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PERIODS: The whole bloody truth🩸

  • Writer: Fizz Barnardo
    Fizz Barnardo
  • Jul 5, 2020
  • 9 min read

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‘Surfing the crimson wave’, ‘having the painters in’ or a ‘visit from Aunt Flo’ - puberty wouldn’t be the horrendous, self-loathing phase of adolescence we know and love without periods. I get that for some people, periods aren’t an appropriate topic to talk about. For me, I’m ridiculously open, and I find it weird that some people will basically act as if they don’t exist!


Girls have periods- the rumours are true. They bleed roughly once a month from their vagina. If you know a girl - chances are she’s had a period. I’m not saying that we should be talking about them 24/7! Discussing the state of your womb lining on your morning commute in the quiet carriage is not what I’m going for here.


I’ve written this for both guys and girls, whether you experience them yourself or just want to understand more. I’ve also spoken to a few of my gal pals about what we wish we’d known about periods before they started dominating nearly 3000 days in our lifetime (Compassion, 2020). I’m not a doctor but as a woman, I can confirm I’ve had a few periods in my time (and I can read the NHS website for the specific science bits).


Why should we talk about periods?


Depending on pregnancy, a woman will have around 480 periods between the age of 12-52 (NHS, 2020). Across the world, 800 million women are menstruating every day (Compassion, 2020). We shouldn’t feel ashamed because it’s literally a part of growing up! If we feel we can talk about periods, even a little more openly - I think it would give a lot of girls one less thing to worry about.


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I had a look at some statistics from Plan International about period poverty and the stigma periods have. Some of them are pretty shocking, I think, and these are the reasons we should be talking about periods:

  • Nearly half of girls in the UK (ages 14-21) are embarrassed about their periods.

  • One in 10 girls has been asked not to talk about their periods in front of their Mum or Dad.

  • 71% of girls admitted feeling embarrassed about buying sanitary products.

  • 49% of girls have missed an entire day of school due to their period.

Remind me how a period works!


In case some of you were not very engaged in KS3 biology, you might need a little refresher as to what a period actually is! Most of this info is super easy to find on the NHS website (NHS, 2020) but here’s a little summary:


A period is day one of the menstrual cycle when a woman’s body tries to prepare for a potential pregnancy. Before a period starts, oestrogen and progesterone levels rise, and the womb lining thickens. If a woman’s egg doesn’t fertilise as it travels down the fallopian tubes, these hormone levels fall, and the egg is reabsorbed. When this happens, the womb lining that was previously thickened leaves the body along with additional blood through the vagina - meaning a good old period. In short, a period shows that a woman isn’t pregnant because her egg hasn’t been fertilised. So, the body undoes all the things it previously did to prepare so that it can re-prepare again and so on (hence the cycle bit).


What you need to know:


What can I use on my period?


So, there are loads of options but I’ve included 4. It’s totally up to you what to use and it can depend on a few factors, like how much blood you’re producing or what feels most comfortable.

Sanitary towels Most people tend to use sanitary towels to start with, which is basically an absorbent pad you wear in your underwear. I’ve discovered when talking to guys that they really don’t know how these work. Just to be clear, the sticky part of the towel is meant to stick to your underwear - not your vagina!


Tampons Tampons are like little cotton bullets that you insert into your vagina which absorb the blood and expand in your body. Because they sit in the vagina, some people prefer them because you’re less likely to leak. They can be a bit fiddly if you haven’t used them before - the diagrams that tampon manufacturers include usually suggest you have to be some kind of contortionist. You can’t feel them inside you, and if you do, it’s probably because you haven’t inserted it properly.


Cups I’ve personally never worn one, but a sanitary cup is made of silicone and designed to be folded and inserted into your vagina. Unlike a tampon, it doesn’t absorb blood but catches it in the cup so that you remove and dispose of it. Cups again are a little tricky to use but are much better for the environment because they’re reusable. A woman I met from a period poverty charity said that although they’re tricky, they encourage women to practise putting them in when they’re not bleeding - just because you might get a bit flustered trying to figure it out when you’re in the middle of bleeding. She simply told me: “Just lock yourself in your bathroom on a Tuesday night with a glass of wine and give it a go!”. Solid advice.


Period underwear

You will soon discover that menstruation will be responsible for ruining a lot of your underwear (RIP to all the cute lingerie that didn't make it). I’ve not used these, but I believe they work in a similar way to sanitary towels. They’re designed to absorb your blood, but similarly to cups, they can be washed and reused.

Some people don’t use cups or pants for the sole reason that it ‘sounds gross’. Guess what… PERIODS ARE KIND OF GROSS, that’s just the way it is.


Plastic-free periods

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The woman from the period poverty charity also told me that in the UK, 2.5 million tampons are flushed down the toilet every day! WHAT?! GUYS - tampons should not be flushed down the toilet! But also, it makes you think of the waste that disposable sanitary products create. Not everyone will want to use a cup or wear period underwear, but you can now buy sanitary products that are plastic-free, organic and biodegradable. Hooray!


