How To Deal With Your Period

Also Known As Sanitary Napkins Or Menstrual Pads This Is The Tried And True Method For Managing A Period

Pros: Pads have been around since 1888 when they were first made from wood pulp bandages, so its a safe bet that they work well. You can buy different pads for different absorbency needs, and you dont have to worry about changing it after a certain number of hours. You can just stay in tune with your body and change it as needed. Pads are also very easy to use you just stick it in your underwear and go. Averaging about $4.99-$8.99 per box, pads are a cheaper option than some other methods.

Cons: Some high absorbency pads might feel a little uncomfortable for some wearers, and they might make the seat of your pants not look very seamless. They are also disposable, which is convenient, but not the best for our environment. Additionally, pads can sometimes shift during wear, which can lead to period accidents.

Top Tips: How To Deal With Your Period At The Beach

The weather in the UK has finally perked up enough for us to dust off last year’s bikinis and cute summer outfits, and head down to the beach! Nothing quite beats a day lounging by the ocean, where the only stress there is, is choosing whether to have Vanilla ice cream or Mint. What a problem to have ey? Unfortunately for some of us, Mother Nature doesnt put our periods on hold, just because the temperature makes it over 20 degrees.

Having your periods can be a bit of a whirlwind in the best of times, but in summer there is even more craziness to add into the mix. Pool parties, beach days, bikinis, beautiful white outfits! To help you enjoy your summer stress-free, we are listing our top tips on dealing with your periods and answering your frequently asked questions, so you can don your favourite bikini every day of the month.

How To Deal With Period Cravings

It’s like clockwork: you’re about to get your period and suddenly your body has zero control over what you eat. Chocolate, doughnuts, salty chips, ice cream, greasy burgers, fries — basically every form of fatty carb imaginable.

Then your period comes and you need want these foods to get you through the irritability, low mood and pain.

Although it’s important to be kind to yourself during this time, not overdoing it when it comes to junk food can actually help you feel better before and during your period.

But how do we deal with period food cravings? And why are we more hungry in the first place?

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Reacting When Your Period Starts

How To Manage Your Period

Periods: Something so many of us deal with and manage as we make our way through life, but something so many people feel uncomfortable talking about. Lucky for you, I love talking about periods and think it is necessary and important to live a healthier life.

From the time you started their period, youve probably been aware of tampons and pads as common methods for managing a menstrual cycle. With evolving technology and peoples willingness to explore other alternative options, there are many ways someone can manage their period if tampons or pads dont feel right for them.

Here are six different ways to manage your period.

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What If My Period Doesnt Come Or If It Starts When I Am Very Young

If you have not had a first period by the age of 15, or its been more than two to three years since your breasts started developing and you have not had a period, its best to talk to your doctor. If you get your period very young, at nine or ten it is usually just simply that you developed early. However, its a good idea to see your doctor to rule out other underlying medical conditions.

Embrace The Urge To Nest & Clean House

Right before your period, your progesterone levels rise, which can result in an instinct to “nest.” We see this tendency manifest itself more dramatically in pregnant women, who in their later months of pregnancy have their highest progesterone levels â which often leads them to go into a frenzy of cleaning house and nesting in order to prepare for the baby. Right before and during our periods, we experience a lesser version of this tendency a desire to perhaps bake, get cozy, and stay in.

“Your uterine lining builds up in case you need a place to put a baby,” Dr. Holland explains. “Menstruation is about shedding that possibility and starting over. It’s a fresh chance to create the environment you want for yourself, what you’d want a baby to enter into.” During this time, Holland says you’re more able to make decisions about what needs to stay and go in your life, because you’re feeling less accommodating when your estrogen levels are lower.

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What To Do If You Suspect A Problem

When you have questions about your period or anything else related to your development, talk to your doctor. This is particularly true if you notice a change in your menstrual cycle. Though most period problems turn out to be nothing to worry about, its always good to be safe.

See your doctor if:

• You feel very depressed or hopeless, or have thought about hurting yourself. A severe form of PMS could cause this, and you should get help immediately.
• You have not started your period by the time you are 15. The doctor can evaluate you to figure out why you havent gotten your period yet.
• You stop getting your period or it becomes really irregular after it has been regular for several cycles. This can be a sign that you may have a hormone imbalance or a problem with nutrition.
• You have very heavy or long periods, or get your period more often than every 21 days. Losing a lot of blood can cause anemia and leave you feeling really weak and tired.
• Your periods are really painful. The doctor can help figure out why your periods are painful, and treat you so that you are more comfortable.

Chances are that your painful or irregular periods are nothing to worry about. But if there is something going on, the quicker you get it taken care of, the sooner youll be on your way to feeling great again.

Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MDDate reviewed: January 2014

Why Havent I Started My Period Yet

Everybody goes through puberty at different speeds. Some girls begin menstruating as early as age 8 or 9 others dont get going until theyre 15. It all depends on your hormones and your family.

