To not accept that there is 'period poverty' in the UK.....?

[rosetree7]

Fully expecting to be told I am BU, but I genuinely do not get this 'period poverty' malarkey.

Some reports say periods cost £42-45 a month (£500 a year.) Never in my life have I - or anyone else I know - spent £42-45 a MONTH on their period. Not even a tenth of that actually.

Some of the things they (supposedly) spend money on are tampons and STs (obviously...) You can get a pack of sanitary towels for less than a pound. Less than 50p in some shops!

And also mooncups.

Although mooncups cost £16 to £22, most mooncups will last 10 years, so you'd only buy 3 or 4 in your lifetime!!! And they also spend on pain relief - but paracetamol and ibuprofen are 16 to 26p a packet from Wilkos. And plenty of other shops sell them for a similar price!

Oh and apparently, they have to keep spending money on new underwear every month. What a load of shit.. I have bought 18 pairs of underpants in 5 years, (at a cost of around £25 for the entire 5 years!) 5 pairs of them are dark coloured - and I wear them for my periods. Never in my life have I bought new underpants for every new period.

So what is this all about? And how on earth are they coming up with such a ludicrous figure as £42-45 a month?! I mean, some girls are apparently using toilet roll as they 'can't afford' sanitary towels? In most cases, toilet roll is more expensive than sanitary towels FGS!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3291537-To-say-a-period-does-not-cost-25

You are LUCKY it doesn't affect YOU.

Try and open your mind just a crack and have compassion for YOUNG GIRLS in this position.

Stunningly arrogant and ignorant post.

If you can't afford food, you sure as hell can't afford sanpro. Maybe try not to be so smug, OP.

I agree this amount seems excessive, never added mine up (I will next time) but I know it’s nowhere near £42 (I’d be surprised if it’s a quarter of that). I used to get very heavy periods as a teen and required prescription painkillers. These were free as I was still in FTE. I appreciate that some people really struggle with low income though.

My periods are so heavy that the "super absorbent" bedtime pads barely last 5 mins!

I also don't get cramps before hand so no warning of the flood gates opening, just have to hope my dates are right and I've got a pad on prepared.

I agree with OP, I have severe flooding and clotting in average my sanitary towels cost me £8 to £10 a month and those are tena ladies the biiiig ones. I bleed for a solid 7 days with no let up of flow and change my pads at least 4 to 5 times a day.

I have tried the mooncup it is very uncomfortable for me and feels like a piece of plastic jammed up there.

It costs me about 75p for a box of tampons, I might take paracetamol twice but I do use maybe a pack of panti liners every week so on average £5 a month. It doesn't matter that it's not £50 though, some people genuinely struggle to buy what they need. Low income families should receive vouchers imo.

I knew I would be accused of being unreasonable.

I'm not though.

It's nonsense that women spend so much.

And 'having to buy for my daughters too' is totally irrelevant. (as one poster said.) This is about one woman's period (or girl.)

And including time off sick is also irrelevant. These figures are base PURELY on the period and what they (supposedly) need for it!!!

I am pleased to see a few sensible responses on here though!!!

ANYone can afford sanpro, stop being ridiculous! 25 p to a pound for a packet of 12-16 sanitary towels in most stores. Yeah, even ones for 'heavy flows....;

I have periods so light, I need sanpro for two to three days maximum and can wear pantyliners.

Using OPs logic should I disbelieve everyone who has heavy periods just because I don’t have them?

But there are people who do not have the luxury of being able to buy new underwear - they have to put up with wearing pants where the bloodstains haven't washed out. And the cost of laundry when periods are heavy/irregular is greater. Sheets that are stained from leaks. Or having to sleep on bloodstained sheets because the washing machine uses precious electricity.

I absolutely believe that period poverty exists, especially for teenage girls and those on the lowest incomes.
I might struggle to see where £500 per annum comes from, but I do believe there are plenty of people for who finding even £5 a month is a stretch too far.

Good point about the lost earnings. When I was teens / early twenties I had to take half day off work each month as I couldn't move for first couple of hours. I was lucky as I got paid but what about all those on zero hours contracts?

