GB2351023A

GB2351023A - Sanitary wear

Info

Publication number: GB2351023A
Application number: GB9913853A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Julie Elizabeth Shelley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-06-15
Filing date: 1999-06-15
Publication date: 2000-12-20
Also published as: GB9913853D0

Abstract

An item of sanitary wear 10 is constructed as a tapering solid body 12 of an absorbent material that is capable of being partially inserted into the vagina to act as a plug and shaped to be naturally retained in position by the vagina. The 16 base of the solid body 12 is covered, coated or treated to be impervious to liquids.

Description

San:Ltary Wear The present invention relates to sanitary wear.

Background of the invention

The two main types of sanitary wear currently employed by women when menstruating are tampons and panty liners. Tampons are worn internally, being inserted into the vagina using a special applicator and withdrawn using a string.

They have the advantage of being comfortable to wear and effective especially when bleeding is heavy. Their disadvantages are that they cannot, for various reasons, be worn by all women and they can be dangerous if left inserted for too long.

Panty liners are absorbent pads that have a backing impervious to liquids and are attached to underwear by means of an adhesive. They present no danger but they have to be changed frequently if bleeding is heavy. Other disadvantages are that they can prove uncomfortable, they cannot be worn with certain types of underwear (for example G-strings) and they can slip on the underwear, leaving the wearer with doubts about their effectiveness. Nevertheless, they are used extensively when bleeding is relatively light and in combination with a tampon during heavy bleeding, in order to avoid embarrassment in the event of the tampon leaking.

Object of the invention The present invention seeks to provide an alternative form of sanitary wear that may be used in place of a panty liner but can be used with all forms of underwear and does not risk being accidentally displaced when worn.

2 Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided item of sanitary wear constructed as a tapering solid body of an absorbent material that is capable of being partially inserted into the vagina to act as a plug and shaped to be naturally retained in position by the vagina, the base of the solid body being impervious to liquids.

The item of sanitary wear of the invention, which will hereinafter be termed a plug, may either be used on its own, when bleeding is light or when the user is precluded for any reason from wearing a tampon, or it may be used in combination with a conventional tampon to catch any leakage past the tampon. Because it is partly inserted in the vagina, it is naturally retained in position and, unlike a panty liner, can be used with confidence. The base of the plug that remains outside the body of the user is covered with a layer of plastics material or otherwise treated or coated to be impervious to liquids so that any blood absorbed will remain in the plug an not risk soiling the user"s underwear or garments.

The plug may be formed or same material as used in tampons or in convention panty liners and the layer of liquid impervious plast-cs material may be applied to it in the same manner. For these reasons, it is not believed necessary to describe the method of manufacture of the plug in great detail.

The primary intended use of the plug of the present invention is by women during menstruation but it will be clear that such a plug may be used to stem bleeding from other orifices, for example by people of either sex suffering from bleeding hemorrhoids (piles).

Brief descri2tion of the drawings The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in 5 which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view from above of a plug of the invention for use as sanitary wear, Figure 2 is a vertical section through the plug taken along the line II- II in Fig. 1, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the plug in Figs. 1 and 2.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment

The drawings show a plug 10 having the form of a solid body 12. The body 12 is solid in the sense that it has a three dimensional shape but it is not solid in the sense of being rigid. The material of the body 12 is absorbent and may resemble the material of a tampon or of compressed paper tissue.

The body 12 is tapering, being formed with an apical ridge 14 and a generally rectangular base 16, the latter being covered with a layer 18 of plastics material in the same manner as the under surface of a panty liner.

In use, the tapered end of the plug 10 is inserted into the vagina (or other bleeding body orifice) and pushed up sufficiently to be naturally held in place by the body of the user, the base 16 of the plug 10 remaining outside the body of the user. When underwear is worn over the plug, it will assist in keeping the plug in position and prevent it from being accidentally dislodged. The plug need not, and preferably does not, adhere to the underwear. Because it does not fully penetrate into the body of the user, the plug when soiled can be removed without the aid of a string and discarded.

The plug 10 may have the capacity to absorb as such as, if not more than, a convention panty liner yet when worn it is totally imperceptible and more comfortable than a panty liner. The impervious layer 18 on the base 16 of the body acts in the same way as the backing of a panty liner to prevent blood absorbed by plug 10 from soiling the user's underwear or outer garments.

It will be clear that various modifications may be made to the plug that has been described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The plug of the invention may be formed in different shapes and sizes and with different degrees of absorbency to suit individual needs. Furthermore, the base can be rendered liquid impervious by being treated with a waterproof coating instead of being covered with a separate layer of plastics.

Claims

1. An item of sanitary wear constructed as a tapering solid body of an absorbent material that is capable of being partially inserted into the vagina to act as a plug and shaped to be naturally retained in position by the vagina, the base of the solid body being impervious to liquids.

2. An item of sanitary wear as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base of the plug that remains outside the body of the user is covered with a layer of plastics material.

3. An item of sanitary wear as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base of the plug that remains outside the body of the user is treated or coated so as to be impervious to liquids.

4. An item of sanitary wear as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the solid body is formed of the same material as used in tampons.

5. An item of sanitary wear as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the solid body is formed of the absorbent material used in panty liners.

6. An item of sanitary wear constructed substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.