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!

I was hospitalized due to period pain as a teen. Luckily, it was a freak occurrence and never happened again. I can't imagine going through that pain every month. It was horrific. There's no way I'd be able to work through my period if they were as painful as that one was.

I do get constipation when I'm on so have to buy laxatives too, I guess things like that are added to the cost.

And I really, really would not like to test out budget sanpro unless it was on a day I didn't have to leave the house.

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

It isn’t fact. You seem rather confused about what is fact and what is opinion.

HTH

I agree those costs must be for very rare extreme cases, neither myself or my friends have ever spent anywhere near that amount as this came up for discussion recently as it's a current topic.

Given our benefit system, there should be no excuse to not buy period related items and if you don't purchase for a child it should be neglect not poverty. It would be a tiny percentage of child related benefits.

I suppose OP would see the solution to put all teenage girls and women on the pill and sod the consequences.

Not quite on topic but I used to work on an acute mental health ward. Women would get sectioned and come in with just the clothes they were wearing. More than once I went and bought sanitary towels and tampons for the ward from my own money because these weren't supplied and these women had absolutely nothing and no one to get them things. Which is depressing and not ever really discussed.

I think cotton rags probably worked - after a fashion - when women wore loose skirts, and in communities where nobody had money to buy sanpro.

One of the awful things about poverty is the way it separates you from other people.

You can't wear fashionable skinny jeans or tight shorts or leggings - if you've got folded up rags stuffed in your pants. Nor is it easy to change rags while you're out - and stuff used ones in something like a nappy bag.

I was hospitalized due to period pain as a teen. Luckily, it was a freak occurrence and never happened again. I can't imagine going through that pain every month. It was horrific. There's no way I'd be able to work through my period if they were as painful as that one was.

I’ve been hospitalised for it several times.

I actually have a horrible memory of being 15, and home alone because my mum went to the gym. The pain got worse and I remember literally crawling across the floor to get to my phone to tearfully call my mum and I could barely talk.

I don’t remember what happened after that but I woke up in bed with my mum back home, she said she had found me passed out on the floor after I went silent.

They aren’t quite as bad as an adult but they’re still awful.

Wow! And the arrogance continues - there are MILLIONS of families in temporary accommodation (ie homeless) who can BARELY afford FOOD so 50p even IS a big deal - WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE IT.

On the thread I linked to I calculated what my expenditure would be if I were still undiagnosed and untreated (which FAR too many girls and women are). £43.78 per month.

ANYone can afford sanpro, stop being ridiculous

You do realise that some people are in a deficit before they even cover their essential bills?

There IS period poverty in the U.K. Of course the figures quoted are going to be slightly sensationalist but not every woman’s period is the same each month.

A box of tampons is £3/£5 in Boots depending on brand. Add to that the painkillers, the extra sanitary towels in case you leak. The desperate heated pad purchases because you’re going to school or work and feel sick with the pain and cramps, and it’s too obvious to sit with a hot water bottle in your lap in the office or classroom.

What about new knickers, buying Vanish for cleaning blood-stained bedsheets so your Mum doesn’t find out. Or having to stop off on the way to work or school to buy something sugary or sweet because you feel nauseous at your period coming and losing so much blood. Or having to take the bus to school and not walk because you’re in pain!

It’s not as easy as to dismiss it or ‘solve’ the issue with saying use a mooncup or shop for bargain SanPro. It’s about women in poverty being able to HANDLE their period and not dread it each month.

In most cases, toilet roll is more expensive than sanitary towels FGS!

It's more accessible for those who don't have any money, inadequate for periods as loo roll is.

You don't have to accept it but it does exist.

Yes, totally stupid and living on a different planet from the rest of us.

I do think the average spend is being (massively!) overstated by these campaigns which I don't think helps their cause. There are some people on low incomes for whom (due to medical reasons) periods are crippingly expensive though.

And if you are in poverty you may not be able to afford transport to a shop that sells sanitary products, painkillers etc cheaply and/or never have a spare £20 in one go for a Mooncup.

@rosetree7

I have a menstrual condition that due to cuts I no longer meet the criteria for treatment of. I’ve been trying to get the issue dealt with seriously for 7 years.

I’m lucky. I’m solvent. I work from home. Meaning I can afford to buy the only sanpro that works and don’t lose earnings when I’m having to sit on a bath towel.

I don’t assume everyone is in the same position as me.

You should try empathy sometime.

But you're not stating facts - you're stating your own personal experience as if it's the same as everyone else's and its not

I can easily imagine how some young girls are living with period poverty if they're anything like DD.

Her periods are horrendous! They last anything between 7-14 days & sometimes she only gets a 7 day break before it comes back. She goes through a night time ST in approx 2-3 hours including during the night so that's a minimum of 8 a day - which is anything between 56-168 a period so even buying a 10pack for a quid is approx £6-£17. The pain is horrific & she needs paracetamol & ibuprofen at regular intervals throughout the day just to be able to function but some days she's practically bedridden as it's so awful.

I have taken her to docs but get fobbed off with she's still developing & they'll settle down but she's been like this since she started her periods at 9.

So yeah for girls (& women) like DD it's quite easy to believe they can't afford the upkeep of periods.

& that's before I get started on the fact that it's not considered a necessity & is bloody taxed!

Given our benefit system

It's the benefit system that puts many people in this situation. When you get £70 a week and you have to pay towards your rent and council tax from that, there's little leftover once you've paid for utilies and bought food.

You also have cases where parents haven't bought it for children, hence some schools having measures in place to help. Examples in the press of girls missing school because they haven't any sanitary protection.

Utter nonsense that you have to keep buying new underwear and new bedsheets.

Despite having light periods, mine are exceptionally painful and I have had to do this several times due to me being someone who moves a lot in my sleep and my sanpro moving around. It happens.

Given our benefit system, there should be no excuse to not buy period related items and if you don't purchase for a child it should be neglect not poverty. It would be a tiny percentage of child related benefits.

Suppose you have two teenage daughters and they both have heavy periods.

Suppose they need new shoes or school uniform. There's a school trip to be paid for. The washing machine has broken and needs to be replaced. The electricity bill has just come.

The benefit system allows for bare subsistence. It's hard to make it stretch to cover the bare necessities - food, fuel, rent.

whiskey please keep going back. Mine were awfully painful from the beginning and I got fobbed off. They now think I have endo.

Your poor DD :(

I have experienced period poverty
2 kids low pay no mainenance ( 1996)
Every penny counted mainly toast for every meal for me to ensure kids got fed
Really struggled at the time of the month.
Luckily my mum helped me out ( a lot )
So op , really happy for you but I know it exists , grow up and open your eyes