DD12 period on beach holiday - help!

[EarlyBirdCatchesTheWorm]

Hello mumsnetters

Looking for tips. DD11 started her period recently and is likely to have it on a beach holiday in a couple of months time.

She is ok with period pants and sanitary towels but not wanting to use tampons.

She loves to swim/paddle. Not the point but this holiday had to be cancelled and rescheduled twice, it's to a lovely place and she'll be gutted to not be able to get stuck in and play in the water with siblings. Any tips for managing period (without tampons) on a beach/sea? Is period swimwear good enough??

Yea it's this.

And it is hormonal.

I took it for 18 months before I had a hysterectomy. It's synthetic progesterone. It can also have severe side effects on mood so I would consider it carefully and only use it if the periods are heavy and period pants wouldn't be an alternative that would work.

Im knocking on 40 and tampons give me the ick, never even attempted to put on in. I have a very heavy flow but theres these things i think called 'interlabial pads' which you hold between the labia and i find them brilliant for just calming things, hard to explain but they seem to steady things up and prevent massive splurges, so those in conjunction with the swim pants i think would handle 99% of eventualities?

Welcome to becoming to an adult! We don't cancel holidays or take days off when we have our periods. Life continues.

Don't be so patronising.

I do take days off for periods, my life doesn't continue, like many others I have heavy periods and am on a massive waiting list for treatment. It would also be pointless going on holiday as I wouldn't be able to leave the hotel room.

This is so patronising. I can remember getting my period on holiday when I was about 13. We were with family friends and all the teenagers were going in the sea, swimming etc and I had to sit on a towel with the adults. At 13 I was miserable. My mum bought me some tampons from a French supermarket to try but when I removed one it actually hurt so much I didn’t dare try tampons again for another few years. Now I know it was probably the wrong absorption but I didn’t know about that at the time. It did make my holiday miserable and I wish we had thought about an alternative.

She is 11/12. Far far from being an adult.

I have never heard of hormone medication being used to stop periods in a child of 11 just for a holiday??

How many children of 11s periods are you involved in though?

One of mine had it, not norethisterine, provera, because she got so absolutely distressed at her period she couldn't leave her bed. Fine at home, not so fine on holiday. She is now 13 and takes the pill so she has much more control. But yes, it happens.

Because there are many reasons an 11 year old might not want to use them!!!

I'm going to buy some of the period swimwear and a sarong for my DD. Two cycles in, she has been regular but I hadn't really thought about the fact it might differ yet before settling. there's always hope there that the cycle 'due' on holiday might not happen. Swim shorts over the top is a good call too.

I'll talk to her about tampons again when the time is right as well.

Think I'll have to scope out where the beach toilets are and try and do a bit of logistical planning!

I’d also go with the norestisterone - I’ve only taken it once but it was fine. Think you have to take 3 a day but you won’t come in immediately after stopping. It took at least a week for me! Even with period pants for swimming you’re gonna have tgefaff if changing and leak paranoia, and other period symptoms- so no!

I have taken the tablets to delay it before and although it did stop any bleeding, I still had pain, bloating etc. until I stopped taking and was a day or so into my period. I don’t know if that is usual but something to consider.

Loads of girls and women don't like the idea if tampons....

Same. I tried them in my teens and again in my thirties and they hurt like hell.

Wow, are you that harsh to your daughter?

DD11: "Mum, I feel awful, my period started and I think I might be sick and my back really hurts. 😢 Can I have some paracetamol, hit water bottle and stay in bed?"
Luna: "Welcome to becoming to an adult! We don't cancel holidays or take days off when we have our periods. Life continues."

For those of you who have had a go at me for suggesting the OP's daughter might find tampons preferable, 1. I do understand why someone might not want to use them, but imho it's worth trying them; 2. I think they're vastly preferable to giving hormonal medication to a child in these circumstances; and 3. I am woman and have been that child on holiday.

It is worth considering all methods of dealing with this.

I don't think that anyone had a go, just we're defending the right to choose sanitary wear!

Jenny scrolled through the posts I'm afraid. Very interested to try period swimwear for DD too. Has anyone tried a brand and thought they worked brilliantly? You've mentioned changing after pool which is a good tip.

Also period knickers.....do they not leak at all? What does one do when they're at work/school as it's not like you can change like a period pad. Will buy some on your recommendations and try next month before holidays.

@00100001 oh they very much did though many were projecting their own views and some their own experiences, although I do note the OP is considering them as an option. Dismissing the use of tampons is a massively retrograde step for women. They give you the freedom to largely forget about your period, to take part in activities without worrying about leaking in the pool or sea, and to participate unselfconsciously in activities with siblings and friends, etc. rather than sitting things out.

Both Modibodi and wuka have their branding on their swimwear. As a young teenager I certainly wouldn't have wanted that visible. Modibodi's website states that their period swim pants should be rinsed until the water runs clear and then washed under 30 degrees, "go you eco warrior"!? Yes they're reusable but for an Aussie brand there's a real contradiction there.

HP’s don’t give it out readily anymore! Can’t order online with such a young person!

They are handwash anyway

I’d give period swimwear a go. I’m about to order some for dd. She tried a tampon and she hated it so that’s a no go. She wears period pants anyway and deals with rising then out etc herself already so it’s the next step really.

It's frankly ridiculous that you'd have entirely reasonable opinions about menstruation stifled. Girls are entitled to hear balanced and open chat about periods (tampons are the best selling period product in the world for good reason; they're highly advantageous. They're nothing to be 'fearful' of, thus part of the debate whether you like it or not). What girls don't need to hear is a bunch of outdated myths.

And you're frowning upon chat about good menstrual hygiene practices whilst advocating the use of synthetic hormones! So (absolute!) au contraire, it's your opinion we don't need to hear 🙄

This is one of several threads I've come across recently where posters have expressed a dislike of tampons - I can understand they need careful consideration for someone as young as the OP's daughter. I attended a girls school many years ago and all of my friends - around 10 of us - in my form used tampons from as soon as we could. The idea of sitting around on a bloody pad was what gave us the ick. There were no period pants then but I find the idea a bit yucky too.

I couldn't use tampons until I was well into adulthood. They are far from easy to use for loads of women and girls.

DD has modibodi bikini/tankini bottoms. We've only used them in a swimming pool. Not tried all day at the beach, I'm not sure they would last, you'd probably need a change every time you got out of the water.

I’m nearly 50 and I’ve never been able to use tampons. They’re agony. Not everyone is built the same inside.
I got a period when I was a teenager abroad with an unsympathetic mother. She tried make me wear a big fat 80s sanitary towel in the pool.