Do you need to change period pants?

[CateringPanic]

I’m thinking about switching to reusable period products as I keep getting thrush from regular sanitary towels and pulling out tampons always gives me the heebie jeebies.

This is probably a really stupid question but if you wear period pants do you need to change them like you would a sanitary towel? Or can you just expect to wear them all day like a normal pair of pants?

No, I find tney smell, so I change .

I usually wear all day, unless I’m maybe going out in the evening or something like that. Not had issues with odour or leaking.

One heavy set will last me morning until I get home from work, at which point I'll put some new ones on which will last me to morning.
This is on my heaviest day.

Thanks for asking this OP I wondered this too and how it works when out at work for example.

On heavy days I can leak if I leave the same pair on for 3 hours, so I think they need to be changed twice a day on heavier days, or even used with additional protection.

On lighter days you can get away with the same pair but yes, there is sometimes a smell which you notice when you go to the toilet. I don't think it's strong enough for others to notice though.

As above. One heavy flow pair lasts me until I get home from work then I chage for over night. I have m&s ones and have never had an issue with smells or leakage.

It depends on the pants. Some are 24 hr super absorbent shorts. Some are light flow bikini

I use modi bodi and wear one in the day and one at night. Never had leakage but you can sometimes 'feel' they are close to full. Like a pad.

Never any smell.

It's mind boggling to me they can last a day! Where does it all go and how does it not smell?! Are those that wear them for a day quite light?

They do smell if not changed. I wouldn’t wear them all day.

How do you manage if you have to change them during work?

I usually wear them on light days or as a backup so only change when I would normal pants. At times when I have worn them for regular days I have changed them after work but they absorb well so have been ok during the day. Mine are M&S.

for comparison I’d normally use super tampons and change them every 4-6 hours on heavy days. I wear a heavy flow period pant from Wuka all day. It’s never leaked. I’ve tried light flow and that does leak

Posted too soon. You need to find the right one for your flow. I far prefer them! Won’t ever got back unless I have to. I’d recommend trying them!

Do some periods smell stronger than others? I can definitely smell my towel after a few hours so the thought of wearing period pants really gives me the ick - and also that the smell would hang around my jeans etc.

Yeah I'd never go back. Complete game changer for post-period thrush and just general comfort down there, feels so much healthier and cleaner to have the pants than I ever felt with tampons or pads. Much much more absorbing than pads for sure. On my heaviest day, I might swap in the afternoon but most days just one pair for day one for night.

On a lighter day definitely a pair for the day. But at the start of my period I can wear a pair of 24hr mega overnight a million tampons worth pair and leak through by mid morning.

I find part of my problem is the stitching at the edges, it seems to go into the stitching and then soak round the outside.

I either wear with a cup or with a cloth pad that I can either replace or take out later in the day.

This is a really interesting thread. Those who use them, how do you wash them? And how many pairs do you have? They seem expensive. Thanks.

I only ever rely on the pants on their own at night. I use modobodi 24 hour ones and they are overflowing and leaking everywhere unless I wake at 4 am and change. The rest of the time I use the pants as back up to tampons (I've tried 5 types of menstrual cup but cannot get on with them at all)

I have heavy periods and wear instead of pads with a cup too. Cold wash in non bio, with vinegar if smelling fusty.

Exactly. Do any have poppers?

Daughter very heavy change them 7.45 am and when back from school 4 pm new pair on, change again at 10/11 pm just before bed - stick in wash on a 15 minute wash. Then they go in a normal wash - she had 6 pairs which was fine - they are very heavy.

mine aren’t so heavy and a heavy pair does me for the same changes with no issues m and down brand for me she has mondi bodi

On my 2 heaviest days, I wear a pair of xl absorbency from showering in the morning until I get home. I then change and wear the 2nd pair until morning.

I do find they smell after 12 hours, but only when I pull them down. I have an ultra sensitive nose and find 8 hours is absolutely fine, 10 is when they start.

it very much depends on your flow and the type of pants.
My expensive ones (Wuka) easily do 12hrs on a very heavy day for me. My M&S ones do 7-8. If I am in the office I am out 13hrs so I take another pair to be safe.

I’m fine with my cheaper ones for lighter days but like my Wuka for first 2 days as they have never leaked.

It’s trial and error though, no different to nappies and babies (we used cloth and they all suit different ones).

I don't find they smell as much as a pad does.

I do 3 changes in 24 hrs, work 9-5ish, change to a fresh pair after work and then a final pair over night.

I find M & S last longer but Penneys have better absorbancy. Think 8-9 hours would be the longest - expect they wouldn't last much longer without a smell rather than a leak.