Having Your Period During School

By Chloë

Let’s face it, periods suck. They often give you cramps; you are constantly worried about whether you’re leaking or not; and the mood swings, at least in my case, are ridiculous. Now, throw in hundreds of pupils with a few angry teachers, and you have possibly the worst possible combination of all time: periods at school.

Some of you have probably had an encounter with what I call a period catastrophe- maybe you suddenly started your period but didn’t bring any pads, or you got a stain on your trousers from where your period leaked through. Whatever happened, I’m sure you don’t want it to happen again, like, ever (please note the subtle Taylor Swift reference).

Last year (yes, here comes a story) I didn’t realise my period had started, during school, and, shock horror, I had leaked through my tights and onto my school skirt. I was completely calm and collected until I walked into my Head of Year’s office and basically fell into a heap crying (I’m blaming the hormones). Although I did get to go home early, this was a rather traumatic experience that I, needless to say, don’t particularly want to go through again.

After this, I’ve thought of a few ‘period hacks’ that help me when I am on my period at school:

• I tend to take paracetamol in the morning for the first few days because the stress of cramps as well as changing my pad gets a bit too much for me otherwise.

• Although this might sound a bit much, I form make-shift ‘pad-changing’ schedules so I don’t stress about my period overflowing. For the first two or three days I make sure to keep this within two hours each time, but afterwards I’m less rigid with my timings.

• I always bring a spare pair of pants and a doggy bag with me to school. They take up almost no space in my bag and have been proven lifesavers to me and my friends in the past.

• In my school locker, I also keep spare pads and paracetamol as an extra precaution.

If you find yourself in a period catastrophe at school, please remember that there is nothing to be ashamed of. These steps will hopefully prevent this from happening, but remember there are people, like your friends and teachers, who can help you if you do forget pads or your period leaks.