Shopping for your period can be fun and exciting, because never before have we had so many options! What you choose to use during your period is totally personal. Most of us will use different products at different times in our lives, at different points of our period, and depending on our day (for example, if we’re at school or home, or whether it’s a heavier or lighter flow day).
Here are a few questions to consider before you pick your period care products:
- What sports do you like to do?
- Do you like to make environmentally friendly choices?
- What is your period flow like?
- Do you like to use natural products?
Tampons
Tampons are inserted in the vagina using a clean finger or applicator tube. They must be changed every 4 hours, or more often if your flow is heavier. A small string hangs outside the vagina, in your vulva area, and you use this to pull down and remove the tampon. Tampons may be a helpful choice if you are a swimmer or when you’re on a beach vacation as they can be worn in the water. It’s important to have the time and space to change tampons frequently because of the risk of TSS (toxic shock syndrome) which can happen when a tampon is left in the vagina for a longer time.
Pads
Pads can help you to get to know your flow at first as you can see the amount of menstrual blood. Pads come in different sizes and absorbances and you can keep a few different types for everything from lighter days to overnight. Pads are stuck to the inside of underwear with sticky strips. Some have wings that can help them to stay in place. When you change the pad, you simply wrap it up and place it in the trash can, as you would with a tampon.
Reusable pads are also an option. These are made of cotton and padding and use snaps to clip inside your underwear. They can come with different patterns and also have different shapes and absorbances. Once a reusable pad needs to be changed, it is then stored in a bag, washed and dried to be used again another day.
Menstrual cup
A rubber or silicone cup is inserted into the vagina, like a tampon, but it sits near your cervix to catch the menstrual blood. When the cup is full, or just every few hours if you’re not sure of your flow yet, you pull the cup out from the stem and empty it into the toilet, clean it, and then reinsert the same cup. Menstrual cups don’t usually need to be emptied as often as you need to change a tampon. Menstrual cups work fine in the water and are completely invisible from the outside, with the entire cup inside the vagina. You can get a teen size menstrual cup which is smaller and more flexible than an adult cup.
Period underwear
Period pants are like reusable pads in a way, except they provide full cover as every part of your underwear can absorb menstrual blood. You can wear period panties alone, without a pad, or use them along with tampons or a cup. They come in lots of fun colors and patterns. Once you’ve worn a pair of period panties, they go in the laundry, and then you use them again, just like regular underwear. Period panties can be helpful if you get worried about leaks or have a heavier flow. If you use a pair designed for heavier periods you shouldn’t need to change your period panties until you get home after school, but you can always pack an extra pair and a little bag to carry the first pair home. The inside of the panties is black so you do not see your menstrual blood.
