Will a hotel have tampons? Help!

[largeprintagathachristie]

You couldn’t make it up. No periods for a year (I’m 52) then get a period on the day I’m going on a 13 hour flight, then a four hour flight. it Cramps, accompanying migraine, everything.

But that was SEVEN days ago. Still bleeding and the box of tampons I brought with me is now down to one. (Had a false stop where I thought it had finished but woke up just now and it hadn’t). My usual periods were three to four days.

I’m in a country where modesty is very important, I don’t speak the language and I’m in the country side nowhere near shops. The hotel doesn’t have a shop.

I need to ask the hotel staff, don’t I?
Help gear me up to do it.

I’m sure someone there will have something.

Is there any female member of staff that you’ve previously communicated with?

Reception is probably your best bet, may be better to do over the phone?

Will there potentially be a language barrier? Might be helpful to research the key words in advance.

Sending lots of sympathy your way!

Go to a female staff member and ask her for help. Use google translate. Don't include tampon in case that isn't common where you are - if it is obviously go ahead ask for sanitary protection or pads or something like that.

It really sucks doesn't it

Do you think they might have something in the female public toilet at the reception area?

By the way I had similar situation twice with periods stopped and then resumed again and both times they resumed for 2 days, (noticeably decreasing after first 12 hours) and then stopped again so I only needed 2 pads and then moved to daily again.

Worse case scenario, and I know I’ve had to do it even as an adult when completely unable to get something better, you’ll have to do the toilet roll wrap around.

As PP says, fingers crossed it’s a light and short resumption

Google translate will help you. This is exactly the sort of crap my body does to me thanks to PCOS. No periods for months and then when something important is happening it unleashes the hounds.

hope you get on ok. I found ibuprofen if you can take that or have some, slows the flow.

This happened to my friend in India . She asked for sanitary towels and came back to her room to find a lovely assortment of bath and hand towels but no sanitary towels 😂I would try and find a female member of staff to ask .

Google translate is a good call.

(To add an extra layer of awkwardness to the whole thing, menstruating women are considered unclean, here; like I mustn’t enter holy sites.)

The timing of this is just ridiculous. A year! No periods for a year! And now a crazily heavy and long one.

I agree to talking to a member of staff.

Yes google translate but the blood emoji and pointing to yourself and down to below your waist, women understand these things.

Order online if you are in the Middle East - supermarkets and pharmacy's deliver through hungerstation.

Show them a pic of sanitary towels, just incase google translate lets you down.

This is a good idea!

Are you in SE Asia? Can you download an app called Grab, they have a shopping service so you could use Grab Mart to order pads/tampons to your hotel. Or get a taxi to the shops?

Alternatively, yes, show a picture to the hotel receptionist.

Similar has happened to me, I cut one of the hotel towels into strips, folded and had a decent sanitary towel. Kept the folded up towel strips in my handbag

I can’t help with suggestions, (good luck!) but please do visit your GP when you get home. Vaginal bleeding over a year after your last period should be investigated as post menopausal bleeding

Ask the hotel concierge where you can find a chemist and ask them to get a car to take you there. There must be one in the nearest town, even if it is a bit of a trip. The hotel might have emergency supplies but not lots.

I woke up once in a hotel on Christmas day having very unexpectedly started a period again (post menopause). I was horrified as had no products with me and we were in the deepest countryside so no shops open locally, especially on Christmas day. Luckily I was in the UK at least. I got my husband to walk down to Reception and ask for help.

They didn't keep any in the hotel but the staff had a whip round for me! It was actually very sweet as I got delivered a motley collection of people's personal supply. A cleaner knocked on the door later and gave me a whole packet of sanitary towels she had collected from home! So kind.

Women amongst the hotel staff will be able to identify with your predicatment so I think if you ask for help, you should hopefully receive it.

This is what I was thinking - please get it checked out when you get home.

You might be somewhere with a different culture but this is a common issue for women worldwide and something that unites us. I’m sure they will be understanding and more than happy to help you.

Even if they don’t have a supply for guests, I‘m sure at least one member of staff will have something in their bag.

The idea of showing a photo is great! Less chance of it being lost in translation.

Thank you all for the suggestions and the solidarity; I was feeling really flummoxed and embarrassed and cross with myself and you really helped.

But did you get any san pro?