URGENT - where stocks period swimwear in store?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Flying abroad on Thursday am and dd has just got her first period she's young, and does not want to use tampons yet.

I've searched Amazon for period swimwear and cannot find any that will fit her able to be delivered by tomorrow. She'd need at the biggest an adults size 6, but more preferably a kids 11/12. Even just bottoms we could put under her current swimsuits.

so I'm thinking if I could drive to any stores which may stock these products - I'm close to a large city with departments stores and close to a large shopping centre with a reasonable range of stores.

Trouble is, I only know of Modi Bodi and Amazon and neither are able to get the item to me in 24 hours. So if anyone knows of any physical shops that stock these items, I can ring around and see if my local branches have any in stock.

Thanks in advance!

M&S, Primark, Sainsbury's all do their own period underwear. The smaller sizes do quite often seem to be hard to find though.

www.next.co.uk/g642884s1/a85307#a85307
Next have some

Ah it's specifically swimwear. When I said bottoms I meant bikini/swim ones.

I've headed to the shopping centre so I'll visit the stores you mention and grab some non swim stuff anyways but will have all my fingers crossed they stock swim versions too.

I'd assume I can't use normal (period) underwear in the pool.

The swimwear doesn't absorb blood when you are swimming (the water pressure will stop it coming out), so she could just change as soon as she gets out of the pool, although she may want a dark coloured swimsuit as she could get leaks as she walks along poolside depending on how heavy her flow is.

Oh that's interesting! I always use a moon cup in the water so wasn't sure of any potential in-water leaks.

The sainsburys period pants are quite swim suit-y material, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference with a black bikini top. They don’t stock them in store though.

Period pants under swimsuit? Although in my experience even with a heavy period, it doesn't come out in the water

Just normal period pants under her swimsuit. They are literally the same thing.

Oh excellent!! Managed to get normal period pants. Phew.

I had this problem recently and couldn’t find anything in store - I was kicking myself for not being more prepared. DD ended up waiting until her period stopped before swimming which wasn’t ideal. I ordered a suit from Wuka for when we got back for next time.

My daughter uses a Modibodi swimsuit for future reference, I find it very absorbent!
Ive recently discovered this , and period pants , she has learning difficulties and this has totally transformed her life!

Primark had period bikini bottoms in the adult swimwear this year

We ordered period bikini bottoms from Amazon prime to wear under surf shorts. She didn't actually need them in the end so can't comment on how good they are.

Just wondering @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz how successful you found the period pants under the normal swimming costume was? My dd is due her period when we go abroad on a water park holiday!

Hold up, are you actually saying it's ok to swim in period pants? How is that hygienic? They're not sealed, yes they help to prevent but the water

Crappy mobile formatting sorry....the water still gets in and out very easily so red streaks could float behind her!!

This! I wouldn't risk it.

As a regular swimmer I think it’s grim and really unhygienic that anyone would swim without using a tampon (don’t know the effectiveness of menstrual cups for swimming). Why would you expose other swimmers to blood-borne infections? Just stay out of the pool until your period is over FGS!

Hi OP - I have a pair of unopened modibodi swimwear black bikini briefs size 10 to 12 which I could post to you tomorrow if you like - bought for DD for a beach holiday this half term which sadly didn't happen!

This is madness. I can't believe people are falling for the marketing from these companies. The official NHS advice is to only swim using a cup or tampons to hold the blood inside of you to reduce the risk of contaminating the pool. No design of waterproof underwear will contain this dangerous bodily fluid.

If this is the widely accepted view then I'm just not going swimming again, this is so very wrong from a hygiene perspective.

This. I always presumed that period swimwear was meant for e.g sunbathing rather than actually entering the water. It's absolutely rank (and a real risk to public health) to be swishing fabric soaked with menstrual fluid / blood in a swimming pool.

It's very telling that on google the only sources I can find to support the use of period swimwear are from companies who produce them and such highbrow academic sources as Cosmopolitan magazine! 🙄

It's frustrating that I can't find much official sources that comment on it either way, which suggests that nobody has actually researched the level of leakage apart from the companies who have a vested interest in declaring their own products to be totally hygienic.

My daughter wears period pants under a swim suit, works totally fine. She wears black ones with a black swimsuit

I assumed that period swimwear does actually form a proper barrier? A bit like those things you put over toddlers' swim nappies?

No, they do not form a proper barrier. As soon as you enter a swimming pool the absorbant pad gets saturated with water. Of course it is then unable to absorb menstrual fluid.

Even toddler swim nappy things don't stop wee escaping/water getting in - they are not completely sealed like a dry suit.

The companies who make period swimwear are known for deleting critical reviews on their websites and social media. How do I know? It happened to me.