Gross Things All Women Do On Their Period

1. ALWAYS stare into the toilet bowl at all the blood

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Some people might do what they have to do on the toilet and pull the flush without so much as a first glance, nevermind a second, but all women on their period can agree that they HAVE to look - and they have to stare at the massacre they've produced and feel dismayed.

2. Get blood all over your hands like it's nothing

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When you have a heavy flow, it's inevitable that you're going to get a lot of blood in places it's not supposed to be - and especially on your hands when you're either trying to change a pad or wipe yourself after the toilet. The reality of hands full of blood makes you feel like a movie villain.

3. Stuff a bunch of toilet paper in your underwear

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There are two reasons women stuff a whole lot of toilet paper in their undies when it's that time of the month: first, if they don't have a pad or tampon to hand and that's the next best thing, or second, they're panicking about a heavy flow and need a little extra wadding.

4. You know you should change that stinky pad... but you don't

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Period products can get expensive. Or you're too much in pain with cramps that another trip to the store just isn't on your to-do list today. So what do you do? You try to skimp and save on pads and make them last as long as possible. Which means usually that stinky one can stay for a few more hours, at least...

5. Take a longer-than-necessary look at those blood clots

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There's just something so grossly fascinating about the fact they've just come out of you - especially when it's one of those huge ones that you can feel coming out in the shower and you just have to stare at it to try and work out what on earth is going on inside your body to produce that.

6. Send your friends photos of a particularly heavy flow

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Women who period together, stay together, which means it'd be rude not to inform your friends of that grossly heavy flow you're on at the moment - especially if their cycles have matched up with your own so you have to compare notes about how crappy it all is and who has it the worst.

7. You've found that tampon you forgot was in... like, a day later

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Life gets busy, and especially when you're dealing with period stress, which means for some people it's all too easy to just... forget you have a tampon in, especially if you're not someone who particularly feels them. This leads you to find one at least 24 hours after you first put it in..

8. Accidentally push out your tampon when you go to the bathroom

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Tampons always feel like they're going to pop out when you push anyway, but sometimes, when you need the toilet and some extra pushing is required, it just so happens that bloodied tampon is going to pop right out - and you then, unfortunately, need to go fishing for it.

9. Pushed another tampon in after forgetting about the first

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It's bad enough forgetting about that first tampon you put in (seriously, don't forget, because it can lead to health issues if you leave it in!) but how about actually trying to insert a second fresh one right after the first because you definitely didn't realize you already had one in?

10. Watch all the blood run down you in the shower

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One thing that can be said about period showers is they're a safe space to just... let it all out. And there's something weirdly mesmerising about just watching all that blood flow down your legs and down the drain, as though you're a broody crime movie protagonist watching it all swirl away.

11. Throw away stained underwear instead of washing it

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We know that underwear is going to get stained during that time of the month, and it makes laundry day that much more difficult when you know you need a more powerful wash to get it off. The solution? Just throw it out and buy some new panties, which inevitably are going to end up the same.

12. When you have THAT itch you just need to scratch

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Most might say it's gross when you have an itch down there and you stick your finger down to scratch it even when you're not on your period - but when you are? And you have a pad in the way? And a bloodied mess? Things get difficult, and you end up with blood ALL over your fingers.

13. Using the same pad for longer than a day because 'rationing'

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When you're not on a particularly heavy flow, it's easy to think that your pad is still clean and fresh so why can't you wear the same pad for longer than a day? But the reality is... putting the same pad back on after a show, gross. Wearing the same pad you wore to bed, gross - but understandable.

14. Rummaging for the tampon string

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If the tampon does its job properly, you're going to be able to easily find the string hanging out when you need to pull it. But on a bad day, that string is going to go missing... and the only option is to actually get your fingers right in there and find it. Because honestly the fingers are the only option. What a mess.

15. Enjoying a blood bath... literally

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Some people might not have a shower, or maybe you just want a hot bath to soothe your heavy period aches - either way, the inevitable is going to happen. At best, you lie in bathwater a nice shade of pink. At worst, you're reading your book while blood clots are bobbing around you.

16. Coming on your period in a public place

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One of the worst things that can happen is coming on your period in a public place when you didn't think it was going to happen - and you aren't prepared. You now have to try and contain everything and waddle to the nearest bathroom to deal with the mess which has already arrived.

17. Staining your clothes (or, worse, staining someone else!)

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And no matter how on-top-of-it you are with wearing a pad or tampon, a heavy flow can often bypass everything and stain the back of your trousers instead. What's worse is when you touch it and get blood on your fingers - or, god help us, you get it on someone else in a busy public place, like a packed train. Yikes.

