4 Important Things To Do During Your Period

I got my period the day before my 13th birthday. Though I wasn’t happy, my mom was and a little sad. Her little girl was growing up! That’s when she sat me down and talked with me about four important things to do during your period.

If you don’t know what I mean, keep reading.

#1: Wrap up sanitary pads when finished

I get the feeling that a lot of people don’t know about this one.

The reason you should wrap them up is two-fold.  One is it keeps everything clean. I mean think about it. You’re dealing with bodily fluids. Nobody wants your bodily stuff on them. So wrapping them up keeps the stuff inside.  

The second reason is they don’t look like what they are. So if you are not able to dispose of them right there, people won’t really know what you are carrying. I don’t know about you, but I never wanted anyone to know that I was on my period. 

I’m that self-conscious even though I know it’s a natural body function. I still didn’t want anyone to know. 

So this wrap trick was awesome! With the pad wrapped up in tissue, it would look like a wad of toilet paper. So if someone saw it, they wouldn’t think anything of it. I slipped it into my pant’s back pocket or into the side pocket of my purse, and disposed of it later.

I didn’t use tampons so I don’t know if the wrap trick would work with them. However, I would recommend wrapping them up before disposing of them. That way none of your blood gets on anything.

#2: Take a shower or bath each day of your period

I always had cramps for the first day of my period , so I’d be at home lounging. Now for the days after that, I’d shower every day. Believe me, you do give off a scent. No one may tell you this, but you do. 

You’ve got to clean your privates. What I usually do is take a warm, wet cloth and softly wipe around the outside of and the inside folds of my vagina. I will wipe until there is no more blood on the washcloth.

I don’t use soap in that area. I did once when I was young and it stung! So nope!

#3: Change pads or tampons regularly throughout the day

Now every woman is different so every woman’s flow is different. 

If your flow is heavy, change your pad or tampon more than once a day. You may even want to get on a routine like I did. It was like every 4 hours while I was at school or at work. 

So I went through pads like crazy for the first 3 days. Then for the 4th and 5th day, I would use panty liners.

If you use tampons, they need to be changed more often. This is because if they’re in for longer than 8 hours, a condition called toxic shock syndrome can set in. It’s rare but can be life-threatening. 

My mom suffered from it once and it was bad! So don’t wear tampons for longer than 8 hours.

#4: Don’t flush sanitary napkins or tampons down the toilet

This makes sense when you think about what sanitary napkins are.  These are wads of absorbent material designed to soak up liquid. So if you flush them down a drain with water, what do you think’s going to happen? 

Let me tell you a little story. I know a lady who cleaned houses for a living and she helped out this one guy.  He lived in a duplex and she would come over and clean for him about twice a week.

One day, she went to flush the toilet and it didn’t flush. She went and talked to the guy about it. They both tried to unclog the toilet but nothing worked.  I can’t remember if the guy spoke with the lady who lived on the other side of the duplex.

Well, the guy called a plumber who came out and snaked the drain. Inside the pipe, the plumber found a plastic shopping bag filled with sanitary napkins. 

It turns out the woman on the other side of the duplex had flushed her sanitary napkins down the drain. I guess since it was a duplex they shared pipes.

So yeah, don’t do it!

The takeaway

During your period, there are four important things that you should do. Wrap up sanitary pads when finished with them, shower or bath each day of your period, change pad or tampons regularly during the day, and please do not flush pads or tampons down the toilet. 

Just saying!

If you have any comments or tips that you would like to include please feel free to add them in the comment section. I’d love to read them; who knows they may help someone else spread the knowledge.