Absorbent pads, e.g. sanitary towels, swabs or tampons for external or internal application to the body ; Supporting or fastening means therefor; Tampon applicators characterised by the absorbing medium having an inhomogeneous composition through the thickness of the pad characterised by a layer facilitating or inhibiting flow in one direction or plane, e.g. a wicking layer {characterised by the position of the layer relative to the other layers}