I basically just dropped my nappy in front of everyone

[Fikaa]

I am mortified and just want to go home and hide under my duvet! Logically I know I shouldn't be but....I am. I suffer from really heavy periods due to the luck of having both PCOS and Endo. As a result I wear what are essentially nappies.

The long hotdesk I was sat at and the desk behind were chatting (lunch time) and I needed to change. The pads don't have wrappers so I keep them in a neon makeup bag. Not sure why but I was really self conscious about taking the makeup bag out so decided to transfer the pad to my sleeve. I was trying to be discreet but I fricking fumbled the damn pad which just took off like a fucking paper airplane and landed 2 cm from my neighbours foot. I was horrified and just grabbed it and apologised like a freak. 5+ people must have seen.

I know this may be age related but I'm genuinely upset and just want to change jobs. I'm really concerned some may assume I'm incontinent :'(

Also, wait till you see the size of maternity pads they give you after having a baby. Those do not fit up sleeves.

All this faux "I don't know why you felt embarrassed".
Most women I know are quite private about their personal hygiene. Sure, we talk about periods and what we use and problems and the like, but among ourselves (at book club, or running, out for coffee) not with our colleagues in the office.

It isn’t a nappy (is it?!) It’s a sanitary pad. Why up your sleeve? Just take your bag with you. People will realise why but not give it a second thought.
Why are you so worried they will think it’s for incontinence? That seems unlikely.

I had a manager who used to point out women taking their bags to the loo in our very open plan office ..he'd say "ooh it's handbag week 😏." Childish creep

There the same ones you can use for heavy periods.

No big deal.

Hope someone reported him. Fucking weirdo

@RedWingBoots
Nah I mean the ones they give you in the delivery room that probably wouldn’t fit up my sleeve even if my arm wasn’t in it. They don’t fold up, they just come in a large box. Maybe my hospital used different ones to yours.

Used pooey nappy = v embarassung but still a natural thing, maybe the person has a bowel iissue or dissbility y so is adult using nappies. Still not sn issue if is a droppjng of it by accivident.

droppiing your used sanitary pad? Not great and not sure how it would happen but if not done on purpose say oops sorry and move on.

One large wrapped up clean sanitary pad?? Dont give it a second thought

I'm sure some of the men if they're decent enough know what they are. Mine would, he's been out with them on the shopping list so many times!

I also have PCOS and you could mistake my huge pads for nappies. I remember being offered a maternity pad in hospital when I'd just given birth and it was about half the size of what I usually use 😂

I've stopped caring. I will nip into the loo just holding my pad from my desk. If someone sees, they know I'm on my period... So what? I have periods. So do a lot of people.

I'm walking to the bathroom, I'm either going for a wee, a poo or changing my pad.

I'm pretty sure no one in my office gives a shit and so what if they did?

At my last workplace the women all kept there own bags of tampons etc on a shelf in the ladies, avoiding all the taking your handbag drama.

I once walked out of the doctors surgery and an elderly lady with a Zimmer frame walked out in from of me. Something white in my peripheral vision caught my eye behind her and I looked down and saw that her incontinence pad was suck to the bottom of her shoe and slowly following her out the door. Your day could have been worse. 😳

Unfortunately that was just the tip of the iceberg with him! Unisex loos too so women didn't keep tampons etc in there

If it was a man he either is a mature adult and didn’t care
or he’s a bit immature and panicked at seeing a pad and looked away.
if he did stare (unlikely) he likely has zero frame of reference for a big or small pad.

if it was a woman, she’s probably dropped one on the floor before and just felt your pain.

You dropped a sanitary towel? Yabu to catastrophise. Get over it.

That's quite a lot of extraneous detail.

It wasn't used, nobody cares.

I work in a male dominated environment and you know what? Most of them have wives or girlfriends so most have seen a clean sanitary product and in some cases are no strangers to seeing a used one either. Some have kids so were there during the birth, so honestly a clean wrapped pad dropping to the floor is probably a total non issue for all but the most Neanderthal of men.

As an aside, when you said a nappy - I remembered back to when I was miscarrying. Very heavy, clotty, floody on the first day of them, so I used to grab one of the baby's actual nappies, unfold it and lay it into my big snug underwear. The front and back coverage and the leg elastic was great for ensuring my bed and PJs stayed unbloodied, and everything stayed contained. And the lining was softer than the plasticky feel of some pads too - perfect when you are just sore and sensitive in the nethers. My periods are pretty ok now but if I had heavy ones I'd use them again.

Because it is, OP. Honestly. If it was me it had landed beside, it probably wouldn't have registered what it was but even if it had, my first thought would be poor woman must have an awful time with her period. I think most decent people would understand, they wouldn't sneer.

Jesus, some of the posters one here are really giving you a hard time! Why so horrible?! Are people upset because it could be seen as insinuating that periods are shameful? They aren't, obviously but I can definitely relate to the OP.
Be nice and have some empathy.
I can feel your pain, OP and can very much imagine feeling the same way.
However, it's so much better that the pad wasn't a used one although that wouldn't be a shameful occurrence either.

First of all, I thought 'dropped my nappy' was going to be a turn of phrase along the lines of 'threw my toys out of the pram'...

Second, I don't mean to be unkind but 'took off like a fucking paper airplane' made me SNORT with laughter. If it's any consolation, OP, you're a fabulous writer and a right laugh.

I think people would realise/assume it was a period product, not an incontinence one.
And, I know you felt mortified, I get it, really. But people will either think briefly that you must have a bad time with your periods, and feel sympathetic, and/or they'll forget about it within minutes.

Dont worry OP, at least you havent left spotting on the chair and as you stood up it was observed by others in your team as I have done in the past :(

@TeaAndJaffacakes i know the ones you mean. Unfortunately they too are the reality for a lot of us with PCOS and Endo :( I genuinely bled less after birth than I do on a “normal” period

OP try not to worry about it and certainly don’t be embarrassed

dont know why you’ve called them nappies though

I think they'd just think it's some sort of sanitary product. Echoing what other people have said, men have sisters, wives, mums so have seen these things before. They probably felt embarrassed on your behalf. We had a girl with various health issues (crohns etc) in our male dominated workplace and would make frequent toilet trips, handbag in tow - nobody said a word cos we're all mature adults that can empathise with the situation she was facing.

That sounds exactly like a mixture of genuine sympathy in case you felt bad and not caring about the actual event.

Honestly, nobody cares.

The whole "OMG so embarrassed about periods" shtick is so old.