18. Tying a jumper around your waist to hide a stain

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What's the only thing you can really do when the back of your trousers has stained and you're going to be out in public for the rest of the day? Make a makeshift cover by tying your shirt or jacket around your waist and just... leaving the stain there, to feel and to know about.

19. Having period s*x

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The debate is ongoing over whether you should have s*x on your period - it's really a personal choice, as there's nothing wrong with it apart from being in the 'gross vs non gross' category. But the reality is... the mess you end up with is pretty gross, whether you liked it or not.

20. Using something random as a makeshift pad (desperate times)

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Best case scenario, a wad of tissue is going to be available for you to stuff with until you can get home, but this isn't always possible. This leads you to get creative. Whatever you have at your disposal - rolled up t-shirt, a pile of receipts, or a pack of handy wipes, is going to have to do.

21. Lying in a position you didn't even know you were capable of

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Those painful period cramps really have women bending into ways they wouldn't usually be able to, just to try and stop the pain. One every woman can relate to is the curling up into a big ball and rolling around like a feral maniac just waiting for it to stop with your face smashed against the floor.

22. Staring down male attendants when buying period products

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You're either someone who boldly buys period products without shame, or someone who just wants to get out of there without anyone knowing - either way, it makes it harder when it's a male attendant who you now know KNOWS you have blood leaking out of you as you stand in front of them.

23. Going from laughing to ugly crying in the space of a second

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Ah, yes - period hormones. Don't you just love them? There's something wild and chaotic about going from happy and smiling to loud ugly crying in the space of a second. Because who doesn't want a sore, blotched face on top of the agony happening in their stomach? Ah, that wonderful time of the month.

24. Period Poops...

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Taking the gold medal for how gross things can really get on your period has to be the period poops. It's like taking the worst and messiest bowel movement you can think of and combining it with ten buckets of blood, clots included, just to look at in the toilet bowl.

25. Being embarrassed taking your bag to the toilet with you (because then people know)

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If you work in a busy office or a workspace around a lot of other people, saying you have to go to the toilet is really fun when you realize the sanitary product you need is in your handbag. If you take your bag, they're going to know you need it for something... and they'll know that 'something' is 'period'.

26. Or, smuggling a tampon or pad up your sleeve and hoping for the best

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Or, you might opt to go a little more covert with it and take the product out of your bag at your desk and then shove it up your sleeve so you can walk to the toilet with it. Of course, this means hoping your boss doesn't drag you in their office for a quick chat along the way.. Yikes.

27. Having an unhealthy dependency on your hot water bottle

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What's worse, having to go through the torture of period cramps or burning your skin off with the tenth hot water bottle you've used in the past hour? Definitely the latter, of course. When it comes to that time of the month, our old and used hot water bottles are our best friends.

28. Having that one gross pair of trousers be the only thing you wear on your period

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It's good to have that go-to pair of trousers for that time of the month, but that doesn't make it any less gross when you realize you've been wearing them for the entire week without washing them and have likely stained the inside of them with a heavy flow - which you're just going to ignore and keep wearing, of course.

29. Trying to work out whether it's blood or bum sweat

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You've been sat down for a while whilst on your period, so now comes that terrifying moment of standing up and trying to work out whether your bum's just a little sweaty, or if your period blood has actually flowed out as much as it feels like it has. Or - worse - it just happens to be both.

30. Sticking your fingers right down your pants just to check

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When you know you're due on but haven't come on yet, there's usually a moment where it feels like SOMETHING has leaked out, but you can't go to a bathroom yet to check - or maybe you're just feeling lazy. The solution? Sticking your fingers down and seeing if they come back out red or clear.

31. Double check the toilet rim for blood stains

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It's one thing to stain the toilet bowl with all that blood and period poops, but as things can get rather messy, it's highly likely blood has also got onto the underside of the toilet seat, on the toilet rim or even - unfortunately - running down the outside of the toilet base like a sad, red raindrop.

32. Forget to flush the toilet

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If you live alone and have a need to preserve water, you might sometimes avoid flushing the toilet after every single pee you have - even if there's some blood in there - because you figure you're only going to make a mess next time anyway. Unfortunately this means you might forget when someone pops round unexpectedly and needs the loo.

33. Stare at the blood clots in case they're the egg

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We know why we have periods, and we know what it all means, but that doesn't make blood clothes or extra thick gloops of blood any less fascinating to us. You definitely have to take the time staring at at least one blood clot wondering if that's the egg that's dropped out.

34. Other gross things all women do: getting the tweezers for the chin hair or belly button hair

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One perk of getting older as a woman is that extra special chin hair you get from nowhere - as well as having your belly suddenly a prime spot for a blanket of hair. The only solution is to get 'plucking with tweezers' into your everyday routine, as important as moisturizing, let's be honest.

