Author Archives: KathieArriola

Is TP Ruining the Health of Your Vagina?

by KathieArriola Posted on April 12, 2018

It?s never fun when something goes wrong in your vaginal area. Skin irritation, puffiness and even infections are fairly common, but figuring out what caused these issues can sometimes be a mystery. Once you?ve spoken to your doctor and ruled out any obvious concerns, you might want to take a look at your toilet paper.

Yes, toilet paper. This seemingly innocent part of our daily lives can actually have a negative impact on your vaginal health. And before you assume this is something you?ll just have to live with, rest assured there are safe and effective alternatives to toilet paper that your vagina will thank you for.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IN TOILET PAPER?

Most toilet paper starts out as trees that are ground up and processed into paper. But, it has to go through some intense chemical processing to make it so white and soft. First, the raw wood gets chipped and mixed with water and various chemicals to extract the fibers and make pulp. And if the toilet paper is being made from recycled paper, the paper is combined with water and processed to remove any staples or other debris as well as the ink.

The wet pulp is then bleached until all color is removed, and eventually dried to make the final toilet paper. Certain brands of toilet paper may also add formaldehyde or other additives for extra softness and absorbency, as well as lotion, wax, perfume, colored dyes or antibacterial chemicals to the final product.

Unfortunately, a lot of these production chemicals are considered trade secrets, and toilet paper manufacturing companies aren?t required to disclose exactly what they use. This makes it difficult to find out exactly what?s in your favorite toilet paper, but it?s going to be a mix of residual processing chemicals, bleaches and final additives.

HOW COULD TOILET PAPER BE AFFECTING YOUR VAGINA?

1. Microcuts

Keep in mind that toilet paper is made from trees. It?s been highly processed, but you?re still essentially wiping yourself with wood. You may have acutely felt this in some brands of TP that have rougher fiber pieces in them compared to others that are softer.

Not only can this be uncomfortable, it can also damage the tissues around your vulva. If you find you?re swollen or puffy, or have an infection, it could be from small abrasions and cuts caused by your toilet paper. Wiping too harshly can also make matters worse.

Try using some of the alternatives discussed below instead of TP for a few days and see if that helps. Also, dabbing with toilet paper when possible is gentler than fully wiping.

2. Vaginal Infections

Your vagina is naturally quite acidic. This is mainly to fight off any potentially harmful bacteria you may encounter. But, some of the additives in toilet paper can disrupt your pH balance and impair your vagina?s natural bacteria-fighting capabilities. That?s often how an infection takes hold, such as yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis.

To reduce your risks, avoid toilet paper that?s scented or has other obvious additives, and consider using ones that are hypoallergenic.

3. UTIs

This may be more of a technique issue rather than the fault of toilet paper itself. When you wipe from back to front, bacteria-laden fecal matter can be wiped forward up to your urethral opening. Here, bacteria can travel up your urethra into your bladder and potentially start a urinary tract infection. That?s why doctors always recommend to wipe from front to back, then dispose of your toilet paper and get a fresh piece for a second wipe.

4. Allergic Reactions

Some people may have allergies to one or more of the various dyes, perfumes and other chemicals added to TP. Allergies can show up as itching, dermatitis or other forms of skin irritation around your vulva and possibly anus.

Toilet papers that are softer, more absorbent and thicker often contain more additives to make them this way. Look for brands that are thinner, unscented and off-white. These often have less added chemicals and less potential for allergic reactions.

Related: 20 Things Every Woman Should Know About Her Vagina

WHAT CAN YOU USE INSTEAD?

Toilet paper is not as necessary as we may think. Many countries throughout the world simply do not have or use toilet paper. And there?s also a serious environmental cost of producing TP. Aside from the chemicals and pollution created during processing, it?s estimated that about 27,000 trees are cut down every day just to make toilet paper. Around 50 percent of these trees come from virgin and old growth forests throughout the world.

You can help reduce this ecological impact and safe guard your health by using alternatives to toilet paper. These alternatives will also save you money because they?re more sustainable and you won?t have to continuously buy a disposable product.

1. Rinse with Water

If you?re used to toilet paper, switching to water might feel a bit weird at first. But washing with water is a very common practice in many countries. Also, people often find it actually gets you cleaner and is more hygienic than using TP. It?s also much gentler on your body and is chemical-free.

The easiest way to start is to get a bottle you can keep next to your toilet. You can buy a peri bottle or irrigation bottle at a pharmacy. A squeezable water bottle also works well. After using the toilet, simply spray yourself off instead of using TP. You can also pour a bit of water into your cupped hand and wash with your hand if needed. And, of course, wash your hands afterwards.

With a bit more expense, installing a bidet is also an excellent choice.

