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.

Or dark sheets and the stains don't show!

On a more lighthearted note, my ex used to complain that my periods were too expensive due to the amount of beer he needed to get through them

Pure cotton white sheets and ace bleach is the best because you can soak in cold water and then 90 degree them with double washing powder and ace bleach and sun them - and if that fails, get them in the bath in bleach

Unfortunately none of that is possible for us these days as we live off grid, so for example 90 degree wash not an option with solar power, can't use bleach with our water system. There's always one .

Doesn't matter at the moment though because I'm pregnant and once I've popped this one out I can, thankfully, go back on the pill and not have to deal with that bullshit anymore.

And another one for those wondering how people can make such a fuss about periods, I had to seriously consider not having children because coming off the pill to do so meant I had to endure the kind of periods that made it very difficult to work or have any kind of normal life for 25% of the time. But yeah, we're just being drama queens...

Or dark sheets and the stains don't show!

I just don't get this - they do show! Even on black sheets, because you end up with a lighter, brown stain after washing.

It's all utterly abhorrent.

Women who suffer debilitating menstrual pain deserve to have it investigated and taken seriously by heathcare workers. You'd think 'human being in regular severe pain' would be seen as worthy of treatment, but apparently not.

Further, women whose flow is heavy enough to limit their daily lives (as plenty of women have described) deserve help. In 21st century Britain, women who lose the genetic lottery of period severity are being excluded from participating in public life for a week out of every four, and other people don't even acknowledge that it happens.

When I went to the GP with heavy periods, I realised I didn't actually know if they were heavy; I knew they were heavy for me, but how did that compare with other women? Don't think I have ever sat round comparing what absorbencies and how often we changed. And knowing how many ml the average woman loses in a period is about as meaningless as knowing the stopping distance for a car at 70mph is 315ft - it just isn't something meaningful in a useful way. Even when it's described as teaspoons - well, it doesn't all come out in one easy-to measure unit like that. Knowing I need to change a super plus tampon within an hour, and there are clots the size of 3 fingers together or something, that I can relate to.

The thing which has really amazed me over the years (now mid-40s) is how much my periods have changed over the decades. I remember being told at school that we might experience periods differently from each other - flow, colour, pain levels and so on, but I thought that your own ones would be pretty much the same forever. Er, I was quite wrong there... and I've never been pregnant, which I could expect might stir things up a bit, for good or ill.

I think we are all different - breasts are, penises are, I assume vaginas are, but I'm not a gynaecologist, so I only really know my own. But I assume they are, at least from comments men have made, so it would make sense that we don't all suit one type of tampon or menstrual cup or anything, just like we don't all fit the same bra.

Whether or not people agree with the figures, I think it's a good thing that it's being talked about. I think there are quite a lot of men (and this quite a lot of MPs) who have no idea how periods really work - not just biologically, but in their management, and probably quite a few of them, even those who live with women, haven't ever really thought about what it costs, and how that will affect women in poverty - and that one size won't fit all.

You're totally right @EBearhug - talking about it is so important. I was whinging recently about how I always seem to get my period when we're staying with friends or at a B&B and am therefore constantly worried about staining all the bright white linen and towels. Partner was amazed - had just never realised the things we have to worry about!

Even when it's described as teaspoons - well, it doesn't all come out in one easy-to measure unit like that.

Haha - yes, I think they should use heaped teaspoons as a measure.

Actually, heaped pudding spoons.

In all this discussion one (for me very real and costly) aspect of having periods has been left out!
Food, oh how much do I need food at a certain point in my cycle! As your period is linked to a healthy body weight, I think it's a real issue for women on the poverty line. Our bodies are very complex and the financial cost of being a woman reaches beyond sanitary towels.
ok once I have my period, I actually eat very little.

PP who keep suggesting coil / just taking POP: what if you’d like to get pregnant ? Or, like me, not suffer the horrific acne and cramps that lots of us get from taking something like norethisterone. I do take it every so often, when I have a period that doesn’t stop for weeks, but it’s not pleasant and I refuse to do it regularly.
And, to those PP who’ve said that losing that much blood must cause anaemia, it does. So, add in feeling tired and dizzy, and an £8.50 prescription charge for massively strong iron tablets (although this is usually for a 2 month course admittedly, so not every month).
I’ve never done the sums for my period spending, but the sheer number of towels & tampons I go through, plus prescription painkillers & iron tablets, plus stain remover for knickers, sheets and towels and many many extra washes... I shudder to think how much it all costs.
Yes, I’ve been to my GP (a number of times). Some things I can’t take as they’re unsuitable for migraine sufferers. I can’t cope with feeling as low as I did when covered in acne from POP (never mind the cramps). Normal hormonal spots are plenty, thanks. No-one is rushing to find other solutions for menstrual ill-health.

The older you get the more it hurts...days off..(i cant even sit down it hurts) pads mooncups tampons pain kilkers...the fact i have to treat oh with nice meal and wine when its all over ? 25 quid? A steal.

