To say a period does not cost £25

[jinjkl]

I hear the story on the radio about MP Danielle Rowley standing up in parliament to speak out about period poverty.

Good on her - it shouldn't be a taboo subject and I feel for the homeless women or those in poverty who cannot afford basic luxuries. But I can't agree with her statement that each period costs £25, and that women spend £500 a year on sanitary products.

You can buy a 20 pack of supermarket own brand tampons for £1 and that lasts a whole period. Even if you buy Tampax you won't be spending more than £3. Sanitary towels are about the same.

You can pick up some painkillers for under £1. I know some women have extreme periods which require prescription medication, but this is uncommon and it still wouldn't cost anywhere near £25.

Some would probably argue it's the cost of replacing soiled knickers, but the whole period poverty campaign is centred around sanitary protection, not giving women women to buy new knickers after a period (I wish!)

I want sanitary protection to be free as much as the next person, but I just can't abide by these exaggerations. Any woman knows they don't spend £25 every month on their period, and if you are spending this much there is something seriously wrong.

Ladies why are you suffering these horrendous periods? Get a Mirena coil! They’re brilliant. Wish I’d had mine years ago.

I am happy this issue is being brought out into the open..

Sad to see that so many claim that one packet of tampon is fine or " just use a moon cup " and also the " Mirena coil almost everyone can use it"

Sooo lets see thankfully I am now in perimenupause and Its been a year since my last (67 day long period)

however in the past when I was on my period 1 packet of tampons did not last my period. First 2 days I needed pad and tampons for it to be ok and would often need to change hourly. I also needed a night towel and additionally often bleed through as I sleep restless when I have my period.. by day 3-4 usually it had slowed down to a more manageable 1 towel every 4 hours or so. I have never been a great fan of tampons but needs must I did not want to be changing hourly.. Also I found tampons were not great when I had clots and I often did with periods. I would estimate I went through 2 packs of tampons 3 pads of pads and 1/2 a pad of night pads each period..

Yes I went to the doctor about it but basically as everything else was fine it is " just one of those things" I do not have Endo and there is nothing coming up on scans or tests over why I had heavy periods so basically I was told to just build my life around it and I did.

I had PID in my early 20s (pelvic inflamatory decease ) this means no coil including the mirena coil . Additionally I would like to know what about those who would like to conceive? A coil is kinda counter productive to that..

I dont like the sensation of the mooncup. The sensation of the thing down is something I just can't get around. I also always worry that I would not get to it on time. My girlfriend swore by it for a few years then stopped as she said her periods had become far to heavy using it. So mooncup doesn't suit everyone.

Last year like I mentioned above I had a 67 day period complete with several examinations scans and check ups.. They could find no reason it was put down as peri menupause.. I did get some tablets to stop the bleeding and after 10 days it worked and I have not bleed since.. Its a lovely feeling.

MP is overdoing it - but at a tenner a go my periods ain't cheap.

Tena and maternity pads for a week. That's just the start - the boil washes, bleach, pants and sheets add up. As does a new mattress every 2 years.

I thought the exact same things when I heard this.

My last period - in one night alone - I destroyed one towel, one sheet and managed to salvage the mattress protector -

I know I have heavy periods but the cost of prescription painkillers, GP vists, medication to reduce heaviness of period, pads, washing products, destroyed underwear, stain removers, etc would easily equate to 25 pounds a month

Ladies why are you suffering these horrendous periods? Get a Mirena coil! They’re brilliant. Wish I’d had mine years ago.

One woman's treasure if another woman's 7 month long period with 3 stone of weight gain and cramping so bad I was hospitalised. But you know what, one more try won't hurt ey!

It's somewhere between the two extremes for me. I don't spend anything like £25 but I couldn't manage on one box of tampons (well, I don't normally use tampons, but you know what I mean). I would estimate I spend about £6 a time if I don't stock up. I won't say £6 a month because I've reached that stage where you don't know whether it's going to be 4 months or 3 weeks till the next time.

The majority of women will have a normal period. I consider mine to be very 'average' and buy a pack of super and a pack of normal tampax pearl, a pack of body form every day pads and a pack of always night pads. That would last me 2 periods. A pack of paracetamol and ibuprofen would last me 3-4 months if I only take them for period pain on the first day or so.

I don't so extra washing, just the usual amount. I don't buy extra stain remover as I use it anyway as I have a baby. I don't buy new knickers just where my big comfy pants.

I wouldn't spend more than a fiver a month for all of that. I would class that as more usual than all those saying they use 150 tampons a day for 14 days and you need to change you clothes multiple times and your sheets twice a night. That's not normal and I don't think you need to put up with it!

Have to agree with @Enko It's bloody annoying how people are saying 'just use a mirena coil' and 'use a mooncup!' Not everyone can, and not everyone wants to. I would never use either.

@Guna100 do you really pay for GP visits? How often are you going if you have always had heavy period s?

