I just gushed blood all over myself and the sofa in my local cafe and im mortified please send thoughts and prayers

[houseeveryweekend]

And I just ran away...
I did not handle it in a mature manner or alert anyone to it. So those poor cafe staff are just going to come across a big pool of blood.
Luckily it was a plastic coated sofa/bench type seat so I imagine they will be able to clean it easily.
I didnt notice until id stood up to leave and glanced back to see if id left anything at the table.. and the cafe was full so it would've been very obvious if id walked back and started cleaning it. And I realised I must also be drenched in blood so I just ran away...
I ran away, I ran all the way home.
I feel bad. I shouldve acted like an adult and just taken the hit and walked back to the sofa to clean it.
Its my local cafe as well and I go in there alot and they will know I was the one sitting there...
I can never go in there again can I?
I'm 35 years old. I also had like a full night time sanitary towel on that id literally only just put on fresh so I do not know how that happened.... I just gushed so much blood everywhere suddenly... I kind of felt it happen but thought it was fine, didnt realise how much there was and that it had soaked thru everything!! Grim.

I think this is the best idea.
Something similar happened to me, OP and I didn't tell them about it.

I'd definitely go to the doctor. Don't let them fob you off.

@Boogismyname thanks for being honest.i think quite a lot of people would have run away put of shock and embarrassment. More than are admitting on this thread! Obviously its the wrong thing to do and I regret it coz actually idve saved myself more embarrassment in the long run if id just had the courage to walk back over there and clean it up with the other ustomers watching.. Coz at least id not have to think of the poor staff doing it. And id be able to go in there again without worrying. But I just made the wrong choice in the moment.

It does matter, because at present male kinks/MRA activism are pervading this site to the point that they are altering its dynamic. Not every member may know this, and people can unwittingly be made unwilling participants in someone's fetish, particularly when the fetishists start posting their weird shit on these threads.

Not everyone will be aware that this is a recurrent problem on this site lately, and some might prefer to make their own judgements as to whether or not they care to be coopted into this. The tip-off posts are intended - and they are well-intended - to arm people with this information. They can then do what they want with it.

Yes but why should someone else have to 'sort it out'. Disgusting.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's every woman's worst period-nightmare.

Ignore the posters who said to go back and apologise. You already feel embarrassed enough as it is, you don't need to add to the embarrassment. See your GP OP to get checked out. Draw a line under the accident and be assured there will be other women who have been through similar, I am sure you are not alone. Sending you hugs xx

It's done now, and the best thing you can do is put it behind you. It's not pleasant for staff to have to deal with this, but most people also know it's a thing you couldn't help. It's also quite natural in a moment of shame or mortification to run away.

I still find new surprises lurking within this misogynistic culture we live in. Who'd have thought period-shaming was still so predominant in developed, western nations?; but there's a good deal of it in evidence on this very thread.

Horrible, heavy periods are a blight and a misery and women's pain/gynaecological issues are still under-researched and IMO, not treated seriously enough (cf. fertility issues, miscarriage and endometriosis). 'It's happened to all women since the dawn of time, get on with it' is a prevailing attitude, with little apparent understanding that whilst some of us will sail through, for others it's a painful, miserable experience.

You'll feel bad for a while. But in the grand scheme of things, this is small stuff

Mortifying! I'd be carrying some kitchen towel in my handbag just in case, LOL! Very hard to style that one out, OP, but next time deep breath, quick wipe and tell the staff before you leg it.

@thethinendofthewedge idve done that if id noticed it whilst actually at the table but id stood up and moved away and just looked back to see if id left anything... no way to style it out at all it would've been very obvious so I just panicked and ran away! Should have just taken the hit.. and walked back over and cleared it up whilst not meeting the eyes of anyone sat on the surrounding tables

Hi Op
This is really far more common than you think, panicking and worrying about ,

You definitely need to see a doctor , don't let them fob you off as this being your normal cycle it's obviously not,

Also mirer coil was really beneficial for me released me from nightmare of heavy periods and flooding accidents and near miss flooding

I had a flooding 😳 bleed accident in my friends flat luckily she had a leatherette 🛋

Sounds like you might be peri menopausal but you definitely need to see your GP.

I've had to do a runner before now too. It's mortifying. But you have no control over it.

Worst was going through security at an airport and I could feel it gushing... couldn't exactly do a runner then. Luckily (!) I only had hand luggage so could change in the toilets after and ditch my clothes.

You have my utmost sympathy. x

How horrible for you. I too would have panicked and run away, OP. Personally when I went back I would act like nothing had happened.