2. Reusable Cloths

If you still don?t feel clean enough after washing with water, or you?d simply like to dry off afterwards, consider adding reusable cloths to your routine. Also known as ?family cloths,? these are much softer on your skin than TP and don?t have the chemical residues and additives.

You can buy reusable diaper wipes, wash cloths or search for ?family cloths? online. A free option is to cut up old flannel sheets or pajamas, towels or baby blankets. Simply cut them into appropriate-sized squares with pinking shears, which will prevent fraying on the edges.

Make sure they don?t get flushed down the toilet by keeping a diaper bin or other sealed container next to your toilet to put them in. Then wash them in hot water when you have enough for a load in your washing machine.

Related at Care2

14 Things Compromising the Health of Your Vagina
8 Things Every Woman Should Know About Feminine Hygiene Products
3 Ways to ?Green? Your Period

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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Is TP Ruining the Health of Your Vagina?

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This Is How The Right Will Try to Destroy Chris Christie

by KathieArriola Posted on July 16, 2014

Mother Jones

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This week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is crisscrossing Iowa. Officially, the visit is a fundraising trip tied to his side job as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. But like most any big-time politician choosing to spend some of the summer in the first caucus state, the visit is drawing the kind of speculation—and attacks—befitting a potential presidential contender.

Take the Judicial Crisis Network, which has seized the chance to target him with online ads and a website criticizing him for failing to turn the New Jersey Supreme Court into a bastion of right-wing judicial activism. JCN has established itself as significant player in judicial nomination fights and elections over the past several years, and has strong ties to conservative factions that don’t trust the governor’s record on social issues—and who would prefer a 2016 nominee more in line with the evangelical strain of the GOP.

The online ads take Christie to task for reappointing—gasp!—a Democrat as the chief justice of the state’s supreme court, and criticize him for failing to live up to earlier campaign promises to remake the court as a conservative body.

The gripes about Christie’s judicial appointments are pretty bogus. He’s a Republican governor of a democratic state, and he’s been thwarted again and again in his attempts to install conservatives on the high court: only three of his six nominees have been able to get past the Democratic controlled state legislature’s judiciary committee. One of those nominees only got through because Christie agreed to a deal where he re-nominated the aforementioned sitting chief justice, a Democrat.

In a response to the ads, one of Christie’s top advisers has argued that JCN is a Johnny-come-lately to New Jersey’s nomination battles, suggesting that they don’t really care about the composition of the court—but care plenty about dissing Christie. “This group has been noticeably absent from any judicial fight we’ve had in New Jersey, showing up only to criticize after the fights are over,” Mike DuHaime said in a CNN appearance.

As DuHaime’s complaint suggests, the Judicial Crisis Network’s campaign is likely just another shot across the bow by social conservatives who think Christie is too liberal on issues like gay marriage and abortion, and don’t want to see him become the GOP nominee for president in 2016. Indeed, the people behind the organization seem like just the sort who would much rather see a President Rick Santorum than a President Christie.

The JCN was founded by Gary Marx, who wooed family values voters for the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign, organizing church-sponsored voter drives in Ohio. According to Right Wing Watch, he was encouraged to start the organization, originally called the Judicial Confirmation Network, by Jay Sekulow, a veteran Christian soldier. As president of the American Center for Law and Justice, Sekulow has litigated numerous church-state cases before the US Supreme Court, including a recent one that allowed a Utah park to keep a Ten Commandments statute installed.

In 2004, Marx joined with Wendy Long, a former clerk for US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to set up the Judicial Confirmation Network to bolster President Bush’s efforts to install staunch social conservatives on the federal bench. When Obama was elected, the group changed its name and focus to blocking the new president’s nominees. (Marx now leads the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative evangelical group founded by Ralph Reed. Long left the JCN in 2012 to pursue an unsuccessful GOP Senate campaign against New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat.)

JCN also has close ties to the anti-gay marriage movement, sharing a treasurer with the National Organization for Marriage. Indeed, in a piece published this week by the National Review Online in coordination with the campaign bashing Christie’s judges, the Judicial Crisis Network’s current director, Carrie Severino, wrote that Christie’s “conservative” justices took part in the court’s unanimous decision last year to allow same-sex marriage in New Jersey. She also contends that Christie’s most recent nominee has a record of being pro-choice. Severino—who is also a former Thomas clerk—concludes, “If these are Christie’s conservative nominees, then Christie’s definition of a conservative sounds an awful lot like a liberal.”

Christie is likely to see similar attacks as he makes further steps towards a 2016 campaign after the ignominy of Bridgegate. He’ll be in New Hampshire later this month.

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This Is How The Right Will Try to Destroy Chris Christie

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