Don’t let your period stop you.
Everyone knows menstruation is a normal part of a woman’s life. But sadly, there still exists a very negative connotation when women talk about their periods. No one feels comfortable talking about it, but everyone should.
In order to break these barriers, GynePro, The Feminine Wash For Red Days, has teamed up with the online home of fun, fearless Pinays, Cosmopolitan Philippines. In honor of Menstrual Hygiene Day, GynePro held an online event entitled, “Red Talks: A No-Holds-Barred Conversation”. The event, part of GynePro’s campaign for International Menstrual Health Awareness, aimed to be a platform for women to speak without shame about anything related to their menstrual cycle. It was held last May 27 and hosted on Cosmo.ph’s Facebook page.
The event was hosted by MYX VJ Samm Alvero and had Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Binibining International 2019 Atty. Patch Magtanong, and Gynecologic Oncology expert Dr. Aubrey Seneris as guests. Samm opened the event by discussing the challenges women face because of the stigma around menstruation. She asked the audience if they were ever embarrassed about needing to take a leave or break from their tasks because of menstrual pain.
Bea recounts her experiences working in an office and in pageantry, and shares:
I’ve been working before in an office, I’ve played sports many times and I’ve also been in pageantry and there are times that it’s very hard to excuse myself, especially when I have my red days. I feel like some people might tell me when I ask for a leave, baka sabihin ng boss ko ‘Nag-iinarte ka lang, a lot of girls go through that,’ but what they don’t understand is that it’s different to each and every girl who’s going through their menstruation and sometimes that’s what makes it hard – because iba-iba ang experience natin and sometimes other people, especially men, don’t understand that. That’s why it’s important that we have conversations like this.
Patch agrees with Bea, and shares:
It’s so difficult to explain, especially if your boss is a guy or not even just guys, but even women who have a different experience. For me personally, I do have a 9 to 5, and I do get really bad period cramps, to the point where it’s really difficult for me to be productive during that day. But the thing is, it’s so hard to explain, especially because my boss, the person that I need to ask permission from when I need to take a leave, is a guy. When I explain my situation, I feel like at the back of his head he’ll think, ‘Weh? Talaga ba? Ganon ba kalala yun?’ I always have those doubts so what I end up doing is that I just don’t take a leave.
She also adds:
I end up powering through, and that’s something that girls really shouldn’t have to endure. It is something that happens every month. It’s something that’s so normal and I just think it is so outdated and overdue and that it is not more accepted, especially in the workplace.
This led to a discussion on being embarrassed about asking something related to menstruation, and the shame around asking these kinds of questions. During this time, Dr. Aubrey stepped in and talked about the importance of menstrual health and hygiene. She highlighted the importance of using the right red day products to maintain good hygiene.
It’s very important that you know how to wash properly. During red days, we are more prone to have imbalance of the good and bad bacteria, and the moist area makes it more prone to irritation. So the bad bacteria exposure increases our risk for infection – so there goes odor, itch, and irritation.
She emphasized the need to use a red day feminine wash for red days and a regular feminine wash for regular days. Dr. Aubrey recommends a feminine wash that has Chlorhexidine Digluconate, which is 2x better at killing bacteria versus other actives. It’s also “…[an] antiseptic disinfectant in a low concentration so that it won’t irritate your vulva that much. It has [the] capability of decreasing or stopping the bacterial growth and reproduction without necessarily killing all the organisms we need in your vulval area. It is better to use the right products so that we can continue good hygiene during our red days,” Dr. Aubrey shares.
GynePro is the feminine wash that has tri-power protection against red day bacteria that causes odor, itching, and infection. It has Chlorhexidine digluconate that gives 2x better bacteria killing action that helps Filipinas feel more empowered to overcome their red day vulnerabilities.
The event closed with inspiring messages centered on breaking the stigma around red days and empowering women to feel at ease when they need to talk about their periods. Patch shares, “The way that we can normalize menstruation is to normalize having conversations about menstruation. Because the more that we raise awareness about this issue the more we stop being ashamed about having our period.” Bea agrees, and adds that, “Boys and men should be involved in these conversations as well because this is an important process that all of the [women] go through every month.”
After all, periods aren’t shameful or wrong, but just another body process that happens monthly and should be talked about. And whenever red days come around, the most OB-Gyne prescribed feminine wash that can kill red day bacteria and stop itching, odor, and infection is GynePro.
To watch the online event, visit this link: https://fb.watch/dplNBP4ozA/. GynePro is available leading drugstores and supermarkets nationwide, and online via ULSSI official stores in Lazada and Shopee, and the ULSSI webstore.
