- Periods.
Aunt Flow.
That time of month.
On my rag.
Moon time.
The red badge of courage.
Lady business.
Girl flu?
Oh, hi there, I'm checking in to the Red Roof Inn?
Uh, yeah, I've got a red wedding this weekend,
so, I'm not gonna be able to make it, sorry.
Carrie. (groaning)
Mother Nature's gift.
Riding the cotton pony.
And my all time favorite: Shark Week.
♪ Do do do do ♪
(chomping)
If you didn't know by now, we're talking about periods.
AKA menstruation.
You're welcome.
(upbeat music)
So I thought it was only appropriate
to have Aunt Flow join us today.
She's gonna be talking to you
about menstruation around the world
and how it's different in different cultures
and different societies, so Aunt Flow, come on in.
(whimsical music)
- Hello, dear, my name is Aunt Flow,
and I'm here to talk to you about menstruation.
Did you know that the tampon was patented in only 1931,
and the pad in 1970, so what did women around the world
do before tampons and pads?
In ancient Greek times, women would use
pieces of wood as a tampon.
That's gotta hurt.
And Egyptians used Papyrus fibers.
That's how they made paper and rope.
(shudders)
In some cultures, women would sit
in menstruation huts made of hay
on hay barrels and bleed it out.
(sighs)
And in humid cultures, they would take peat moss
and they would put it in a cloth
and then shove that in their underwear to absorb the flow.
That's gotta be prickly.
Chinese women would use sand and a cloth
that would be put in their underwear
and the sand absorbed the blood
like a bloody sand castle,
and then they would rinse the sand out
and reuse the cloth.
And these days, we're worried about
sand getting stuck in our socks or between our toes.
I couldn't imagine what they had to deal with.
And in World War One, French nurses
discovered that the cellulose bandages
that they would use to bandage up soldiers
were great to absorb blood, so they would
stuff them in their panties,
and they would absorb all the blood,
and everyone's nice and happy.
And in the 1800s, European women didn't even use protection.
They just let the flow flow.
It would go all over their clothes,
even on the floor, they did not care,
because they did not have money for protection.
It was seen as a luxury item.
And today, fur is seen as another luxury item,
although I do not promote it,
but women in colder climates would use it to absorb blood.
But don't worry, little buddy,
I would never use you for my flow.
Never.
And today, we have so many options
for natural ways to deal with our periods.
So, without further ado, these are the ways.
(upbeat music)
First and foremost, I recommend stocking up ahead of time.
This is especially important
if you're going to rural places,
really off the beaten path,
or specific countrilies, countrilies?
Specific countries, like in the Middle East,
where pads and tampons aren't easily found,
and sometimes not even found at all.
Even in countries where you can find pads and tampons,
they might not have the brand that you like,
so prepare ahead of time.
Packing your suitcase with everything
that you need for that specific trip
you're going on is highly recommended.
The last thing you want is to be
stuck somewhere where you can't get
pads or tampons or diva cups or whatever,
and it's that time of month,
and you have to deal with a murder scene.
No one wants to see that.
(upbeat music)
When you are in your destination
and you have your period,
and you're out and about enjoying your day,
I would recommend, even before you leave for that day,
put some small plastic bags
into your pocket, into your purse,
that you can have with you in case
you are in a situation where
you're using a toilet where
you can't flush anything down it.
The systems around the world are all different.
They may not be the same as back home,
where you can put a tampon in the toilet,
flush it down, no problem.
Some systems don't allow that.
So if you have a plastic bag,
you can put your tampon in there,
as well as your pad,
if there are any garbage bins, rubbish bins,
whatever you wanna call them
for you to dispose of them,
you can put it in that plastic bag,
tie it up, and find a garbage can somewhere else,
and dispose of everything then.
God, jeez, if you hear a baby
grumbling, or tooting, it's my baby, right there.
She's right there.
Speaking of baby, I haven't had
my period in a year, that's a plus.
And, since I'm breastfeeding,
who knows when Aunt Flow's gonna show up again?
And I can deal with that.
(upbeat music)
Now let's talk about sustainability.
