Feel Nice and Clean Whilst on Your Period
Are you tired of feeling horrible, unclean, and useless while on your period? Maybe you've had it for a while or you are a new-starter. Either way, this article can make you feel better during your time of the month.
Contents
Steps
Having the right supplies
- Have enough supplies. This is the most important thing. If you have had your period for a while you will know which products you prefer, how heavy your flow is and if you prefer tampons over pads. When you have just started most girls use pads.
- Always keep spare pads and tampons with you. Even if you don't have problems with irregularity, a friend may be in need for supplies. It's always better to be prepared.
- Talk to a trusted adult, best friend or sister about which products you should use, or stick to the regular ones for your age group.
- Order free samples so you can try them all (don't try them at school or work because it would be better to leak at home than in public.)
- Sometimes it can be embarrassing to talk to your mother about these things but she understands. After all, you are both women.
Preventing leakage
- If you are scared of leaking as many girls and women are, change your pad/tampon regularly. This is especially important if your flow is heavy.
- If you are unable to change it and you have a heavy flow either use both a pad and a tampon, or use a pad and two pairs of underwear. It is better to wear a pad and then wear some shorts and a pair of loose trousers for comfort and reassurance.
- If you have an event where you have to wear a dress, wear spandex yoga/workout/bike shorts under the dress to prevent an unwanted accident.
- At night use a heavy pad or a nighttime pad. Since you won't be able to change it, a thicker pad will offer more protection as you sleep. Wear old pants and pajama bottoms. If you think you might leak, wrap an old towel or blanket around you or around the mattress at the level of your likely leakage onto the bed.
- Try to wear dark clothes if you are worried about leaking. Or, make sure to have a jacket with you to tie around your waist, just in case.
Dealing with discomfort or distress
- Dress comfortably. For example, tight bottoms aren't comfy, while fabric with give will be much gentler on your tummy area. Maybe wear some loose jogging bottoms.
- You might get cramps, but it's best to get up and about to take your mind off it. Maybe do some exercise, but not intense exercise. Try doing some light stretching. If it feels really bad, ask your mother for some ibuprofen. Often you get backaches, so don't slouch and don't lie down. Try a hot water bottle or rub your tummy gently! If you have a cat, get him/her to sit on you, they act like a hot water bottle especially when they purr!
- If you do physical education (PE) at school, try to participate. If you cannot do so due to discomfort, get a note from your parents excusing you from participating.
- If you are self-conscious about changing, go in the bathroom, in a private corner or wear a long t-shirt. Remember to check yourself regularly.
- Don't wallow about it and stress about your period. The fact is that every healthy girl will get one and will understand how you feel. Talk to your best friend or someone you're open with about your feelings.
- Keep calm. You might be getting emotional, it might be PMS. Try to stay calm, laugh and smile, you will feel better emotionally. If you have really bad mood swings every time the period arrives, talk to your doctor.
- If you are scared that someone will hear you changing in the bathroom, go in there when it's empty or do it whilst a toilet is flushing. Remember to dispose of the used items properly.
- Don't let it get you down. It's just one of those things all of us females have to go through, it proves we're healthy and fertile for the future.
Staying clean and healthy
- Eat healthily during your period. Stay away from salty, fatty foods - they will make you feel worse. Have some fruit - bananas are known for helping with cramps.[citation needed]
- Keep a little bit of chocolate with you; when you're feeling down, chocolate may help you feel better. Maybe even have a chocolate coated strawberries as a snack!
- Try to have a shower everyday to make you feel clean and refreshed. Spray some of your favorite perfume/body spray to keep you smelling sweet.
- Wear perfume if you like it. Wear a bit of perfume or scented body spray to help you feel nice and fresh.
- Limit the amount of makeup you wear; it's best to feel fresh and confident.
- If you have discharge whilst not on your period, use a panty liner. Panty liners are also a good idea to use when you're expecting your period to prevent an unexpected leak.
- Does anything look or feel abnormal? It's best to get it checked out. Better to be safe then sorry!
Documenting your period
- Keep a calender or diary of when you have your period. Note how long it lasts for, how you felt, and how heavy it was. This information can be useful for a range of reasons, including checking your health, knowing when the next period is due, and later in life, helping to determine your fertility. It's a good habit to get into.
Treating period stains
- If you do stain a pair of trousers, wash with cold water and salt and rub then leave it to dry and try again. Also washing out the stain with hydrogen peroxide will work; make sure you test it out first to ensure it will not bleach or discolor your clothing. It will have faded hopefully, then fold them up or put them in the wash. Or pour something down it and rub it and say you've spilled something down your bottoms!
Tips
- Try not to think about it too much. Doing so will make you even more stressed. No one will know you're on your period if you don't tell them.
- Don't wear any light colors like white, cream, and khaki in case you leak. If you stain these, it'll be hard to get blood out.
- This isn't relevant but you can learn a lot by looking and asking; that's how most of the things written in this article were learned.
- If you're feeling down, list all the good things that happened; at night, sit down and make a list of the good things that happened today and maybe recall a joke your friend made to make you laugh. Or, list your favorite things; think of the best things in life and what really matters to you, not a stupid period.
- If you are worried about leakage, get info about menstrual cups. They are be very handy and can even help you with cramps.
- Tampons may leak too, so it is a good idea to wear a panty liner as well to catch the leakage.
Warnings
- Don't leave a tampon in for more than eight hours due to the fact that if it's in there too long, you might be at the risk of contracting TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome), which is rare but dangerous. Don't be scared, as only two percent of women all over the world get it, and you are most likely not one of them but do keep in mind the time you've worn a tampon for and keep it fresh.
Things You'll Need
- Pads/tampons
- Diary/calendar
- Body spray/ perfume
- Ibuprofen, Aleve, Advil; choose as needed, since people respond differently to different pills
- Case for supplies
- Hot water bottle
