What do you do for your period?

Hi ladies,

Wondering if any of you would mind sharing what you do when Aunt Flow comes to town. I was able to comfortably wear tampons until January (my issues started last Nov) I've found that regular pads rub me raw, so I've been, well....bleeding in old undies, but clearly need an alternative. (Sorry for the TMI)

I just found out about cloth pads but don't have time to wait for them to ship and the "Whole Foods" type grocery stores around me don't have them in stock. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi there Kathye10

'Aunt Flow' - i like that! I call mine Mr Blobby! (only people from the UK will get that reference!)

Like you i haven't used tampons since my vvd started in Nov 11. Although i'm feeling better now i haven't yet dared go back to them. I use Natracare sanitary towels - organic, 100% cotton, not bleached - they seem to irritate less. I also put coconut oil on vestibule and labia which acts as both a lubricant and a bit of a barrier so again helps reduce irritation.

Other things which also seem to help - i change my pads more frequently than i did pre-vvd even if my flow isn't heavy, i keep a small jug (or small water bottle if i'm out) handy and rinse every time i change the pad and i stop wearing the pads as soon as i can (even tho it means i have to wear old knickers in the last few days of my period in case of any last 'dregs'!

I looked at cloth pads but never got round to trying them as i found the Natracare ok for me. I also bought a Mooncup but haven't dared try that yet!

PS and i tried panty liners for those last few days but i found they irritated me more than pads, even the Natracare liners.

Hi LouLou,

Thank you for your response. Too funny, I just bought the Nutracare pads (Haven't started my period yet) and I'm hoping they will be okay because they don't have the plastic covering over the cotton. The coconut oil is a great idea!! I thought about the mooncup, but like you I'm also scared. The cloth pad idea will be my last resort because one, they are expensive and two, having to hand wash them seems like a bit of a pain and I'm lazy so...haha

Thanks again for sharing!

God tampons are so bad for you but I hate pads ugh bring a woman is truly a curse :/

Talking of the "plastic cover" thing, I used to use Always which have that waxy top layer and a nurse at our doctors surgery told me to use Bodyform instead because they don't have it either so i use those pads now. They do rub a bit but all pads will rub a bit. I occasionallly use tampons but not often as I tend to get thrush if I use them regularly. I tried the Natracare range but didn't find them any better than Bodyform and I had to order them online which made it a very expensive purchase with the postage!

Hi Sarah,

Hmmm....I haven't heard of bodyform...is that something normally just sold in the UK?

Now that's something I don't know, they're a big company and available everywhere here in the UK so I assumed they would be worldwide, try googling them.

I wanted to try all natural but the pads are straight from the 70s blah. May as well get depends

Says they are a British company. That's okay, glad they work for you though!!!

Alana, do you mean the all cotton organic version or the cloth ones that you wash yourself?

Cotton organic God I don't want a bloody mess that I have to wash yuck lol

I also use natracare towels they are very soft and don't irritate they just are not as good as absorbing I have to use super plus. I used to use always but they really do irritate me.

Hahaha, I know, me neither, which is why I'm hoping the cotton pads do the trick.

Good to know Kate. Glad they work for ya!