Many preppers are stocking up on tampons and menstrual pads but they do so for the “wrong reasons”. How about prepping for your period? Some men tend to ignore this topic while others will let the women in their lives take care of it.
Preppers believe that feminine hygiene products could come in handy when having to deal with a severe injury. Only a few of them acknowledge their mundane use, while others seem to ignore the reality of how a woman’s body works.
No one talks about their essential monthly use and it’s like the period, moon time or menstruation doesn’t exist. If they ignore it, eventually it will go away. This article will make most guys feel uncomfortable and if you can’t handle it, it’s better to pass it on to the women in your life.
A Taboo Subject
The period topic is sensitive for some of the men. There isn’t much they can do about to help in a crisis. We are used to seeing the ladies in our life go to the drugstore once a month and pick up a convenient box and that’s it. That’s all the period mystery for us.
However, in a scenario where drugstores are out of the picture, the period can become a real issue for a woman. This is why is better to be well prepared for your period. You should know how to deal with this situation during an emergency scenario.
The information gathered in this article will prove useful during a bug out situation, a natural disaster or during a long-term scenario when becoming self-sufficient is the only way to survive.
A first solution in prepping for your period is the Menstrual Cup
These are small, portable, medical grade silicone cups that are built to last for years. They were initially designed for environmentalists, but nowadays, these items are perfect for preppers. The menstrual cup has become so popular that there are now several competitors on the market such as the Diva Cup or the Dutchess Cup and Amazon is full of these types of products.
The small silicone pouch has to be squeezed up inside the vagina, as close to the cervix as possible, as soon as the period starts. The cup has enough room to contain several ounces of fluid. It can be left in for up to 10 hours.
Doing it the smart way
It is recommended to have two cups so that when you go to the bathroom, you dump the blood in the toilet, you clean yourself up and you stick the clean cup in. Once you’re done replacing the cup, you can clean the used one in the sink. It takes some time to get used to it, but the women who managed to do so, are satisfied with this choice. They recommended it as a long-term solution for the period.
The menstrual cup would be a real advantage in a bug out situation. You will not have to worry about checking on it for 10 hours and you will be able to focus on other priorities. You will not worry about your clothing getting stained or figure out how to deal with different hygiene issues. It is an excellent addition to your bug out bag and you should really consider getting one.
Even if this is something that you would rather not use on a day to day basis, if you are a prepper, it is certainly worth you investing in some. Although you will not use them every day, there may be a time that you find yourself in a situation that you wish you had something for your period, and the only way you can get through that time is with a homemade tampon or sanitary towel.
Tampons, the most common solution in prepping for your period
Since not all women can wear a menstrual cup, tampons are their second best choice. Tampons are offering the most comfort and familiarity. You should stockpile from time and your best choice should be the OB brand. They are small and they don’t waste precious space since they don’t come with applicators.
Even if you stockpile on tampons, you might find yourself in the situation where you have run out of these items. In that case, you will have to make your own tampons. When prepping for your period, try making some reusable ones from cotton. You can use pillowcases, sheets or any other type of used bedding that is made of cotton or linen.
Avoid synthetic fibers, as they can cause infections and cannot be rolled or compacted as cotton fibers can. The best thing is that tampons have other uses that can help you in a survival situation. You can find more about these applications by reading this article.
How to make your own tampons:
- Rip out the seams of your pillowcase and lay it vertically in front of you, looking at the narrow end.
- Cut a three-inch wide strip across the base and repeat until you run out of fabric. You will end up having more than 15 strips of cloth, three inches wide and a foot and half long.
- Roll your strip of cloth like you would roll up a cigar. Fold one end of the fabric diagonally, so the corner point stretches past the bottom of the cloth. Starting at the pointy end, roll the cloth as tight as possible. When you run out of cloth, tie it twice. Once at the top and once at the bottom, with a small spare scrap of cloth.
Once you’ve used the homemade tampons, you can clean them. Do so by rinsing them as much as possible first, and then boiling them for at least 20 minutes so that all the blood gets out. After you’ve boiled the tampons, hang them up to air dry and they will be ready for your next period.
