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 think the estimates are over inflated but I don't understand why the charities etc that help tackle the problem don't try to give out mooncups or equivalent as much as possible. All the help I've seen offered is providing disposable items rather than reusable. Even people that can't use mooncups would probably be better off with reusable cloth pads.

.. 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.

Am I the only one who thinks this is grim? So you have 6 pairs of underpants that last a whole year? Even without periods they end up stained and manky well before a years use. Even my kids pants get replaced more often than than that. Gross

I had problem periods when I was a teen and I bled almost constantly for a year before being admitted to hospital. My mother wouldn’t spend the money on pads so I had to use old hand towels which had been cut up. I washed them out in cold water by hand and then put them into the washing machine.

I think it’s a shame that girls struggle to be able to afford sanpro. You can make your own washable pads for very little if you can sew. I don’t think teens would think that’s acceptable though.

Thing is also, many people who complain they cannot afford a quid for their sanpro (or for the sanpro for their daughters) will often spend money on other frivolous stuff they don't need - like smartphones, ciggies, scratchcards etc.

OP has to be a troll.

“Everyone on benefits buys booze and fags”

OP, I agree that the inflated costs associated with periods by some campaigners do little to further their cause - they are silly and over exaggerated. However, where people need foodbanks I can believe they will not have even a spare £1 for a pack of pads. Using inflated costs actually weakens the case that we actually have people in such poverty they cannot afford the basics.

Says a lot that there are posters who refuse to believe that a product that costs 23p might not be as good as a product that costs a lot more... or that someone might not have the 23p in the first place.

When you don't have the money you just don't have it. You do what you have to do. I'm not talking about buying new knickers because they're stained or new bed sheets. I'm talking about making do with loo roll because it's a choice between proper towels or dinner for your toddler. Decent tampons or putting £1 on the emergency electric.

Thing is also, many people who complain they cannot afford a quid for their sanpro (or for the sanpro for their daughters) will often spend money on other frivolous stuff they don't need - like smartphones, ciggies, scratchcards etc

I knew it wouldn't be long!

We need to stop feeding it.

Oh whoopee I'll nip out to superdrugs or tesco which are both some miles away, we do not all live in big towns to buy chain store stuff easily The bus fares are horrendous so nothing gained by travelling 45 mins to get cheap tampons
It's the local extortionate general store or nothing round here

Thanks @speakout

No good trying to show proof of how cheap sanitary towels are though!

Some posters on here just DO NOT want to see it (or accept it!)

Like they don't want to accept the fact that NO-ONE buys new underwear and new sheets every month!

And they don't want to accept that no-one is so poor - that they can't afford sanitary protection.

And FGS quit the 'what about if you have loads of teenage daughters' line. That is irrelevant. This is about each individual female. Quit moving the goalposts and trying to prove me wrong

How is it irrelevant?
Surely sanpro for them comes out of the household budget?

Have to love the 'i have no direct experience of this issue therefore it does not exist' bullshit on MN.

OP ever struggled to feed yourself? As in, counted out every penny in your purse, dug in the sofas struggled? Had to make a decision between the electric or the gas? Skipped several meals in a row to ensure your child eats properly?

As somebody who was in this situation DESPITE working, let me tell you that when you are faced with trying to do a food shop on the stupid money you have left when everything else is paid, the choice of spending £3 on a box of DECENT - as in, that work - pads or spending £3 on staples isn't a difficult one. I could have spent 75p on a pack of 10 from Tesco...and had to then find another 75p in two days time due to them being absolutely shite & needing changing more frequently.

Its all well & good basing things on your rosey experience. Congratulations, you have easy periods. You can afford reusable products. You don't have to worry about whether you are walking around with a blood stain on your trousers. Instead of judging, listen to what people who HAVE experienced it are telling you. Take off your judgemental pants & i don't know, look at how you can help change the situation?

I do agree that the inflated costs thing doesn't help at all though as it masks the real issue which is that women's gynae health is seen as frivolous and a luxury by those in power.

I never MENTIONED anyone on benefits @MrSpock. That was YOU!

