Swimming on your Period
Young girls often have questions about what they can do while they are on their period. In earlier years, women believed that they could not bath or shower, or swim, or wash their hair, or participate in sport, or do yoga while on their periods. Most religions took this even further by declaring women to be impure while they are menstruating.
Of course we know today that this was based on a misunderstanding about what our bodies were doing, or a real fear of illness and disease spreading through primitive societies. We also have much better menstrual products than was available just a few years ago. This helps us to manage our periods much easier and better.
So, can you swim while you are on your period? The answer is YES YES YES YES. Nothing is going to happen to you if you swim while you are on your period. You may not feel like it. Cramps, bloating and sore breasts may make it more uncomfortable. But there is no medical reason why you cannot swim and enjoy it.
How can you swim while on your period?
If you have to have to protect your panties from the flow while you are stitting around, you have to wear protection when you go to the pool, beach or lake.
Pads are made to absorb any fluid that it comes in contact with. Because it is in your panties, it will absorb water when you get wet. It will get flooded, it will swell up, it will stop absorbing your flow, it may break open and fall apart, and it may release all the blood it already captures around you in the water. It will also get heavy from all the water it absorbed, and pull the crotch area of your panties down when you get out of the water. Do NOT go into the water with a pad or pantyliner.
You have to use internal protection that will not come in contact with the water, like a menstrual cup or a tampon. If you cannot use these, you need to learn how to use it. You do not have to like it, or use it every day, but for swimming and many sport, tampons or menstrual cups are a must have. Hide the tampon string inside your vagina, between your lips or pull it up behind you in your ass crack to prevent it from hanging out. Check every few hours to make sure it is not leaking and the string is still out of view.
Your vaginal opening is not a gaping hole in your body, it is closed, and your inner and outer lips covers it. Water from around you does not get inside your vagina and into the tampon when you swim. But is you waterski, or go down a slide, or jump in feet first without keeping your legs together, water may enter your vagina when it hits the water.
If you cannot wear a tampon or a menstrual cup for whatever reason, you can still enjoy a fun day with your friends. You just cannot go full body in the water. Wear shorts or a skirt over your swimming costume bottoms to hide your pad. You can take care of the food or snacks, or wade on the shallow water or sit on the side of the pool. You can watch the groups belongings. If you want to tell one of your friends that you are having your period, do so. Remember that your skin may be more sensitive to sun, or you may be warmer than at other times. So protect your skin and drink plenty of water while you are outside.
Remember: If you are swimming in a wilderness area, take toilet paper and a plastic bag you can seal (like a lunch bag) with you. Wrap your used products, put it in the bag and seal it, carry it out and dispose of it properly. Do not leave used menstrual products around where other people or animals can find it.
| MYTH: Your period stops in the water This is NOT true. When you are in the water, the water will just wash away all the blood before you see it. So it may look like it stopped, but it did not. At the depth that you swim, there is no water pressure to push the flow back, and your uterus does not have any idea that you are swimming. It will keep on working |