When prepping for your period, you like many other women might have problems wearing homemade tampons. The solution for this will be homemade sanitary pads.
Reusable period cloth pads when prepping for your period
One option to stockpile on reusable sanitary pads would be to buy them from Amazon, it will save you a lot of work if you don’t like sewing. You’re going to need a pad with a removable interior liner. This is an essential factor for cleaning and long-term maintenance.
If you prefer the make your own, you’ll discover on the internet an incredibly diverse variety of patterns. The best ones will be shaped like the hourglass, like the ones you bought at the store and they will have wings. The center should be easy to open in order to remove the lining. The wings should snap together under the bottom of your underwear. In a time of crisis, if you are caught unprepared you can still make your own by using washcloths or worn out towels.
Here is how you can do it:
Fold the towel until you get a rectangle about 3 inches across by 10 inches long. Use safety pins to attach the rectangle to your underwear. It will be a lot bulkier than the sewn models you find on the internet, but it will get the job done.
Just like the tampons, if you need to clean your homemade sanitary pads. You will have to boil them for at least 20 minutes. Once you’ve boiled the pads, make sure you unfold them and hand them up to air dry, in a sunny spot. The UV rays will also help disinfect the pads.
There are some other methods you could use to improvise an absorbent pad. However, they may require the use of moss and other material growing in the forest. It is not sanitary and I do not recommend using such methods for your period. If you really have nothing else, then you can use an old, or new, cotton shirt to get you by until you can get another form of towel or tampon.
A last word when it comes to prepping for your period
Prepping for your period is not a taboo topic and you should discuss it with the man in your life. He may feel uncomfortable at first, but it is an issue he needs to tackle. Just as he takes care of your other needs, he should be able to include this topic in your prepping plans. It’s not a pleasant solution to deal with when the brown stuff hits the fan and that’s why you need to prepare in advance.
Stay Safe and God Bless!
Other Survival and Preparedness resources:
The LOST WAYS (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Bullet Proof Home (Learn how to Safeguard your Home)
Blackout USA (Video about EMP survival and preparedness guide)
I just wanted to add a little known thing about the cups. For some women this is not a solution. If a woman has a history of yeast infections, or vaginitis (bacterial non-std type infection) this can make it worse. Also, please remind women that Toxic Shock Syndrome is just as real a risk with home made tampons as with store bought ones, and they really need to sterilize them as thoroughly as possible because while tampons are made in a sterile environment, home made ones can be just as dangerous as home canning when you don’t have proper sanitizing procedures. Thank you. Good article!
There is a little bit of misinformation here. Not everyone can just put their cup in and leave it for 10 hours. It really depends on how heavy your period is. If you are going to use this for a bug out or emergency, you definitely want to have used it before hand so you know what to expect. As for washing pads and tampons, if possible, rinse with cold water first so they won’t stain. Boiling them without washing or rinsing first is going to set them, and then it’ll be near impossible to get out.
I wanted to question your stated need to boil reusable pads. If you make pads yourself or buy them it is not necessary to boil them. Washing them as you would wash you underware is sufficient. As a woman myself I don’t know ANYONE who boils their underware (or anything else) because they got period blood on it.
I use reusable menstrual care products and would just like to point out a couple of errors here. You’re doing a great job getting the wordbout there! It is not necessary to have two menstrual cups. You remove and dump the cup then wipe it out or rinse it and pop it right back in.
Disposable pads and tampons are not sterile, contrary to popular belief (it doesn’t state it on the package anywhere, so not the marketers’ faults). Reusable ones do not need to be boiled, just washed with detergent and water. The heat will warp resin snaps, melt PUL (optional waterproof layer), felt wool (an optional water resistant layer), and potentially melt any other kinds of optional synthetic water resistant layers. It will also set stains. Cold or room temperature water is what is needed to remove blood stains. Hot cooks the stains into the fibers.
