Well as far as fear of Germs goes, you should know that tampons are by no means sanitized, nor are pads...
I think your best bet for something clean is the divacup or mooncup which are silicone and can be boiled to remove ANY possible contaminant. Doesn't get much cleaner than that.

Also unlike tampons the cup can be left in for a long time, allowing you and your busy life to forget about it. I think the benefit of the cup outweighs the internal wearing drawback...