# The first study where scientists tested the absorbancy of period products using blood and not water was just published THIS WEEK! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675 "2023-08-16T19:49:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/1 "2023-08-16T19:49:25Z")
May I scream for a moment and tell you that the first study where scientists tested the absorbancy of period products using blood and not water was just published THIS WEEK!!! Unsurprisingly, it shows that products aren’t as absorbant as the labels say. How absurd is it that it took this long to test products on what they are actually supposed to be used on. "The first study to compare the absorption of period products using human blood suggests diaphragm-shaped menstrual discs may be better than traditional pads or tampons for dealing with heavy monthly blood flow. Manufacturers have traditionally used saline or water to estimate the absorption of their products, even though menstrual blood is more viscous and includes blood cells, secretions and tissue from the shed endometrial lining, all of which affect how it is absorbed." [https://href.li/?https://srh.bmj.com/content/early/2023/07/03/bmjsrh-2023-201895](https://href.li/?https://srh.bmj.com/content/early/2023/07/03/bmjsrh-2023-201895) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/2 "2023-08-16T21:06:21Z")
That explains a lot. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/3 "2023-08-16T21:25:37Z")
This is one if those scenarios where you facepalm at the same time as you think to yourself “but of course; no surprise, is it?” ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/4 "2023-08-16T21:48:41Z")
I thought they tested them with that mysterious blue liquid as shown in the ads. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/5 "2023-08-16T22:47:40Z")
And the study authors were all women. I am shocked. Shocked. Round up the usual suspects. We know who they are. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/6 "2023-08-16T22:51:33Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > mysterious blue liquid TIL menstruation secretions are not composed of transparent blue tinted water. just kidding ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/7 "2023-08-16T23:00:13Z")
> [@susan](#): > > That explains a lot My reaction exactly! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/8 "2023-08-16T23:07:03Z")
Then again, menstrual secretions are also not composed of blood. They’re probably more like blood than they are like water, but this still isn’t an actual-use-case test. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/9 "2023-08-17T06:55:53Z")
> **[Menstrual discs may be better for heavy periods than pads or tampons – study](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/08/menstrual-discs-may-be-better-for-heavy-periods-than-pads-or-tampons-study)** > > First study to compare absorption of period products using human blood finds that discs can hold the most Article from the Guardian. “Manufacturers have traditionally used saline or water to estimate the absorption of their products, even though menstrual blood is more viscous and includes blood cells, secretions and tissue from the shed endometrial lining, all of which affect how it is absorbed.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/10 "2023-08-17T07:19:17Z")
deleted post (stupid rehash of joke already done in thread) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/11 "2023-08-17T07:37:52Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I am shocked. Shocked. Shocked, I tell you! Also explains when I have never been able to use tampons. TMI I bleed right past them. /TMI ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/12 "2023-08-17T12:13:58Z")
This reminds me of a conversation I once had with a product designer, who had been tasked with designing a teapot for mass production and use in a chain restaurant. The key task was that the spout should not drip. They did mountains of testing and prototyping til they’d landed on the perfect, non dripping teapot, and it went into full production. Trouble is, they’d only tested it with water. Sure enough, actual tea still dripped. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/13 "2023-08-17T23:55:02Z")
Before you know it they’ll be testing the impact of medications on women. And left-handers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-first-study-where-scientists-tested-the-absorbancy-of-period-products-using-blood-and-not-water-was-just-published-this-week/988675/14 "2023-08-18T01:34:46Z")
I screamed into the void when I read this.