Are Period Panties Safe For Your Daughter?

A Note From Deepa Vari, Founder Of Adira

Hello, I’m Deepa. I’m a mother of two daughters, and I invented India’s first Period Panty in 2009. My invention was later granted patents in India and the United States.

I made it because I wanted girls and women to feel protected from period stains. I also wanted them to be able to change the pad that absorbs their flow.

Today, very different products are sold under the same name: period panty. If you’re thinking of buying one for your daughter, I want to show you the difference—and explain the questions I’ve been asking as a mother and a product maker.

Two products. One name.

A backup period panty, like Adira’s, is worn with a pad. The panty helps protect against leaks and stains. Your daughter can change her pad when she needs to.

A bleed-into period panty is designed to absorb menstrual flow into the underwear itself. To change the part holding her flow, she must change the entire panty.

That difference matters when she is at school, travelling, or away from home.

My First Question: What Was Used To Test It?

You may see claims that a bleed-into panty absorbs a certain amount of liquid. A large number can feel reassuring.

But under the IS 17514:2021 test procedure for period panties, the test for absorption under pressure uses coloured distilled water. Menstrual flow is not coloured water. It contains blood, mucus and tissue, and does not behave like water.

So I ask: What does the advertised absorbency number tell us about how this panty handles actual menstrual flow?

What Happened When Researchers Tested With Blood?

In a published study, researchers tested menstrual products using packed human red blood cells. The period underwear products they tested held an average of about 2 ml.

The researchers wrote that period underwear, “despite being advertised to hold many tampons worth of blood, absorbed only a very small amount of blood and quite slowly.”

I want to be precise about what this tells us. The study tested three pairs of period underwear from a limited selection of products. Packed red blood cells are also not the same as complete menstrual flow. The finding cannot be applied to every panty sold today.

But when an absorbency promise is made using one liquid, and researchers find such a different result using blood, isn’t it reasonable for a mother to ask how that promise was tested?

My Second Question: What About 8–10 Hours Of Wear?

A girl may put on a bleed-into panty before leaving for school and still be wearing it when she comes home. If she is expected to bleed into the same panty for 8–10 hours, I want to know what evidence supports that wear time.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s menstrual hygiene guidance says to change menstrual products regularly. It specifically cautions that wearing a pad or period underwear for too long can lead to a rash or an infection. The CDC does not give a precise hour limit for period underwear; its point is that regular changing matters.

So how can a large absorbency number, by itself, assure a mother that her daughter should bleed into the same garment throughout her school day?

Absorbency and long-wear safety are different claims.

Think About Your Daughter’s Actual School Day

If her flow is heavier than expected, or the panty feels wet, how will she change it?

With a backup period panty and a pad, she can change the pad. With a bleed-into panty, she needs a fresh pair of underwear and somewhere to keep the used pair.

Your daughter’s comfort, privacy and ability to change are part of the buying decision. They cannot be answered by an absorbency number.

Why I will Not Make Bleed-Into Period Panties?

I invented Adira’s Period Panty as backup protection with a changeable pad. That choice was deliberate, and it remains the way I believe Adira should make this product.

I will not use a coloured-water test to reassure a mother about how a garment handles menstrual flow. I will not treat a high absorbency number as proof that her daughter can wear that garment safely all day.

Before I could recommend a bleed-into panty to my daughters—or yours—I would want the testing and long-wear questions answered.

I Have Raised These Questions With BIS

In early June 2026, I submitted a representation to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). I raised my concerns about treating backup period panties and bleed-into period panties under the same standard, and about the testing questions that follow from that distinction. I have continued to speak about this issue because it affects the information available to every woman and girl choosing a period product.

I am asking for a simple thing: let the claims match the evidence, and let mothers and daughters see the difference between these products clearly.

Before You Buy, Ask These Five Questions

1. Is this a backup panty or a bleed-into panty?
2. How will my daughter change it during her day?
3. What tests have been conducted for long wear safety?
4. What liquid was used to test its absorbency?
5. What evidence supports the advertised wear time?

I hope you will ask these questions of any brand, including mine.

Your daughter deserves a product that works for her body and her real day. And you deserve clear answers before you choose it.

— Deepa Vari
Mother of two daughters · Founder, Adira
Inventor of India’s first Period Panty