The organization Days for Girls has a marvelous free pattern for donation or personal use purposes. It is an easy-clean, fast-dry style and it very simple to make and use. Great in emergency situations.
I just want to point out that UV rays, while potent and good for stains and freshness, do NOT disinfect anything. If they did, there would be no germs outside. I repeat, sunning laundry does not disinfect it. A good wash routine is sufficient but if you want to disinfect, you use bleach or peroxide.
Thank you. This is the only site I’ve seen that even bothers to bring this up.
What I REALLY want to know about is contraception. Even in a SHTF situation people will want to make love/have sex/f**k, and a pregnancy can be dangerous in such times. Added to that, pregnancy will cut down on heavy physical work; I don’t want half my able bodies unable to do what needs doing for fear of a miscarriage! Plus, some women should NOT get pregnant at all.
A copper IUD will last 8-15 years so this is good for short-to-medium term emergencies (such as a natural disaster or an elected government cutting off access to contraception). They are simple enough for any competent doctor to remove and have low risk of side effects. For women who don’t ever want to be pregnant again, tubal litigation is an option, and vasectomy for their male partners. Reversible birth control that can be used on a long-term basis without any followups with a doctor is very difficult to achieve. There are herbal methods but they are less safe and less effective and require a lot of expertise (in herbalism) to administer. If that is the situation it might be better to forgo PIV for less risky sexual activities.
Thank you for speaking up about the socially unspeakable women have to live with for 30 years or so. This article alone proves to me that I was right to subscribe to you.
Buy 2 cups for the bug-out bag and 2 for you to start using now. There is a learning curve on these things. Buying one to use in an emergency without learning how to make use of them is going to go about as well as buying an emergency seed bank and not bothering to learn how to farm. The last thing you want in an emergency is to end up looking like Carrie from Carrie. Once you get the hang of it they are amazing even for everyday life. They will save you tons of $ and are more convenient — but you have to take the time to learn HOW!
IME the hourglass cloth pads are not the best, they get twisted too easily, especially the ones designed for heavy flow. My preference is for the near-circle pads with a snap (not velcro, as this gets mucked up too easily and wrecks its ability to stay on). Similar to the one in the article pic but with a more gradual taper on the wings. It is not necessary to boil the pads; cups need to be boiled because they are going *inside*. Instead, soak the pads in cold water as soon as you can (you can get dedicated soaking pots or just repurpose an old pot you don’t cook with anymore) and either hand wash them or put them in the laundry on cold.
I would not use homemade tampons, that sounds far too dangerous. Cloth is very porous and is more difficult to keep sterile than cups, which are made from medical grade silicone (smooth and nonporous).
Ok, First Thank you for bringing this to peoples attention.
Secondly, There is NO Perfect Solution:
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The Cups are not a Holy Grail Solution for many and with studies on them/women they’ve shown to be a cause for some Women’s proclivities toward Endometriosis/PCOS. The Old Fluid being stored in that region for long periods of time.
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IUD which many studies in Medical Journals indicate problems with Brain Fluid Build Up or/& blindness among other side effects to Middle Eastern Woman (UNICEF, being one report but the many articles on the topic have all shown the same issues) Many Doctors get an incentive to use this and in the India Region women who reported problems were not immediately if at all allowed to have them removed. If anyone is interested do the research before taking everything at Face Value. Empower yourself. The Pharma Machine stifles any dissent in America & abroad, but nothing new to most of us. America & it’s Corporations have its blinders on for the Almighty Dollar not to mention the UN Agenda 2030..
So a good book for those who want to forgo it and Do Their Research.
Taking Charge of Fertility by Toni Weschler
my Herbalist and Eco Conscious Companions including myself Report Satisfying Results
And I forgot to add those of us who don’t want to urinate and have the Pharmaceutical contamination in our Water Supply would best be advised to seek another option to contemporary BC
I prefer my water Estrogen free as does my Husband. No Man boobs for him among other side effects to Humans and their environment
Thank You to Japan on studying the effects of Birth Control on Fish!
Love your Earth like you love yourselves
Progeny inherit the remainder