Things You Didn’t Know About Periods - Page 8

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Did you know that as many as 48 percent of women can feel lightheaded during their periods? Between the hormonal changes and blood loss, fainting can be more common than you think. That’s just one fact you may not have known about this time of the month. For such a common experience that roughly half the human population goes through, periods are still masked in a lot of mystery for many women. Labeled as something “you just have to go through,” periods can be a bodily process we don’t talk about often. It’s easy to assume everyone experiences what you do on yours, because you just don’t discuss it, and find out “Oh. This isn’t necessarily normal.” It’s also easy to feel shame or fear around some experiences related to your period because you don’t realize just how standard they are.

While periods, like fires and earthquakes, are a natural occurrence that hasn’t really changed since the beginning of time, they sort of have. Women live much longer than they used to, for starters. Keep in mind that hundreds of years ago, menopause wasn’t really a thing – not a lot of women reached the age to experience it, so they didn’t reach the age when their periods went through many changes, either. While our bodies are advancing, so too is society, and now there are innovations surrounding periods that weren’t always there. So while some things stay the same, some things do not, and we may not all be caught up on the facts around periods. Recognizing this gap in information, Nadya Okamoto and Nick Jain founded August, a platform for all things period. Along with their trusted medical board, they’ve created a place where you can find answers to all of your questions about this time of the month, Ask August. We asked the Ask August team to shed light on period facts that might surprise you.

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Our periods aren’t green…yet

Even though reusable products such as menstrual cups do exist, the overwhelming majority of women still rely on disposable products to manage their bleeding. August experts tell us, “Some 98 percent of American women manage their periods with a combination of disposable tampons and pads, while a combined two to three percent opt for reusable products .” If you are already trying to make an effort to live greener, here’s another piece of information that may encourage you to transition to reusable products. August experts say, “20 billion sanitary napkins, tampons, and applicators are dumped into North American landfills every year,” and the annual carbon footprint is equivalent to burning 35 million barrels of oil.

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Our silence is painful

Okamoto noted one of the things that inspired her to move August along was group calls the team did during the exploration period. Women would ask questions about their periods and be shocked to find out how many others experienced the same things they thought they were alone in. Fainting was one such experience, but overall, women tend to remain silent about period pain and discomfort, assuming it’s inevitable. Ruby Moon, an education leader at August says, “We tend to normalize period pain because menstruation is yet another thing that the majority of the population experience and just have to push through.” If we opened up more about our experiences, we might come to find some symptoms should be reported to a doctor. But we may be shy to discuss this in general. August’s team tells us, “Only 32 percent of women in the U.S. stated they are comfortable talking to female classmates or colleagues about their periods.”

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The real cost of periods

You may already be familiar with how pricey things like tampons and pads can be, just from your credit card statement. But in case you didn’t know, August experts informed us, “Seventy percent of menstruators who use tampons use 20 per cycle and average 456 cycles in their lifetime or 9,120 tampons used. At an average price of seven dollars for a box of 36 tampons, the total amount spent is approximately $1,773.33.” However, that’s only the beginning of period expenses. Think about items you buy to minimize PMS symptoms, special period underwear or simple replacement underwear when you ruin a set. “Products such as heating pads, underwear, and birth control are factored in, the total cost of these products over a menstruator’s lifetime is $18,171.

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Paying is a luxury

If you think paying for period products and products that alleviate associated symptoms is a pain, remember that you’re fortunate to even be financially capable of doing so (though the pink tax is kind of BS, and should really be eliminated). Not everyone can afford period products. August experts tell us, “Interviewers administered surveys and led focus groups with women in low-income housing in St. Louis. The researchers found that 64 percent of the women had been unable to afford period products during the previous year and 21 percent experienced this problem on a monthly basis. Almost half had times during the past year when they had to choose between food and period products.” There are many places you can donate feminine hygiene products to women in need like here, here, and here.

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They cost us more than money

Women already struggle to get equal pay or as good of jobs as men, thanks to discrimination against moms or could-be mothers by bosses who fear will take maternity leave, or companies that don’t take initiatives to recruit women. Then there’s another problem: our periods. For some women, period pain can be so bad they need to stay home from work. August experts tell us, “A 2012 study found 32 to 40 percent of people who have periods report this pain is so severe they have to miss work or school” and “Painful, irregular, or heavy periods affect up to 14 percent of females in their childbearing years.” Some call them childbearing years: others call them career-building years. In a world where women already struggle to get ahead, painful periods that keep you home aren’t doing you any favors – talk to your doctor if your period discomfort is interfering with your daily activities.

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How can you manage the pain?

“Honestly, there is no one way to practice self-care before and during your period – you’ve got to figure out what’s best for YOU! That being said, here are a few tips to get past period discomfort, sourced from our Community and our August Medical Board: creating a peaceful environment, keeping your body warm, staying hydrated, eating well, and light body movement,” says Moon. If you live with roommates or a partner, don’t be afraid to push for a quiet, calm home (and a thermostat that’s on) around your period so you can be cozy. It’s no time to be passive to make others comfortable.

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There can be complications

“Something that I’ve been learning a lot about through the process of putting Ask August together and creating digestible content is just the number of complications that there are that are due to periods,” says Moon. “For example, PCOS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, etc.” PCOS stands for Polycystic ovary syndrome and is the name for a condition in which the ovaries become enlarged and develop small cysts. PCOS can cause incredibly painful periods, and unfortunately cannot be cured, but can be managed through medication. As if periods alone aren’t inconvenient enough, they can cause our bodies to attack us in all sorts of ways.

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You don’t have to suffer alone

“I was surprised and touched by how common many of the questions were,” says August cofounder Okamoto of some of the early focus groups conducted during the building of August. “It was inspiring to see how this actually built a shared connection amongst our community members and motivation to find the answers. So much of Ask August was built by interactions like this: someone finding the courage to ask a question, a number of other community members excitedly shouting ‘OMG same!’ and then their collective effort to find an answer.” Considering that the average woman will have 450 periods in her lifetime, we do need a space dedicated to just this one element of women’s health.

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Are you wearing period blinders?

August’s content director Nadya Eddy said, “I don’t think people realize the true magnitude that access to period care and information has on society as a whole. When asked to come up with one thing I was surprised to learn on my journey with August–I couldn’t pick just one. I feel like I had the blinders ripped off of my eyes when it comes to the experience of having a period, and I am angry! We are so complacent with companies creating environmentally damaging products with harmful chemicals, and using their platforms to sell us an outdated narrative on what having a period looks like. I am so excited to work with August to cut the BS around period stigma, educate with Ask August, give back to menstruators in need, and provide a product that puts our community and the environment first!”