starry_pancake asked
What if you don't have a pad or tampon? What can you use for your period?
Soso answered
If you don't have a pad or tampon, you can fold up clean toilet paper or tissues in your underwear as a quick backup until you get real supplies.
It happens to lots of people, so do not panic. Toilet paper will totally work for a little bit to protect your clothes while you sort things out.
Quick fixes right now
- Fold a long strip of clean toilet paper or paper towels into a neat rectangle and place it flat in your underwear. Wrap another strip around the whole thing and under the underwear gusset so it stays in place.
- Layer a clean washcloth or a clean sock in your underwear if you are at home and have nothing else, because soft cloth absorbs well.
- Ask a friend, a teacher, a school nurse, or anyone in the bathroom, because people help each other out with period supplies all the time.
These DIY tricks are only meant for a couple of hours until you can get real period products, so change your paper backup every time you use the bathroom so it does not shred or leak. When you have pads, change your pad every 4 to 6 hours, sooner on heavy days.
Most people bleed for 3 to 7 days, and a first period can be much shorter and lighter. Tell a grown-up if you need a new pad or tampon every 1 to 2 hours, your period lasts more than 7 days, you pass clots bigger than about 2.5 cm, blood leaks through to your clothes or bed, you miss normal things because of your period, or you feel tired or out of breath a lot.
Soso's answers are written by AI. They don't replace professional medical advice.