To ask who is spending £13 on sanitary products per month?

[avocuddl]

Just watching This Morning on period poverty. I appreciate this may be a real issue but I just can't work out the costs stated on the website under 'The Facts' www.freeperiods.org/mission
£18k over a lifetime which equals £13 per month.

The MP said she'd spent £25 on one period?

I buy the always £1 pack and they're fine! A pack of paracetamol is like 20p?

Sorry if this has been done before but aibu?

[havingtochangeusernameagain]

Yes. Some women have heavy periods. You obviously don't.

I saw a very good tweet on this today. See twitter.com/JoWood04/status/1104312572122157056

[AmphetamineGazelle]

Maybe it is an average figure. Some women may have to only buy products every other period, some may have invested in a moon cup which pays for itself and others may need to spend a lot more.

[IntentsAndPorpoises]

Heavy periods, new tights/pants when flooding. doubling up with tampon and pad when really heavy.

[Weetabixandshreddies]

I think I've seen it argued that every possible cost is included in that price - so replacing clothing, bedding, needing packets and packets of sanitary protection, prescription medication.


If they can show that the majority of women spend this then fair enough but I feel that it's been exaggerated in order to make a point. The risk there is that it makes it easy for people to dismiss it.

[BrightYellowDaffodil]

I think this was on More or Less on R4 - IIRC, they debunked the figures. Some women may spend £13 a month on sanitary products but that’s the top end of spend totals, not the average.

Flawed statistics being presented as facts makes me really bloody cross. And ultimately it harms the aims of the organisations, as everything they say gets disregarded.

[Chinks123]

I have extremely heavy periods and I’ve never spent close to £18/£25. It obviously depends on what items and brands people are buying. I buy a few packs of always a month but get them cheaper at places like home bargains. Probably at most about £5 a month.

[Wellfuckmeinbothears]

My period costs me £20 minimum. They’re long, heavy and painful.

Just because you don’t doesn’t mean others don’t!

[burritofan]

I use cheap own-brand non-applicator tampons which cost pennies, but I get through a couple of packets of Migraleve (the only thing I've found works on my period headaches) per period, so £14 or so just on medication to survive every 32 days. Different women have different menstrual needs.

[ChipsAreLife]

I have very heavy periods. Go through pads every hour or two (been investigated nothing wrong), soak through underwear, clothes, have to wash bedding, extra showers etc. But I appreciate I'm in the monitory.

I would expect most people send £5 max?!

[Weetabixandshreddies]

Heavy periods, new tights/pants when flooding. doubling up with tampon and pad when really heavy.

Does that still add up to £13? I've always been really heavy and had to double up. 7 day periods every 3 weeks. I doubt I've even spent half of that, probably even less.

[avocuddl]

Havingtochange fair enough re: that tweet. Her estimate works out at £4 per month on super plus tampons.

Yeah must be a whole load of other stuff included in the cost like you say, clothing, pants, sheets etc.

Interesting that it is not the average. That's very misleading.

Still agree that they should be available to school kids for free and zero rated for VAT but that still doesn't help if they biggest cost is all the new sheets and tights you're buying?!

[LeekMunchingSheepShagger]

I don't get it either op. I buy tesco branded pads and tampons. Non applicator tampons are about 95p for 24 and pads about 65p for 12. Even with my heavy periods it costs me less than £5 a month.

[avocuddl]

Totally accept women having different needs and £14 for prescription medication fair enough. They are arguing for children missing school though, who'd get free prescriptions.

[TheViceOfReason]

I am surprised if that is supposed to be average - i typically use 1 pack of 18-20 pads per period, and mine are typically on offer in Tesco working out at around £2.25 per pack. Plus about 60p for co-op own brand paracetamol & caffeine. For arguments sake, that's £3 per period. If i have an exceptionally heavy period so need extra pads, allow another £1, so £4 max.

The most expensive pads / tampons are around £2.85 for 18 (when not on any offer), so 16p each. £13/0.16 = 81 pads / tampons. Or if you bought expensive branded panadol & ibuprofen @ £3/pack, that still leaves £7 for pads/tampons - which would be 43 of them!

Is the £13 then including extra toilet roll? Extra showers if you are on metered water / electric? Additional underwear / clothes washing?

[EntirelyAnonymised]

I have menorrhagia. It is expensive. Doubling up and highest absorbency products (not available in ‘value’ ranges) changed at least twice as frequently than recommended. Not cheap.

[Dexra]

This figure has always seemed quite high to me too. I wonder if they factor in temp workers who aren't paid sick leave and who might have to take the odd day off at that time of the month, and forgo pay. I assume not though.

[Malibucyprus]

I spent anything from £5 - £10 a month on DD's products, she hasn't realised that you don't need to change your towel every half an hour (she's paranoid about leaking) so she gets through 2 - 4 packs per period. Couple of boxes of paracetamol, and a years supply consumed within 5 days of chocolate.

[PineappleTart]

Let's also not forget the times you get caught out and have to fork out a pound for a single tampon or towel from a vending machine

[PookieDo]

I have had surgery to try to rectify my periods which didn’t work now I have an IUD which has made me bleed for 6 entire months

I can’t use Tampons they really irritate me. I can’t use some ‘cheap’ things as they just end up being shit, or irritating

Heavy period:
Tena pads - normal pads are not suitable for heavy bleeds. These can be around £4 for 20, depends what is on offer. 7 pads a day for instance, period lasting 8 days is probably at least 2 packs or more

Nappy bags for the pads - pretty cheap about £1

Always ultra for when the flow slows - around £5 for the value offer of 2 for £5 or so, around 40 pads perhaps? Always need them in your bag for getting caught out

Tranexamic acid -£8.80 prescription
Paracetamol -20p
Stronger prescribed painkillers if required - £8.80

-Thrush cream - from wearing a pad so close to you for so long - around £10
Or
A barrier cream because of severe chafing - £5 or so

IUD period:
6 months of constant bleeding of varying flow
Panty liners
Always ultra
Tena for heavy days
Creams

I really hate these threads.

[PookieDo]

Oh also: iron tablets, £8.80 a month too

[Smokeahontas]

I have endometriosis and PCOS. I can easily spend that on sanitary products, before I even get to things like painkillers. £1 pads might be ok for some, but the flow can be extremely heavy. I wear night towels most of the time and they can need changed hourly so cheaper pads just don’t work. It’s not for lack of trying them out.

[FleeceDetective]

As a side point, for some people who don’t have a car (usually the poorest) then the availability in your local corner shop/garage store can be poor and expensive. Tampax only, £3.99 a box etc. They know they have you over a barrel with essentials.

[TBDO]

I have to double up on tampons and pads as I bleed through in just a few hours - need double protection to stop leaks through clothes.

I’ve also just realised I go through a lot of extra loo roll and do more washing (towels, sheets). Extra costs that I hadn’t clicked are due solely to being on a period.

[calpop]

I always find this high as well. (I buy one large pack of supermarket tampons which costs 2 or 3 quid and they normally last 2 months. Odd pack of pad bought once or twice a year. Painkillers 20/30p a pack, last few months. I appreciate that some people have heavier periods, mediacl issues, have them more often etc but surely my experience is closer to average?

[PookieDo]

Can we also include

Vanish for sheets and mattress
Mattress protectors
Washing or replacement of duvet inners
New underwear
New PJ’s (mine are all ruined and it’s horrible, I just replaced 2 pairs of bottoms for £12 in Sainsbury’s)