Life Hack: Natural ways to deal with period pain and other tips for your menstrual cycle

Take the pain out of managing your period with these handy tips

How to deal with pain, bloating, blood and more during your period

How to ease pain 

If you suffer from mild pain when you have your period and want to avoid using painkillers, heat can be your best friend. You can relieve cramps and pain by applying a heat pad or a hot water bottle on the area, whether its on your stomach or your lower back — wherever you feel the discomfort. Similarly, a warm bath can ease your aches too. The heat relaxes muscles which can spasm during a period, causing cramps, so this can lead to pain relief.

It might be the last thing you want to consider when you’re in pain but gentle exercise has been found to ease period pain as well. You can try a low-intensity workout like yoga, walking, or swimming to help increase blood flow and alleviate your pain and, in some cases, bloating.

How to ease bloating 

Periods and bloating often go hand-in-hand. It is a side-effect you experience and makes you feel discomfort, there are a few ways to treat it. Drinking more water can help with bloating, while caffeine can cause it.

Limit your intake of tea, coffee and some carbonated soft drinks and instead enjoy a glass of water or, if you would prefer a comforting cuppa, try a herbal tea like green tea, peppermint, or chamomile.

How to wash blood from fabric

Another frequent result of menstruating is blood ending up in inconvenient places. Whether it’s your bedsheets, your underwear or your clothes, don’t panic if you want to safely wash blood from fabric. The main thing to remember is to wash the item in cold water, as hot water will essentially seal in the stain.

If you want to clean blood from a mattress, apply bicarbonate of soda directly to the stain and spray it with white vinegar so it starts bubbling. Leave it to sit for half an hour and blot with a clean cloth. Wipe with a cloth with cold water, or use a vacuum to remove the remains of the mixture.

How to have a sustainable cycle 

If you use a tampon, you will use and dispose of thousands over the course of your menstruating life. Research from The Huffington Post found that on average the 70 percent of women who use tampons will use 20 per menstrual cycle. As a person can have an average of 456 periods in their life, 9,120 tampons could be used by each person.

To combat this waste, there are a variety of sustainable options available. From period underwear, which is sold in shops like Penneys and M&S, to menstrual cups that are found in pharmacies nationwide, there is a product to suit any lifestyle and benefit the environment — and it’s pocket friendly to boot.