[wallace15]

I am a young woman, and I have had odor and discharge for a very long time. I was thinking back to when I got my period at 12 years old and how it didn't ruin my underwear because I had a pantiliner on. Then I realized I have been wearing pantiliners for almost 9 years, every single day. I have an appt. with a new ob/gyn tomorrow to discuss the odor. Last week I decided to try and stop wearing the liners because some people have said it causes more harm than good, and, do I dare say it? It seems like the odor has decreased slightly. Is this possible? What are all the things that are wrong with pantiliners?

Thanks

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[PinkRoxy]

I'm not too sure maybe its because some pantiliners and scented and this can irritate the vagina, I know scented soaps does it for me.
Maybe you should try unscented pantiliners and see if they make a difference. I personally dont wear them only before and the end of my periods because I find they tend to feel like they get grose and need to change them during the day.

[Kasha]

It's not so much pantiliners as the type of pantiliners that you're using (commercial, cotton or cloth) - the issues are the same as with sanitary pads, but it's commercial brands that are problematic such as Always, Kotex, Bodyform, stores own brands, etc. Two main reasons;

1. Air-flow - any liner or pad will restrict air-flow (less with cotton, less again with cloth) making your genitals warm and moist, which is perfect for bacteria and yeast to grow, causing odour and risking infections such as UTI's and yeast infections. It's the same reason why we should wear cotton panties, and avoid tight or synthetic clothing or sitting around for a long time in wet swimsuits.

2. Chemicals - commercial liners and pads contain chemicals that can not only irritate and may pose long-term health risks, but they can also effect vaginal pH and in turn growth of bacteria and yeast. As well as risking infection and odour due to bacterial/yeast growth, they can also contain contain formaldehyde-releasing preservatives such as imidazolidinyl urea which can cause bad odour too.

[PinkRoxy]

Are libra brands alright?
Because I dont want to get yeast infections or UTIs

[Kasha]

As far as I know Libra are commercial.
Look for cotton or cloth liners if you're going to use liners.

[PinkRoxy]

I only usually use them on the start and the end of my periods. Sometimes use sanitary pads during my period due to not beign able to wear tampons for reasons that are too embarrassing to mention. But I dont use liners for everyday use, so maybe using them only on my period time wouldnt do much harm I guess.