My library: a project in motion. Not less that 2,000 volumes and many more to be added.

 

[KayakFisherFinland]

Perhaps not very buscrafty of me, but I rely on paracetamol with a tad of codeine, boosted with ibuprofen when it comes to dealing with pain. And as I travel (camp) alone, the product used is not an issue.
I burn them at home, so I can burn them outdoors just as well.

Then again, my home is rather bushcraft as it is, no indoor toilet or running water, woodburning stove and a gas hub

 

[NicfromBristol]

Each to their own, but after 27 years, I got fed up with taking ibropufen for 3 days solidly each month. Crampbark (aka guelder rose) has been miraculous. In the last year since I discovered it, I've only once needed ibropufen one day (plus for 1 or 2 hangovers )