Feminine Hygiene Products

Feminine Hygiene products in China:

No photos coming for this one.

So now that I’m having my period again for the first time in over a year, I find the need for some serious feminine hygiene products. Since I’ve not had to use these items, I have not noticed if they are in the grocery store or the drug store or where. Some things are so easy to find here, but other things that you think would be simple to find or can get just anywhere in the states, you have to search for here. Like our search for shoe polish other than black or brown.

I figured this is a modern enough city that feminine products shouldn’t be too hard to find. I went to the local grocery store & began my search. I figured I’d start at the aisle with paper products – toilet paper & tissues. Not there. How about the pharmacy section – shampoos, moisturizers. Not there. Then I noticed baby products – diapers. Not there. I was wondering how the heck I was going to ask for this item. Would they understand “sanitary napkin” (heck, they didn’t know what brownies or cake mix was when I tried to find that the first time, turned out I had to say “Betty Crocker” for them to understand & it took 4 people & about 10 minutes until a nice British woman helped me out). Would they understand “feminine hygiene” or “period” or “menstruation”? Probably not. I usually resort to sign language when I can’t make my language understood. Hmmmm, what kind of sign language would I need to use. Not a pretty site for a Western woman to be pointing to her crotch & to the napkins & saying blood. I figured they might cart me off to jail or something. Just couldn’t figure out how to be creative, yet discrete with the sign language.

I’m pretty determined normally to find a way to communicate, but decided this battle was one I didn’t really want to fight. I would just go next door to the pharmacy & I was sure they would have what I needed. As I got to the checkout counter, just across from the candy & before the section of cold beer & soda, well there was what I was looking for. Who would have thought it would be at the checkout area. Guess they weren’t hiding it away in some remote dark room. I was very relieved not to have to ask anyone. Of course the choices were different than I was used to. Lots of different sizes & shapes. They all came with wings, guess that is the latest in feminine protection. When I got them home & opened them up, they are way longer on one end then the other. In my past experience these items are symmetrical. No matter, I figured I’d put the longer part in front. Just strange that they would be so different. Or maybe I’m just not up-to-date with the latest styles of feminine products.

I know this was kind of random, but just thought it was funny the things we take for granted that sometimes are not as obvious as we think they are. AND the added challenge of effective communication.