And what I mean by that are menstrual cups
and reusable pads, which I've been
all about for the last few years.
First and foremost, again, great for the environment.
Also takes up little room in your suitcase.
This is especially important
if you're packing just a carryon.
Pads and tampons take up a lot of room.
A menstrual cup, reusable pads, not so much.
A menstrual cup, you may be familiar with is the Diva Cup.
I was using that for a year,
and now I'm using XO Flow, which I like a little bit more.
I find it has less leakage,
and basically it looks like a shot glass for your vajayjay.
It kinda also looks like a massive sperm
or a cup with anal beads.
Use your imagination.
How it works is you basically fold it like this
and fold it like this,
and then you insert it into your vagina.
It opens like that once it's in there.
Fills up with the blood, and once it is full,
you can pull it out using this,
and dump it out, clean it up nice, put it back in,
and go on with your day.
What's really great about this is it can last,
like, between eight to 12 hours,
usually, on a regular flow,
of course, if you have a heavier flow,
you're gonna wanna empty it a lot more often,
but they last a lot longer than pads and tampons,
so if you're out enjoying your day,
you don't really have to deal with your period.
You can wait till you get home,
then take it out and clean it and put it back in again.
Also, pads and tampons tend to have
chemicals on them that are not good for your body,
so if you are deciding to go the pad and tampon route,
I would highly recommend looking at
what is on your pads and tampons.
It's like a fragrance, like,
why would you wanna put that up in your vagina?
You don't need a fragrance up in there.
I would recommend getting cotton,
organic pads and tampons, fragrance free,
no chemicals on them, look in to it,
because you don't want all that
effecting you health and up in, like, your lady bits.
(upbeat music)
Now let's talk about reusable pads and panty liners.
There's a company called Glad Rags,
and they make reusable pads and panty liners.
We got the night pad.
We got the day pad.
Panty liner.
Okay, so I have some new ones that I just got.
Have never been used.
This is the night pad, so you can see here.
There are these two little pads, and one big pad.
Two little pads go right here
in this little cubby,
and you got these two flaps here
and this goes around your underwear,
and there's a little button,
and snaps like so,
and so like the soft side is going
against your body, going against your vag,
and there you go, you got your reusable pad.
Night pad, I should say.
So you should change this every two to six hours, on average
but depending on your flow, everyone's different.
This is also great for post partum.
If you've just had a baby,
if you have a heavier flow during the day,
you can also use the night pad,
because it also has the two extra pads here,
it's going to absorb more.
It's made using organic cotton, it's super soft,
easy to clean, rinse it off,
throw it in your washing machine, and you can reuse it.
This is the day pad, or a pad
if you have a lighter period.
It's the same design, it's just smaller.
So you got the two pads again.
Larger pad, like so, goes around your underwear.
There's a button, secure that, and you're good to go.
And the panty liners, I'll give a glance at these.
Again, they look like the other ones, but a lot smaller.
They just keep getting smaller,
and there is not other extra insert for these,
because this is meant to be used
basically the last day of your period,
or if you're spotting, and it's the exact same concept.
Like that, there you go.
Super soft, again, organic cotton.
This one's just a little fancier.
They also make ones for thongs.
Yes, you can wear a thong, have your period,
and still be protected.
Again, same concept.
This is also meant to be on, like, a lighter day,
so, like, your last days of your period,
or if you just have a lighter flow in general,
or if you're spotting.
It looks the same, just a little bit of a different shape.
Kinda looks like an ice cream cone.
There are also other companies that make
menstruation cups and reusable pads,
like Luna Pads, and Thinx, and Diva Cups,
so you have your selection.
(upbeat music)
There's also a company called Panty Props,
and they make swimsuits for when
you have your period, and you don't
have to use pads or tampons
or menstruation cups or anything.
Apparently it's got, like, this built in pad system
that can be fine when you're in the water
and it's, like, absorbent,
and you don't have any leakage,
and I don't know exactly how it works.
I haven't used any of their items
or bought any of their swimsuits myself,
but I think it's kind of an interesting concept,
and I'd be really interesting in trying.
