Are pantiliners bad news?

Embarrassed asks:

Last year when I went to the gynecologist I was told that I shouldnt wear pantiliners on a regular day-to-day basis because it can cause chaffing. But I find that I tend to get "wet" often, even when I am not sexually aroused. Sometimes it could be when I am exercising or on a hot day or for (seemingly) no reason at all. Is there anything I could do about it? It's not the most comfortable feeling to walk around with damp underwear and I am afraid that when my mom does the laundry (I only live with her half of the time, so I can't always do my own) she will assume that I am participating in sexual activities when I'm not.

Heather replies:

Did your GYN say that because he or she was SEEING chafing?

In other words, do you feel chafed? Are you experiencing chafing?

If you're not, and the pantiliners are working for you, it's fine to use them. Mind, commerical pantiliners do often have bleaches and the like that aren't so vulva-friendly, so I would suggest switching to orgagics or, better still, to washable pantiliners -- both for your pocjetbook, the planet, and your comfort.

But if you're not having a problem, there really isn't a problem here. : they're part of your fertility cycle and also part of how your vagina cleans itself. So, that's nothing to feel ashamed of. But all women have different comfort levels with discharges, and if you feel more comfortable wearing a liner, and the liners aren't causing you problems, no need to do anything else.

Know, though, that your Mom has those same discharges, so her assuming you were sexually active because you had discharges like any other women does would be pretty bizarre. Plus, a woman who is sexually active won't have discharges that are any different than a woman who is not.