Pads or other types of flow blocking feminine hygiene products are used by almost every woman with a period to prevent getting blood on your clothes when you have your period. If you haven’t gotten your period before the idea can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know how to deal with your flow. This article will go into how to know if you are about to get your period, what a couple feminine hygiene product options are, and how to use them correctly.
Ladies, It’s Gonna Happen At Some Point
As much as most of us don’t enjoy it, at some point all of us will get our menstrual cycle, better known as a period. This is the time of the month when, as long as you are not pregnant, your uterus sheds its lining so that it can create a new one in case the next month you do become pregnant.
Be Ready When It Arrives
The last thing anyone wants is to be caught off guard by your period, so it is best to be as prepared as possible when it arrives. This is different for women who are getting for their period for the first time than for women who have had their period before because when you haven’t had your period before it’s hard to know what to look for.
How To Know It Is Coming For The First Time
For most women, this change is likely to happen during their life sometime between the ages of 11 and 15, but everyone’s body is different. The most visually noticeable thing that might change to indicate that your first period is coming soon is if you start to develop breasts or breast buds.
Starting To Get Hair Down There
Another physical sign that you might be getting your period is when you first start to grow hair in your pubic area. This usually happens around the same time but just like with developing breasts it is different for everyone, and for some, the hair will only come in very thin or very light at first.
And Then BAM It’s Here!
The final sign you might be about to get your period for the first time is when you start to have vaginal discharge, which is creamy and light yellowish or white in colour. This usually happens right before you get your first period, and then a month or so later it happens with no other warning.
Now It’s Time To Choose…
Once you have gotten your first period it is then time to choose what you want to use to control your flow. The two most popular choices for women to deal with their period blood are pads, which are used externally, or tampons, which are used internally. Which one you choose to use is all based on personal preference.
Why Choose Tampons?
Tampons have long been a go-to choice for women on their period because they are able to make it almost as if it isn’t happening. By having the tampon inside of you it stops the blood before it gets into your underwear, and you don’t feel the tampon while it is inside of you.
Why Choose Pads?
Although tampons can be great, they can also come with serious downsides, like toxic shock syndrome if they are left in too long. Pads are better for women who are afraid of this, or for women who are not comfortable with the idea of sticking a foreign object in their body than a pad is a much easier option than a tampon.
For Adult Women There Are Signs Too
There are ways for women who have had their period to know as well if their period is about to come again. One of the first of these warning signs is if you start to get much more bloated than usual. Bloating is when you retain water more than usual and results in your abdomen feeling puffy or swollen.
Cramps
This best-known sign that you might be about to get your period is also most women’s least favourite part of it; cramping. The cramping of the abdominal muscles in the time around your period can be anywhere from mild to debilitatingly painful, and sometimes even painkillers can’t geko.
Breaking Out
Another unfortunate sign that your period might be coming is if you start to break out with more acne than usual. These breakouts are caused by hormone changes in the body, during your menstrual cycle you have more hormones than you usually do and your body does not know how to regulate them.
How Some Women Use Pads Incorrectly
Pads are fairly easy to use but if you make a mistake it can result in a big mess. The two most common mistakes are not changing your pad frequently enough, and not applying your pad to your underwear correctly/ in the correct location on the crotch of your underwear.
How To Do It Correctly
The answer to the first of these problems is to make sure you are checking your pad about every 2 hours, and if it is almost filled with blood to switch it out for a fresh one. The second is to follow this diagram and make sure that you are putting your pad in the correct place on your underwear.
Make Sure It Is Getting Clean Enough
The only thing to be concerned about with a reusable pad when compared to a regular disposable one is that you have to make sure to clean your reusable one very thoroughly. When washing them use hot water and either dry in heat as well or hang to dry in the sun.