Some of the places I’ve discovered you can buy environmentally friendly products are here and worth looking at. Some even offer a subscription service where they’ll be sent to you every month:


Toxic Shock Syndrome

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I honestly didn’t know what this was until I was discussing this blog with a friend. Talking about toxic shock syndrome (TSS) isn’t to scare anybody because it’s very rare, but it can be life-threatening if you get it and don’t treat it rapidly.


TSS can be caused by lots of things, but it’s usually associated with young women who wear tampons. It’s caused by particular bacteria (staphylococcus, streptococcus) getting deep into the body and releasing toxins that can cause harm to your tissue and organs. This can occur if you use super-absorbent tampons or leave them in too for too long (more than 4-8 hours).


The NHS website (NHS, 2020) says TSS from tampon use can be prevented by:

  • Ensuring you wash your hands before and after inserting one

  • Using low absorbency tampons,

  • Regularly changing them and alternating between using tampons and sanitary towels.

  • It also goes without saying that you shouldn’t wear more than one at a time!


Discharge is a thing

As a teenager, you’re taught about periods and to expect blood. But what about the other things your vagina produces?


Discharge is a mucus-like liquid that your vagina produces to clean and protect itself from infection. The consistency and amount produced varies from woman to woman, but can also be affected by whether you’re pregnant, sexually active or taking contraceptives. It’s not a bad thing and doesn’t need to be treated. However, certain consistencies or smells can be a sign of infection or an STI. A list of symptoms can be found on the NHS website if you’re worried about it.


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It's normal to feel gross


As you might imagine, this time of the month doesn’t make you feel like a total queen.


First of all, it’s perfectly normal to be self-conscious about how you smell. The reality is, nobody else can really detect it, but because you’re aware of the havoc your vagina is causing down there, you tend to worry. You can buy special shower gels and sprays for your lady garden, but they’re not usually recommended as they impact your natural pH balance. Your vagina also cleans itself naturally through discharge so there’s no need to faff about!


Another fun part of periods is that it’s common to feel a bit chubby or fatter than usual – I would describe it as feeling like a potato. It’s debated whether it’s just a feeling you get due to hormones, or whether you actually gain weight. Some say it’s normal to gain between 3-5 pounds in the first few days of bleeding which you then lose. This can be due to bloating, tendency to overeat, or the hormonal changes causing your body to retain more fluid (Nunez, 2018).


It’s normal to feel emotional


A lot of the girls I’ve spoken to have said that they expect to be in a lower mood on their period, but it takes you by surprise every time. For me, my entire family can tell when I’m on because I tend to have less patience and be a little more fragile. But for others, their periods don’t impact their mood at all. A friend of mine recommended taking evening primrose oil which I’ve found really helpful. This is because some women have found that it can reduce their PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) symptoms like irritability or feeling low (MacGill, M, 2017).


However, I have another friend who experiences something much more serious called PMDD (Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder). This is when you have extremely low emotions in the weeks leading up to your period because you’re more sensitive to the changes in hormones. This can bring about symptoms of depression, like feeling overwhelmed, having little interest in anything and sometimes lead to self-harm or suicidal thoughts. Reasons for this can also be related to previous experiences of mental health and genetics (Mind, 2020).


Everyone is different

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As women differ, so do their periods. If you’re ever worried about them then go to see your doctor, but it’s useful to bear in mind that your cycle will be different from your friends (unless you sync which is actually a thing). I was a late bloomer (which is very obvious from my secondary school pictures), and I didn’t have my first period until I was nearly 16. Other people start theirs as early as 9. Some people tend to get light, short and painless periods, whilst others can experience extreme pain, cramping and headaches.


Period Poverty


Period poverty is the lack of access to hygienic facilities, period education and sanitary products. Without the correct resources, menstruation can have a really damaging impact on the self-esteem and education of young girls all over the world. 500 million girls across the world lack a private place to change their sanitary products alone! (Unicef, 2015)


In Uganda, it’s thought that girls miss approximately 20% of the school year because of their periods, and 113 million teenage girls in India risk dropping out of school due to the stigma. There is even an ancient tradition in Nepal called Chhaupadi, in which menstruating women are banished during their period to prevent bad luck on their families (ActionAid 2020a). In the UK, 1 in 10 women can’t afford sanitary products and periods have caused more than 25% of women to miss work (Compassion, 2015; Plan International) It all seems incredibly unfair.


What can I do to help?


There are loads of charities and organisations doing their bit to combat period poverty. Here are some great examples:

  • Scottish Government: Invested £5.2m in a scheme that provides free sanitary products at every school, college and university.

  • Body Form: Pledged to donate 100,000 sanitary towels every month for the next 3 years to those in need.

  • Action Aid: Train women in developing countries how to make safe and reusable sanitary products and provide clubs for girls where they can talk about periods, safe sex and pregnancy.

  • Bloody Good Period: Support asylum seekers and refugees by providing period products to over 1500 people each month and run a free education programme on female reproductive health.

You can either donate money to charities like these, or another great idea is to donate sanitary towels and tampons to places like hostels and homeless charities.


Periods aren't fun, but they're also not scary. We should never take for granted how easy we have it!


Yours honestly,


Fizz



References:


Pexels image credit to:

cottonbro , Polina Zimmerman & Anna Shvets


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