Don’t apologise and certainly don’t take flowers. Just forget about it if you can and go back as usual. Nothing was ruined and you were mortified at the time, so understandable not to fade around cleaning it up.

faff

@SerafinasGoose

I agree with you,

I would add on,
Some women heavy painful periods are miserable existence from month to month with a bit/brief respite each month,

And having to deal with bloody misogynistic attitudes and internalised misogynistic brainwashing Crap too,

If it was other way round , men wouldn't put up with kind of crap attitudes ect women, put up with,
Men would have kicked off about this kind of thing a long time ago

Many years ago I had an incident like this and just like the op I fled the scene of the crime. If I’d known then what I know now (after reading similar threads to this) I’d have told someone what had happened at the time. I didn’t because owning up to it seemed completely out of the question. I didn’t realise how common accidents like this were and thought I’d be judged a dirty freak that can’t even manage a simple thing like having a period.

So I don’t agree that we shouldn’t talk about this because men who get off on it also use the site. We need to be able to talk openly. If I hadn’t felt so utterly abnormal and disgusting when it happened to me, I wouldn’t have left someone else to deal with it, wouldn’t be feeling guilty about that to this day and would have spared myself a lot of stress and upset.

A tenner doesn’t cut it. Not even close.

You may know there’s no risk, but these young girls on NMW don’t know that the random pools of blood on a sofa is safe, or that it’s menstrual. They’re just faced with a frankly disturbing and deeply unpleasant mess to clean up.

I think apologising to the NMW staff who had to clean up the blood she left on the seat without informing them is the least the OP can do and a bunch of flowers/box of chocs will go a hell of a way to helping the situation.

I have worked on hospitality and it's grim enough cleaning up after some people have eaten, never mind having to deal with the bodily fluids that they didn't even have the courtesy to warn us about. Where I worked we have barred people for leaving bodily fluids for staff to clean up without informing us as it is classed as a biohazard - we don't know that you don't have some blood borne disease etc - and there are strict protocols about cleaning up bodily fluids, including using specific biohazard kits.

Yes the OP got flustered and left in the moment but I think if she is going to go back then she needs to accept that her behaviour was less than ideal and own it by apologising. It doesn't have to be a big performance but a simple apology will go a long way.

Even more disturbing that you say you work in a hospital. You are not a teenage girl, you’re a grown woman who ran away and left it for prob a teenage girl to clean up. Just rank and the fact that you come on here to try to justify it makes it worse!

Aw op I'm so sorry. Immediately took me back to the (thankfully) only time it happened to me. I was 14 in high school chemistry watching the teacher do a demonstration, I was sitting ON the table. I didn't realise till I slid off leaving a massive streak and it was heavy. I was mortified and it still upsets me now how embarrassing. I flagged it off as being a 'badly cut leg' and fake limped out the classroom. I'm grateful for wearing black trousers that day

Sympathies.
Makes sure they do a blood test for anemia. It can cause heavy periods.

I’ve seen this type of thing in gynae wards. You probably need a referral through your GP if this happens again. Poor soul.

I'm really quite shocked by some of the responses here - I work in hospitality and normally I'm the first one to defend hospitality staff or say when someone is being disrespectful, but some of these reactions are a bit OTT even for me! It's not like she sat there and pissed herself on purpose and then walked off - and I've had to deal with that and worse!

The OP has held her hands up and admitted she should have done things differently but ultimately she couldn't prevent what happened and even if she'd mopped it up with loo roll at the time, the staff would still have needed to use the correct stuff to clean it up anyway to make sure it was done properly - the only thing I'd be pissed off about is if another customer found it before I did and then decided to make an issue of it with me before I'd had chance to find it or clean it, so I'd be annoyed about not being told about it.

But it's totally understandable (even if I don't condone it) that she panicked because as we see from this thread, shame is heaped on this kind of thing, even though it's a hell of a lot less intentional than some of the messes people leave for hospitality staff to clean up with the clear attitude that that's what they're there for.

I do think OP should go back and apologise and possibly leave a large tip or tub of chocs, and react differently in the future but if don't think there's any need for the roasting she's had here.

Bloody hell it was a medical episode and some people are harping on like the OP crapped in the oven ! Fml!!

It happened once to me and I had a light cotton skirt and on the school run. I was on my period but the gush was unlike any I'd experienced. I don't know how I managed to not habe it noticed but I wrapped a cardigan around my waist and dashed I to the school toilets. 5 years ago and I was in my late 30s.
I do believe this is the start or precursor to perimenopause. I have recently had the mirena coil inserted and its been amazing. No more huge bloated belly ( had it for 2 years) and heavy periods. You might bleed longer with the first period like I did and have spotting but no more pain, heavy bleeding and awful cramps.

I would visit your gp and request to be seen by the gynecologist which may take a short while when referred to check for fibroids. The mirena really helps shrink these.

I totally agree with others, what was the OP supposed to do? She was taken aback shocked and embarrassed and she's expressed on here as well.