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.

I'm so jealous of those who can spend £1 a month. I do wish I could have a hysterectomy.

My periods easily cost me £25 each as I need to wear night time pads (more expensive) for a week and buy Ibuprofen Lysine which is much more expensive then add paracetamol and prescription cost of codeine on top.

I heard this too and found it strange. This thread makes me feel lucky though.

I have three day, fairly light so would use maybe 4 pads a day, one in morning, change a couple of times during day then new one at night. Don't use tampons except swimming and can sometimes get away with pantyliner on last day. Don't need new knickers.

I Can't compute 25 quid. she way she phrased it too, something like "it has already cost me 25 pounds" as if it's money spent not loss of earnings.

Where are you all buying your products from? poundland/Poundworld. Branded goods for £1-£2 and that includes stain removers. Painkillers under a pound from supermarkets.

Well, I'm usually bleeding for 2 weeks out of a month, I'd definitely go through more than one box of tampons, but still not that amount of money I guess.

My periods cost 25 quid in wine 😁

I would go through a pack of tampons, half a pack of normal towels, a pack of night towels and half a pack of pant liners. I consider myself to have a normal flow for about 5-7 days.

So I guess that I would spend about £10.

I think what this thread shows is that every girl and woman is different, and period poverty should not exist.

I have to agree OP, I don't think I spend £25 per year, honestly. Plus in a total a total pinch I've used rolled up toilet roll until I could get to a shop, which has stopped any problems before they start. Of course I'm not suggesting we all just use scrunched up bog roll, everyone should have basic hygiene products, but I honestly don't see how it could cost £25 per month.

@LilQueenie Poundland sell branded goods however they sell them half the size for half the price. That plus the petrol to get to my closest bargain store doesn't make it worth it.

I think the amount includes extra toilet roll, extra washing costs, painkillers and having to throw underwear away sometimes. Then the figure seem reasonable.

I took the pill continuously and did away with so called periods altogether.

The bleeding you get on the pill is withdrawal bleeding caused by stopping it for a week. Even my GP took it continuously. Very trendy in the 70s.

@chipsandgin try larger Tesco stores, Sainsbury's and Superdrug for Lillets Ultra, Superdrug also do their own brand.

I didn't realise just how cheap products are here compared to the US. We were on holiday there recently and I ran out and needed to buy some and I paid just over $16 for a pack of towels and a box of tampons. It wasn't even like I was paying a premium for being in a tourist area because I've looked and prices on Walgreens online are the same.

We wear black pants during periods,wish they made pads with black wings.Maybe we should use black sheets too.
I am another heavy bleederI packet of extra long always night pads a day for 4 days plus best part of 20superplus tampons,income pad to save bedsheets1-2 per night for first 4 nights.Perimenopause so also using panty liners all other days asI spot bleed on and off.You could add a bottle of gin to that and still have change from £25.Even if you add in canestan to relieve the itch caused by scented monstrosities.

A year ago I would of agreed with you op. Now I have to buy extra thick pads and super tampons which I have to change every hour. I probably spend £15 -£20 a month on sanitary wear and it’s all non branded stuff. Then add on the prescription for tranexamic acid and probably another £3 on top for painkillers. But hey my dr says I’m fine

Yes just found some research. It includes painkillers and underwear that has to be thrown away and is based on research on what women spend.

Has she explained where she got the figure of £25 from? Broken it down?

Starlive22 Read the thread and you will see that for many women it does cost this amount.

That’s not me including the extra washing, ruined bedding, clothes and towels.

I have to sit on towels on my sofa for 5!days a month because even with super tampons and maternity pads on when I walk around it runs down my legs.

I cant imagine how women with heavy periods (of the extended blood bath nature) even begin to cope if they are homeless or unable to afford sanitary protection.....i would be leaving a trail of blood everywhere and be soaked in it, and I'm not that unusual among those with fibroids.... and it makes me very heartbroken to think of women suffering in this way without hygeine products.

My mooncup cost me £19 and has lasted me since I was 19. Apparently I need to change it to a different size now but I’ve not felt I need to, so haven’t

Reusable knicker liners cost me £10 six months ago but werent really essential. Probably one extra load of washing for towels/reusable liners/pad for under sheet/sheets

But I don’t really notice any increase in cost as everything I use is reusable

Hydrogen peroxide removes blood stains from underwear and bedlinen. Just drop it on & it fizzes up. The stains soon go. You can buy it from pharmacies.

Rinse bloodstains in cold water to avoid setting the stain, but even if it has been washed hot & set, hydrogen peroxide will often shift it.

£25 a period is ridiculous. You can spoil a good argument by over - egging the pudding.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned as I haven’t read the full thread but where I live there is something called the red box charity which supplies schools with sanitary wear, knickers, deodorant, soap and shower gels.

My periods are very often multiple weeks with a lovely 3 days respite. I think 15 solid weeks is my record. I'm still eternally grateful for some kind MNetters sending me washable pads/mooncups/toiletries when I had £20 to last me 5 weeks. One particularly skint episode saw me cutting up bath towels/bed sheets/old t-shirts/any spare fabric I could get hold of. A pack of pads a day, quite often a treatment for BV or Thrush with prolonged periods, mefanemic acid on prescription (I was lucky enough to be gifted a years prepayment certificate recently when I was hospitalised and came out with a prescription the length of my arm) plus washing clothes/bedding/towels, extra showers and other damage control/limitation. The pads sadly got lost in a move so I'm back to a pack of crappy cheap 2 packs for £1.60 pads, tampons etc are very painful. Incontinence pads sometimes needed. Convenience options eg. Buying from the corner shop when I'm unable to get to a big supermarket because of pain or travelling restrictions. I have to specifically budget a huge amount of money for my periods. Washables etc are a huge initial outlay that not everyone has the money for and were also quite awkward in a house share having a bucket full of bloody rags in my tiny damp hovel bedroom at the time. My flatmates loved me boiling my mooncup on the hob

I would struggle to see how it would cost £25 every month.
I'm on the pill so have withdrawal bleeds instead of proper periods. Thankfully they are fairly light and I don't have any pain or cramps at all (I've never ever had issues like that).
I buy a box of regular tampax pearl and a box of liners (as backup). As i say fortunately I don't have any problems and it's never that heavy, and I check regularly and change when I need to, therefore no unfortunate accidents requiring new knickers or bed sheets.
Though of course I realise that's just me.