@SharpLily for stains, try Shout. I’ve brought it back in my suitcase for years after getting used to using it abroad, but recently found you can buy it here. It’s by Mr Muscle here. Spray on stains, leave 10 mins or so then wash as normal. Never failed to get out blood, even dried. Admittedly that’s only on cotton as I don’t wear anything else for underwear or sheets, but I reckon most people’s big, secure period pants will prob be cotton for the breathability

This thread has been so enlightening. Until I became perimenopausal I think my periods were fairly average - lasted 5 or 6 days, first two or three days I uses super tampons changed every 3 to 5 hours, sometimes with a pad at night too just in case, then a couple of days of regular tampons changed every 4 to 6 hours, then on day 5 or 6 I would use pads as not enough flow to insert a tampon.

I knew that some women had heavier periods than me and some lighter but I had absolutely no idea how much heavier or lighter. I thought heavier would be needing to use super plus or super plus extra tampons, and possibly changing every 2 or 3 hours, and lasting maybe 7 or 8 days. I thought lighter might be a 3 or 4 day period and only ever needing to use regular tampons or a regular pad changed not overly often. I had no idea that some women might use a super plus extra tampon, plus night time pad, and still have to change both every half hour, and that they would have to do that for many days. And I never imagined that someone could have periods so light that their period lasts 2 days and they can mostly go without san pro at all.

for stains, try Shout. I’ve brought it back in my suitcase for years after getting used to using it abroad, but recently found you can buy it here. It’s by Mr Muscle here

Thanks, @SomewhatDisgruntled but we're not in the UK :).

That's pretty relevant actually - here there are no 50p packs of supermarket brand painkillers. Painkillers - even paracetamol and ibuprofen - are only from pharmacies and are expensive. Another heavy cost.

I had no idea how much I spent and was fortunate we weren’t on the poverty line. But I had really heavy long lasting periods and a box of 20 supermarket tampons would go absolutely nowhere with me
I would be using 4 or 5 heavy duty night time sanitary pads and an extra pair of knickers (for added protection) and I only narrowly managed a night time avoiding leakage for the first three nights and two pads on subsequent nights going down to one for the last night. During the first three days I could easily get through 4 or 5 tampons and I had to use these alongside a long sanitary towels. £25 sounds excessive but all women and periods are different.

I wonder if the politician has other females in her house such as daughter’s?? This can make it costly for a family. I’m dreading my little girls getting their periods. I’m a single mother and have 2 girls. If they are anything like me the early teenage days will be heavy lasting up to 2 weeks. I used to wear 2 pads and change regularly and bed time was a nightmare. I was then put on the pill age 14/15 which put me into a 28 day cycle with a perfectly timed blood loss on the 7 day break. I was given this to help acne too. Blood loss was much lighter. I’ve never been able to use tampons and recently discovered that it’s due to my cervix being a funny angle making inserting things tricky and painful (sex included). When I decided to try and conceive it took 3 years as I barely had a period after coming off the pill. Extreme to extreme. Was diagnosed with PcoS eventually. Second child also took a few years. Then I hit my 40s and I’m told I can’t stay on combined pill much longer. Tried injection and pop but neither agree and both cause dreadful acne. No way am I having a coil. So currently on the combined pill and only needing one pack of regular flow pads a week and painkillers for the headaches I often get. Not costing me much now but when my 2 girls start it will add a bit to the weekly budget, especially in the early days when they are learning to manage and will go through a tonne of underwear and bedsheets and clothes.
So my point is that periods could cost a household around the £25 mark if there’s more than one female. And for families on the poverty line this is where they become an issue.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and totted up what I'd spend on a period ages ago. Prescription for tranexamic acid and mefanamic acid (halved as would last 2 periods), 1 to 2 packs of pads, 1 to 2 large boxes of tampons before mooncup, 1 pack of nappies for nights thanks to an MN tip (quartered as would last about 4 periods), add in some for laundry costs. I was probably spending around £25 a month on a period .

Took me years and years to be taken seriously that my periods weren't normal. In later stages not even normal for me. Had an endometrial ablation 2 years ago and now get to use washable san pro and nothing else except occasional painkillers.

@SharpLily I’ve bought it in 2 other EU countries & I know you can get it in Canada, so worth a look? Sometimes called Bio Shout. I’ve checked my bottle and it’s made by Johnson and they get everywhere! I really couldn’t manage without it.

I've used Shout as well, but what I reall swear by is scrubbing at the stain with a plastic bristled brush with plenty of soap before it goes in the washing machine.

But this scrubbing is, again, an additional burden on women placed by periods.

I started periods at 9. My alcoholic mother was disinterested and I used to save my pocket money to go and buy towels for myself. Fuck knows what would have happened if I hadn’t had my pocket money. I’m talking 40 years ago and pads weren’t 3 for 2 then. This is true. We are women, we get periods but £25 per month is medically preventable. Fibroids can be removed I’ve had it done as can polyps had that too. For those in real poverty, they should just be free.

Maybe she’s factored in “associated costs” like extra food, more tissue for tears, speeding tickets, higher phone bills, breakages, cost of divorce 🤔😝😆

She must be free bleeding and throwing sheets out. I have a low thyroid, so bleed heavily twice a month. I spend about 3pounds in superdrug. I might get cravings and eat some chocs but that is about it.