I think More or Less did a segment on this figure and proved it to be wrong. There are women who spend that but it's not the average. Sanpro should be free whatever the cost though. It doesn't matter how much it costs it's unavoidable.

Ladies why are you suffering these horrendous periods? Get a Mirena coil! They’re brilliant. Wish I’d had mine years ago

I’m not eligible to have one fitted due to fibroids.

But yeah, just suffering horrendous periods because I haven’t thought of every possible treatment

That's not normal and I don't think you need to put up with it!

I could try and bed Mother Nature for an early menopause? Might get more luck doing that than harassing my GP(s) who just fob me off with painkillers and another useless contraceptive.

The point of this is that some woman bleed horrendously, some don't. But when you are unlucky and also in poverty there's a huge problem that the UK, including women oddly, seem to want to pretend isn't happening.

Slightly off topic but is there anything I can do for a stained mattress?!

It’s an ancient stain now, but every time I change the sheets I’m faced with it and dread a helpful guest ever stripping the bed for me and gazing in horror at the carnage revealed beneath.

If we ever change mattresses, I’m going to have to tape bin bags around it before I can take it outside to be disposed of…

yeah I deffo couldnt make a £1 pack of tampons last a whole period!!
Id probably spend about a tenner... and thats if I thought ahead and managed to get to a big supermarket to stock up on the cheap heavy flow ones.... also buy heavy flow extra long pads for overnight
If I was caught unexpectedly which stupidly I sometimes am id be paying top dollar at the local shop which could push it up to £20

What about if you start your period without warning and have to buy your sanitary protection at motorway services? It's happened to me several times - I keep them in the car but it's not unfeasible for some hefty charges there.

Why do some posters feel the need to dismiss what a period costs some women? You've been told how that cost is broken down and for some posters it's higher.

I'm one of the lucky ones but it wouldn't occur to me to pooh-pooh what other women say it costs them. So it doesn't cost you that much and you can have a zero cost period? Bully for you. Fab. Happy for you. Why not just count your lucky stars and STFU.

@TwoDrifters this will sound stupid but I was in your situation and nothing budged the red, so one day, seeing red, I mixed coke and coffee and threw it over my mattress. I quickly cleaned it with varnish and boiling water realising now stupid I was and the stain is now a dull orange which could be easily passable as fake tan.

Hope this helps?

'Thats not normal and you shouldnt put up with it'

Well.... it is normal! According to doctors... and what exactly are you supposed to do about it?
Some women just have very heavy periods.... I have very heavy and irregular periods but thankfully just moderate pain, rarely lots of pain and so its not something im going to bother my doctor about.... I think it is quite common to have heavy periods... Id only 'do something about it' were I in pain that I couldnt cope with

Vanish*

I must be very lucky. One pack of own brand tampons and one pack of own brand pads and I won't use all of them in one period. So less than £1.80. Every woman is different but I would still say that £25 is extreme period spending not the average.

Here we go again. Have people not learned yet that their periods are not the same as other people’s periods

Well, back at you, really.

Obviously some women do have an horrendous time and are virtually immobilised by very heavy flow and have other period related issues which impact on their life and incur additional expense. I am genuinely sorry if that is your situation. But I think it is fairly clear this is not the experience of most women so to present this as the average cost is misleading.

Oh and as a PP pointed out, 12 times £25 is not £500. This is not a trivial point. It is embarrassing and undermines the argument.

I literally just read this online and came straight here to post! WTF! £25!!!!! So glad someone else has! Tampons on offer - buy in different sizes so you just use a few each month of whichever size or am I missing something! Even if you bought a jumbo box of each size plus towels it wouldn’t cost that much! Surely!

Have always had the easier east periods ever. Regular no more than 5 days. However still need to buy a pack of light tampons pre period " just in case". Super heavy for the first cupuple of days.Less absorb at in Cade iGet TSS. Thicker pants and more attractive pants , tons of sodding loo roll to wrap the bastards, bin bags etc etc
So replacement pants, sheets, mattresses over a lifetime of " accidents" in the first world does probably work out pretty close to £25 especially for those of us that need to have time off from work.

I'm perimenopausal. This means I might get a period tomorrow, or in a few weeks. This means I have to have SP set up in my knickers all day every day. Even using Tesco Own Brand this really mounts up financially.

I am getting so annoyed at some of the comments on this thread.

People are talking about how horrendous their periods are and I don't know if readers are not reading previous comments or if they think we are telling lies but some of the comments are really dismissive.

If you're periods are that heavy - why haven't you been to the doctors?

It only costs me £nothing - why don't you use unbranded?

Some people have heavy periods. There is nothing medically wrong according to the doctors. The options they give are not always great. Flooding isn't absorbed quickly by cheap sanitary protection. Plus some women really can't swim if they are on a heavy day - tampons don't last long enough!