If you have ever used these type of swimsuits,
let us know by leaving a comment below.
Tell us how you liked them, if they actually work.
I really wanna know.
(upbeat music)
Tea time.
Tea time is great time when you have horrible cramps.
I like to bring tea with me
when I travel for several reasons,
but especially comes in handy
when I have awful period cramps.
Sometimes I get them so bad
that I will literally crawl,
crawling on the ground, clawing the carpet.
Those times I'm usually going for some Advil,
but if I can prevent myself from taking any pills, I will,
so having like a nice cup of soothing tea.
Mm, it's always so nice to have.
Mm, so good.
(upbeat music)
I am all about essential oils.
I use them for many different things,
including menstrual cramps.
I love a company called Sage,
they make a lot of really beautiful combination oils
that can be used for different things.
I especially love my peppermint halo oil for headaches
and my moon cycle oil for when I have my period.
The moon cycle oil is so nice
when you have menstruation cramps.
You can rub it all over your belly, your lower abdomen,
and it really helps to relieve
those symptoms in a natural way.
It has lavender in it, chamomile,
it's got rosewood, and what's the other one,
geranium, I think it is?
Yeah, geranium oil, it's a really nice scent.
A really calming scent.
Oh, it's so good.
And you can use it as much as you like.
(upbeat music)
Comfortable clothing.
You want to have all the comfortable clothing
when you have your rag.
I mean, I'm all about comfortable clothing all year round,
throughout the entire month,
but especially when I have my period.
I wanna be so comfortable.
I wanna be as comfortable as possible.
You don't wanna be wearing any tight clothing,
especially tight pants, anything that's gonna
be tight on your lower half is an absolute no-no.
If you are looking for an excuse,
which I don't think you need an excuse,
but to wear to track pants
and a, like, baggy sweatshirt or t-shirt,
during your period is the time to do it.
That is your excuse, except you really don't need an excuse,
but if you need an excuse, there you go.
(upbeat music)
Some other ways to relieve cramps,
because they suck, and you don't really
wanna deal with them, I mean,
you're gonna have to deal with them,
but if you can make the symptoms
less while you're traveling,
you're gonna enjoy yourself a lot more.
So, some other natural ways to deal with them
is to drink plenty of water.
That H20, get it in you, get it in you.
Also, vitamin D, exercise, believe it or not.
I know it's hard to get up
and be active when you have your period,
you just wanna curl up in bed
and just, like, sleep it away,
sleep away those period pains,
but exercise is actually really good
and will help those symptoms
that we hate during our period.
Then there's vitamin D and also
other natural supplements that you
can get at the health food store
that are specifically for period cramps
and dealing with your menstruation
so that you can lower those symptoms,
they're less dramatic and you can
go about your days in your new destination
and really enjoy yourself to the max.
(upbeat music)
Another thing that I absolutely love,
I have to mention, I don't have it with me,
so I can't actually show you,
maybe I can just like put up a picture?
A hot water bottle that you can pack with you,
fill it up with some hot water
when you have those period cramps,
and you can just, like, hug it, all night long,
and it stays warm and it feels so good.
Oh my god, I'm just thinking about how good it feels.
Anyways, bring one of those with you on your travels.
They're easy to pack,
easy to find hot water anywhere in the world,
and will really relieve those
period cramp symptoms that we hate.
And that it is for talking about blood
and periods and Aunt Flow and whatever you wanna call it.
But us ladies, we gotta deal with it,
and men, you gotta deal with it too,
if you have a lady in your life.
And it's just the reality of things.
It's how you got here.
If we didn't have our periods, we couldn't get pregnant,
and you, everyone watching,
every single one of you watching,
would not be here, so thank you, periods.
Thank you for existing.
I hate you when you're here,
but I'm so thankful for you,
because we're all here because of you.
Hopefully, this video helps you
prepare for that time of month when you're traveling,
and makes you feel more confident about it,
and also, I hope you learned a little something extra
about periods, menstruation around the world
and how women deal with it, which I think is fascinating.
(upbeat music)