Want to guess when youll get your period? Ask when your mom and grandmothers started theirs. When you start puberty is partly linked to genetics. So although theres no guarantee that youll follow in their footsteps, your relatives could give you a clue about your own period.

One thing that can delay puberty and your period is excessive exercising, usually distance running, ballet, or gymnastics, combined with a poor diet. For exercise to be excessive, it means more than just playing soccer a few times a week or working out once in a while with an exercise video. To exercise so much that you delay your period, you would have to train vigorously for several hours a day, most days of the week, and not get enough calories, vitamins, and minerals.

Unless compulsive exercise has postponed your period, theres nothing you can do on your own to hurry things along. If you havent started to menstruate by the time youre 15, consult your doctor. He or she will examine you, and may do a pelvic exam and take a blood test to determine the hormone levels in your body. Different treatments are available depending on what is causing the delay in your period.

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Youre Going To Want To Over

Its worth mentioning that health care providers have been recommending physical activity to reduce menstrual pain since the 1930s. A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology looked at 11 studies on the subject, ultimately suggesting that physical activity can reduce levels of prostaglandins, which are compounds that function like hormones and stimulate contractions in the uterus. This wont work for everyone, and how much of an effect it may or may not have really depends on your body and the severity of your pain. Were not going to suggest you go for a jog as treatment for intense cramps. But if you find that some movement when youre dealing with cramps actually helps, that might explain why. Granted, this doesnt mean you should just power through cramps when hiking or camping. Definitely make sure youre prepared to deal with the discomfort.

First, bring more than enough of whichever pain medication usually helps you manage cramps. Theres nothing like tossing and turning in your tent all night, besieged with period pain, to make you appreciate the wonders of modern medicine.

Instead Of Eating All The Chocolate And French Fries Reach For Healthier Carbs

You’d steamroll anything that stood between you and a plate of cheese fries right about now, yes? The struggle is real, and here’s why: During the week before your period, your brain experiences a dip in serotonin, the chemical that makes you feel happy. Your body’s natural response is to crave foods that trigger instant happiness aka high-fat, high-sugar, high-carb EVERYTHING. The problem? That boost is very, very temporaryand the comedown is even worse. “It’s OK to indulge a little, but what will actually satisfy those cravings best is whole grains or complex carbs,” says Dr. Ashton.

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Managing Your Period On School Trips:

When you are going on school trips, your period may make you feel less interested and excited about being out with your classmates. But dont let the period bother you too much. Understand that you can do just about everything when you have your period stain, it all calls for the right protection.

In such situations, cervical or menstrual cups are the best as you will not have to change them often nor will you have to worry about a leak or a stain. Tampons are great too as they dont smell as much as the sanitary pads and are often more effective than the pads.

Stay hydrated, and ask for regular stop-overs if you are traveling by road with your friends. Remember that you will need to change your pad or tampon regularly to avoid any embarrassment and hence, it is better to make sure that you stop on your way rather than regret later.

How About Sanitary Towels

If you head to the Tesco website, you’ll see the brand Always has a range of sanitary towels and a pack of 14 will set you back around £1.50.

When you get to the value products, a lot of them are not available online and the website suggests checking in individual stores for the products.

The cheapest available option is a pack of 24 towels for 90p, so an Always towel will set you back 10p, whereas a Tesco value one comes in at around 3p a towel.

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Keeping Track Of Periods

Its good for your child to keep track of their periods with an app, calendar or diary. If your childs periods are fairly regular, an app or calendar can help your child know when their period is likely to come. This way your child can prepare for things like sleepovers, school camps or swimming carnivals.

What Helps With Cramps

Here are a some things that can help ease cramps:

• Over-the-counter pain medicine like ibuprofen , naproxen , or acetaminophen . Always follow the instructions on the bottle. Talk with your doctor before taking pain medication if you have an allergy to aspirin or severe asthma.

• Exercise.

• Hormonal birth control .

• Acupuncture and acupressure.

• Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation therapy that uses mild electric currents to stimulate your nerves to relieve pain.

• Certain vitamins and herbs like vitamin B1, fish oil, fenugreek, ginger, valerian, zataria, and zinc sulfate.

Cramps are a pretty normal part of getting your period, but sometimes people have period cramps that are so painful its hard to do everyday things . If your period pain is really bad, and over-the-counter medicine doesnt help, talk with your doctor. They can help with other ways to manage the pain, or they may want to check to see if theres something more serious going on.

Cramps that are really bad may be a sign of:

• Pelvic Inflammatory Disease an infection in your reproductive organs.

• Endometriosis a condition where the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterus.

• Adenomyosis when the tissue that lines your uterus grows into the muscle wall of your uterus.

• Uterine fibroids non-cancerous tumors that grow inside your uterus, in the walls of your uterus, or on the outside of your uterus.

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