12 year old and period on holiday

[SquirrelRed]

Hi, My 12 year old has just started her periods last week. We are due to go holiday in May but I am worried about her getting her period while we are away.
She would want to be in the pool all day every day and there wouldn't be much else for her to do.
I don't think there's any chance she will use tampons by then, and there's not an awful amount of time between now and then for us to track/predict when her period will be.
Any advice on how I can best manage this so she can still have an enjoyable holiday please?

Period swimwear.

Norethisterone

Definitely this and shorts and pants

DD has had medication twice to delay hers, the doctors won’t prescribe it, we had to get it from the pharmacy, she was older though. You can still get some period symptoms and it has messed up DDs cycle afterwards.
But we had a holiday ruined by a bad period and I can remember the same when I was a teenager.

They make period swimwear now (like period pants).

I’m not sure so maybe corrected if she has started it will probs be a year or 2 till you can actually track. Many have a period and then go a few months with nothing. Period pants, swimwear, shorts. Have a lovely time away x

www.modibodi.co.uk/collections/swimwear?srsltid=AfmBOooBZIngzed8I_PKIy5afEiaolodeau1hRYsMAWehAGQQTxKNUxx

Period swimwear is a game changer
modi bodi do a good range

DD started her periods at 9. The Dr gave us meds to delay her periods when she was on school sleepovers / school holidays.

Definitely try period swimwear...but also, I'd encourage you not to pass the idea to your daughter that periods ruin holidays (or anything else!). She's got a long road ahead of her with period management and it's best to start it off on a positive note. Once she feels comfortable, it may be worth trying a period cup. You can swim, exercise and do pretty much whatever you want wearing it and I've not had to think a single day of my life about periods on holiday. If they come, it's not a big deal.

Yep, think it was this that DD had once.

Looks like you’ve got 2 options, medication (which you may not need to use depending on when she is actually due on) or period swim wear.

Thanks everyone, I will definitely have a proper look at some decent period swimwear.
I had briefly looked at the medication route, but it said you need to take it 3 days before your period is due and I'm not sure we will be able to know that properly with her only just starting them now

Thank you, I appreciate the advice and will definitely take it on board!

Omg nope do not recommend. I used this once on holiday. It worked as it should and I had no period. However....when I got home and had my delayed period it was actually awful the period pains I got knocked me sick and woke me up and the bleeding was HEAVY!

I would use period swim wear and not meds. DD had a terrible experience coming off it once, was like labour pains, she was rocking on her hands and knees. The doc said it was linked to the meds (she had a lot of issues when she started her periods and so this med was not to delay for a holiday but try and stop bleeding).

I know a lot of people are saying period swimwear, but if I were her (and in fact even myself after having periods for 20 years!) I wouldn't be able to relax in just the period underwear. I wouldn't trust it.

The best thing to do is to get her to practice with something internal, too. Either tampons or a cup. Or even a menstrual sponge would be a good backup plan.

With that, and the period pants, she will be totally covered. You can take plenty of spare things so she can pop to the loo every now and then to change, and other than that, she should be able to relax.

As someone else said, don't make her think that periods ruin everything. There's nothing you can't do on your period, the protection out there these days is fantastic.

Yes! I can agree with this. The pain was actually awful. I usually just get normal manageable pains but not when I tried the period delay tablets 😪😪

How do you change it in a public loo though?

Why not suggest tampons? I started my periods age 12 on a beach holiday and used tampons from the off. Sanitary towels seemed quite ick to me. As I’ve got older I’ve gone off tampons but as her mum is present her with choices.

Agree with the poster who said not to encourage “holiday period fear.” Get her to accept from a young age this happens! I agree with period swimwear and also a couple of pairs of black shorts she can wear around the pool.

There's also tranexamic acid which you don't need in advance. It doesn't eliminate blood flow, but does reduce it a lot and could be combined with period swimwear without worrying about flooding or leaking in the pool.

I'm sure lots of us who have had heavy periods would be nervous about period swimwear, but the chances of a 12 year old having a heavy period are fairly small, so just do your utmost not to communicate that to her - just present it as a simple solution. Flow often stops whilst in the water anyway, so with a clean-on costume she should be fine.

At her age, I had a period on once-in-a-lifetime trip to the US, and couldn't go in the pool while we were in Death Valley - gutted!

Aww poor girl

I got my first period, at age 11, the day before my family was due to leave for a resort. I just accepted that I’d have to use tampons if I wanted to go swimming. I didn’t have any strong aversion to the idea of using tampons, though. Why do you think your daughter won’t be using tampons by May?

I’d be reticent at medicating a 12 year old. Hormonal medication is not something I’d introduce without a really good reason.

She may be able to use tampons. My dd just took to them immediately. I didn’t even have a chance to go into it fully. She just wanted to for a swimming party and a friend talked her through it from outside the bathroom door 😂