35. Picking at those ingrown hair on your legs

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Another fun thing to deal with when having way too much hair grow on your body is also the reality of in-grown hairs, too. It isn't enough they're happening on the outside, after all. The only solution when you get a pesky one on your legs is to pick, pick, pick! And why is it that the leg ones are the most satisfying?

36. Sniffing the crotch of your trousers to see if you can get away with one more day

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It's the ultimate freshness test - you have to smell it to see if it can handle another round, and you have to smell the crotch specifically to see if it's a little bit... musty or not. Especially if it's that time of the month or it's particularly hot and sweaty outside. If the crotch doesn't smell good, they're out.

37. Trimming pubic hair with a regular pair of scissors

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There are many solutions out there for women who don't want pubic hair, including waxing or laser treatment - but really, who has the time or money for that? Most women will be content with a quick trim with a regular pair of scissors as a 'tidy up' to get by. As long as no one else uses those particular scissors, of course...

38. Not washing your face at the weekend

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There's something about the weekend that screams 'freedom' in every aspect, and when you're been strict about your skincare routine all week, you feel obliged to have at least one day where you don't wash your face properly - or, keep your makeup on and fall into bed after a night out.

39. Keeping a special collection of brown-stained underwear for that time of the month

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It's true you likely have your go-to pair of baggy pants for that time of the month, but it's also an undeniable truth that you'll also have a special corner of your underwear drawer reserved for those baggy, ripped, old and brown-stained underwear options, just in time for a heavy flow.

40. Using perfume as a deodorant substitute

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Perfume smells good, so it totally counts... right? Sure, deodorant is better at actually, you know, stopping you from sweating and smelling in the first place, but every woman has forgotten deodorant at least once and turned to a heavy spray of perfume in order to hope for the best.

41. Washing bras... never

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All woman know that you SHOULD wash your bras regularly - some might even say after every wear if it's hot enough outside... but the fact is, we're too busy and that one comfy bra that we have just needs to be worn everyday because we can't go without it. So there.

42. Tearing off that dead skin on your lips

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Sure, it's easy to reach for the chapstick and stop the issue before it truly begins, but where's the disgusting fun in that? The moment your tongue finds that pesky piece of dead skin that's just begging to be torn off, it's time to start picking (and, ultimately, bleeding).

43. Turning an emergency pair of underwear inside out

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We're not judging for whatever reason you have an emergency pair of underwear with the need to turn it inside out - like if you've had a night out and you're doing the morning walk of shame, or if you just didn't pack enough pairs for a vay-cay, but the emergency turn-inside-out is a gross reality.

44. Sharing a toothbrush with your bestie

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Sure, people say you shouldn't ever share a toothbrush with anyone, ever, but when it's your closest friend after a sleepover and you've forgotten to pack yours, it's okay to just do it once, right? Well, no, it's not but still - we bet that doesn't stop you... it's disgusting, but when the need arises...

45. The panic run from the shower to the bedroom whilst on your period

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The logical thing to do would be to put a clean pair of underwear and a fresh pad or tampon next to the shower so it's there for you when you climb out, but most women never think to do that when it's effort enough just to take off their pjs. So of course then comes the gross naked run from the shower to bedroom while trying to not have anything leak out...

46. Take that danger zone risk with a pad when coming off a period

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You know your own body well enough to get that sense when you're period is either on its way, or it's tailing off and coming to an end. And seeing as pads and tampons are uncomfortable, there's that moment where you choose to risk it and not wear one - which, most of the time, is a mistake, let's be honest.

47. Depending on dry shampoo completely

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Dry shampoo is a great hack when you need a last minute freshen up, or just something to tide you over to hair wash day. What it isn't is a long-term solution in place of, you know... actually washing your hair. So one of the grossest things can often be using dry shampoo 7 days a week.

48. Feeling that f*rt bubble travel from the back to the front

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One thing woman have to deal with more than men is that moment when the silent f*rt decides to turn into a bubble and then travel to the front and emerge as an embarrassing noise there inside. It's an awkward feeling physically, but even more awkward if someone hears it.

49. Giving your earrings a sniff when you take them out

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There's something tempting about needing to sniff your earrings when you take them out - why? To check whether your ear is clean? That it smells normal? We have no idea, we just know we do it. The hole in your ear is an area less traversed so out of curiosity, we just need to sniff.

50. Squeezing spots, all the time

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And, of course, one of the grossest things you can do - whilst also being one of the worst things you can do for your skin - is squeezing spots, everywhere, all the time, no matter where they are on your body. You're then faced with pus and blood on top of dirty fingers and a sore face. Ew.