That's something I don't get actually? People spending £8 on prescription ibuprofen? Why? I can understand the ones with codeine added but why buy just ibuprofen at that price? It is literally 800mg instead of the 200s you get off the shelf for 26p. Just buy the cheaper ones and take 4?

Speakout those wouldn't last DD the morning she'd be as well wearing a cotton wool pad!

MrSpock she's now at the stage where she's considering the pill to see if it helps but she's still to-ing & fro-ing about it.

DD is lucky that I can afford her ST's & painkillers but I always chuck some sanpro into the food bank cage at Tesco as I'm not naive enough to think everyone can.

I've tried the cheap value ones and if you're light they're brilliant and much better than always and their grotty chemical smell and thrush but if you're heavy they really don't cut it. You have women on here using continence products to manage their periods, how is that right?

The painkillers I have to take cost £6.99 on their own. Ibuprofen or paracetamol doesn’t cut it.

It sounds like you have a real issue understanding that not everyone’s experience is identical to yours, op.

Exactly @didyousee You can get ibuprofen AND paracetamol for peanuts in wilkos and asda. Less than 50p a box!

Do they sell paracetamol to children and teens?

Younger children can usually only get to a shop by walking. Not everyone can walk to a supermarket selling san pro for less than £1. Periods can start as young as 8 and not all kids are allowed out on their own,

The type of parents who won't buy san pro are probably skimping on food for the kids. If you are 11 and have an extra pound - would you buy food (or sweets) or san pro?

There are stories on here about parents not even buying their dd a bra or teaching them what a period is. It is not inconceivable that this type of parents are buying booze, drugs and fags over necessities like san pro.

Younger girls probably won't be able to get hold of £16 in a go. I have a 15 year old dd and she doesn't want to use a tampon never mind a mooncup as it involves putting something inside of her. (I know many teens use tampons but the attitude of finding mooncups squeamish is probably not unusual)

I agree tbh but I was shot down on the previous thread about this for having no experience of heavy periods. I did have heavy periods as a teen but it never cost quite this much. I always used the night time Kotex pads which were £1 from a budget toiletry store and they were more than sufficient, I’d get through 3-4 packs per period. On a night time I would double or sometimes triple up on them because I had a tendency to flood the bed. As for underwear, I’ve always used shit primark black full briefs which are about £4 for 5 pairs. If I have two packs of those as period pants, they will last me at least the year. So that’s an £8 one off cost for the year and about £4 a month. I understand some people need prescription strength drugs to manage the pain but if you are under 16 or of a low income, that will be free. Otherwise yes, as you say it’s 16p a pack.

Some people factor in time needed off work but I’ve neber personally met anyone who regularly takes time off work for a period and I have friends with severe endo, one just had a full hysterectomy to tackle it. They were fucking miserable and dosed up on prescription drugs but they managed.

And let’s face it, most girls/women don’t have seven day excruciating periods.

speakout

There is ONE brand of tampon in ONE absorbency that means I can be 45 mins away from the loo in days 1-3. That’s before I start doubling up.

They come in packs of 14. I have to change every hour.

Do the maths.

RobinEggs

Nurofen Plus for £7.50 seems a lot.
They contain - Ibuprofen 200mg & Codeine Phosphate 12.8mg.

I buy
32 Ibuprofen - 70p in Boots/Tesco
&
32 Co-Codamol 8mg Codeine with 500mg Paracetamol in Boots/Tesco £2.00

So Im only paying £2.70 for the same 32 Codeine & Ibuprofen plus I get Paracetamol in it, which helps my period pain.

I realise the Codeine is 4mg less, but its not a great deal for a £5 saving.

When I was on benefits, I had a second hand tiny TV that was given to me for free. I couldn’t afford a TV license so I had a £7 Netflix account, so DS1 could have some cartoons.

We lived in a tiny house that you couldn’t even fit the pushchair through the door properly in. I didn’t have a washing machine because I couldn’t afford one.

I was on benefits because I had to leave my job due to them not allowing me any time for DS1s medical appointments.

However I still had my smartphone, that i had bought previously, all my nice clothes and makeup, that I’d bought previously. You see I used to work in a bank. You’d never have guessed I was poor.

Thankfully that is behind us and we are now quite well off.But stop being so judgemental.

Do people on benefits not have periods then?