Let’s face the reality – no one wants to have a cramp-filled hiking adventure or a swimming trip filled with blood!
Periods are naturally annoying and can become majorly inconvenient during a trip. But the good news is that you can manage them with proper planning! Here are eight ways to deal with periods during traveling.
Ways to Cope With Traveling in Your Period
Traveling while on period always sounds like a bad idea! But it doesn’t have to be messy if you take pre-planning seriously or delay your periods while travelling entirely. Read on to learn more.
1. Plan Your Trip
While for women, it’s common to plan activities around their period dates, sometimes it doesn’t cross our minds. Maybe it’s the excitement that overclouds the planning abilities, or you’re trying to cram as many activities as you can within the limited timeframe you have!
To avoid a messy travel plan, know when your periods are going to start and manage to plan everything around it so that you can enjoy your trip cramp-free!
2. Skip Your Period
If working your way through your dates isn’t possible, consider the option of skipping your period entirely. If you’re on some birth control pills, avoid them. They mess with your hormones to prevent pregnancy. So, if you’re on the traditional pills, prevent them until your vacation is over.
This is a safe method to try unless and until your doctor says something otherwise. But keep in mind that you’ll still experience spotting. For some people spotting for weeks can be annoying, so test it out before the actual trip!
3. Carry a Travel Kit
Arming yourself with the right equipment is always a wise choice! Period paranoia is real; hence, carrying a period kit with the essentials is ideal.
Your period kit should include Midol, painkillers, or ibuprofen/paracetamol, depending on what you generally take to ease the pain. Along with these, carry a heating pad and a hand warmer to help you with your cramps.
4. Exercise
For many, periods can be daunting due to intolerable pain, and working out during this time is the last thing you can think of! But low-impact exercises like yoga, brisk walking, and stretching allow your body to cool down and are recommended during periods. It helps soothe cramps and loosen sore muscles. So, if you want to travel with a fresh mind, take morning or evening walks!
5. Have Extra Supplies
Pack light – whenever traveling, we always tend to pack in limit. But during periods you must go the extra mile because you cannot get rid of the essentials. Apart from your period kit, you also need to manage your period hygiene. Here are some extra essentials to keep in mind:
- If bath supplies are limited at the place you’re traveling, carry towels, napkins, bed sheets, extra underwear, and more.
- Take detergents with you so that you can clean your stained clothes.
6. Pack Comfortable Clothes
Comfort always comes first! While it should always be your priority on normal days, periods are a special case where you must feel the most comfortable.
Pack clothes you find comfortable and appropriate for the destination. If you find skinny jeans uncomfortable, skip them. Go for more flowy clothes like skirts or shorts. Carry an extra pair of skirts and shorts just in case of any stains.
7. Take Good Care
Periods can be frustrating and make you feel dull and irritated. Hence, taking extra care of yourself during these days is essential. If you’re going to a warmer side for your vacation, stay hydrated.
Bring reusable bottles to carry wherever you go. Have a healthy diet enriched with salads, fruits, whole grains, leafy green vegetables, red meat, fish, nuts, etc. Avoid salty and fried foods.
8. Track Your Period
Surprises are great, but you can’t say the same for unexpected periods. While planning a trip before or after your periods is not always possible, since you’ve other life commitments, it’s good to track it with a period tracker.
With a tracker’s help, you can at least have an idea of when your periods are coming and start pre-planning!
Bottom Line
No matter how inconvenient your period is while travelling, it should never stand in your way of having fun! Plan ahead, if possible, equip yourself with the necessary products, and do your usual self-care.
Although periods are not comfortable, you can’t always avoid them. So, try to cope with it as you usually do, and don’t let it ruin your travel plans!
Krishma Patel
consultations. She is passionate about showcasing the integral function community pharmacies can play in supporting the healthcare system and the NHS by providing patients with high quality, safe and discreet access to healthcare at their convenience. Along with being the co-founder of MedsNow, Krishma is also the Director and the Superintendent Pharmacist of Enimed Ltd., an independent pharmacy group comprising 32 branches.