I used to have to use toilet paper to bulk out one ST per day. My parents were in no way poor (took me to very fancy long distance holidays), but they didn't understand why I one pack of 12 pads didn't last more than a month (24 day cycle) and they made such a scene about it.
I put a pack of STs in the food bank basket every time I have my period, it's a trigger to remind me. Would be happy to donate to schools if there was some way.

My mother’s generation didn’t have or couldn’t afford commercial disposable sanpro. She used cotton rags that she washed out each night and reused. Blood is a protein, so best washed in cold water anyway - no need for expensive hot water or chemical detergents.
How much does one pile of cotton rags cost? Presumably if you cut up old sheets or t shirts, nothing.
Disposable sanpro is not very environmentally friendly, as it contains plastic. Surely we should be encouraging either reusables or mooncups? And if we taxpayers are going to have to provide free sanpro, surely it would be much better value than disposables?

Good point about the lost earnings. When I was teens / early twenties I had to take half day off work each month as I couldn't move for first couple of hours. I was lucky as I got paid but what about all those on zero hours contracts?

I used to miss a week of school. As an adult, I usually have two agonising days where I can’t ecen stand up. Luckily I work part time.

I agree with you on the figures quoted. I spend about £1 a month. I understand some women may spend more but the figures quoted must be very extreme unusual cases, rather than the norm.

There is poverty in general which means that people can't afford all sorts of necessities including sanitary products.

I can't imagine how they came up with that figure. But I also can't imagine you have experience of poverty. I taught in a very deprived area years ago. The school had its own designated social worker. She told me most children had no sheets on the bed, no underwear & got one meal a day at home. They'd never seen meat so come school meal time had to be shown how to cut it etc. If that's the poverty you live in, sanpro, heavy periods & replacing ruined knickers are going to be an issue.

DRS OFTEN FOB WOMEN OFF - GETTING DIAGNOSIS LET ALONE A TREATMENT THAT WORKS CAN TAKE YEARS

REMEDIES/TREATMENTS LIKE MIRENA DO NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE THEY CAN EVEN MAKE THINGS WORSE

A SIGNIFICANT MINORITY OF WOMEN SUFFER VERY HEAVY PAINFUL PERIODS PLUS OTHER SYMPTOMS

AS A RESULT THEY NEED TO SPEND FAR MORE ON:

SANITARY PROTECTION (CHEAPER PRODUCTS, REUSABLE PRODUCTS DO NOT WORK FOR MOST OF THEM ) mooncup evangelists - great they work for you, happy for you - but they aren't suitable or affordable for everyone.

MEDICATION (CHEAPER, OTC PRODUCTS DO NOT WORK FOR MOST OF THEM ) NOT JUST FOR CRAMPS BUT ALSO OTHER SYMPTOMS - MIGRAINE, BOWEL UPSET, ANAEMIA...

REPLACING CLOTHES/BEDDING - STAIN REMOVAL ONLY GOES SO FAR - AND EVENTUALLY THE EXTRA WASHING, THE PROTEINS IN BLOOD BREAK THE FABRIC DOWN AND THEY DO NEED REPLACING

ANYone can afford sanpro, stop being ridiculous! 25 p to a pound for a packet of 12-16 sanitary towels in most stores. Yeah, even ones for 'heavy flows....

You’re not unreasonable. You’re utterly stupid.

Calm down @Graphista

I agree that the scale of the problem and the proposed costs are exaggerated. Where schoolgirls are left without tampons and pads, this is less a financial issue than a symptom of neglect and poor parenting.

I also suspect schoolgirls are still using "I CAN'T miss, because I'm on my PERIOD, as many of us did in my time, but with an added "and I can't afford TAMPONS".

Also as someone with fibroids, I quickly learned to soak pants in cold water to remove blood, and to keep the raggiest ones for periods. Buying new ones the way I bleed would bankrupt a Rothschild.

How much does one pile of cotton rags cost? Presumably if you cut up old sheets or t shirts, nothing

Like fuck would I do that...this is the UK in 2018.

Do you think someone poor could afford my prescription drugs at £8 a box?

I am stupid? For stating FACTS @jaqueshammer OK then !!

Frequency - if you use some vanish, the stain will come out and your daughter will not be forced to wear stained underwear.

OP - YABVU. As I think you know deep down.