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To get you started on your periods, we’ve made a very simple period guide to start you and your period off on the right foot.
Periods: hygiene and etiquette
How to avoid grossing out the people you care about with your period.
6 great period tips and tricks for beginners
Tips and tricks for navigating periods: work smarter, not harder.
Jan
Period undies and swimwear
Period undies are changing the way we have periods, since now you can just free bleed into your underwear, and they're so high-tech that you won't leak or even feel wet. Use with tampons or by themselves, for periods or stress urinary incontinence.
How tampons work
Tampons are convenient, but they can also have unwanted effects on your vagina.
May
How to use sanitary pads and pantyliners
Pads and panty liners are an option for when you have your period to collect the blood that comes out of your vagina. Pads are used for heavier flows, while panty liners can be used for light flow or protecting your underwear from regular vaginal fluids.
Dec
Aunt Vadge: I’m nearly 15 and don’t have my period yet
Nearly 15 with PMS symptoms and spotting but no full period yet? Usually completely normal - your body is warming up. Plus when it's worth seeing a doctor.
Dec
Why tampons don’t fall out
Why can't a tampon just fall right out? We explain.
Polymenorrhea (more than one period within 21 days)
Periods arriving more than once every 21 days? Here are the hormonal and structural causes of polymenorrhea, and when frequent bleeding needs checking.
Jun
Study: How early life circumstances affect menarche and menopause
We examine a review of how childhood experiences impact menarche and menopause.
Dioxins in US tampons – why it isn’t a concern
Dioxins are one of the 'dirty dozen' worst toxic pollutants.
Can I have sex with a tampon in?
Learn how to navigate sex when you have left a tampon in, including how to get it out on the sly.
OTC period pain treatments
Discover effective ways to manage menstrual pain, from mild to severe, with evidence-based treatments, natural options, and self-care tips.
Feb
Aunt Vadge: did my boyfriend’s tongue cause brown spotting?
A tongue can't cause bleeding - brown spotting is usually ovulation or your period, plus a note on pregnancy risk.
Aunt Vadge: burning after intimacy during my period
Why your vaginal opening might burn after sex during your period, and the simple things that stop it.
Review: VH Essentials PMS Daytime Symptom Relief – what is it and what does it do?
We discuss the product to see how it works.
Periods
Periods can give you plenty of grief across your life, with period pains, blood going everywhere, ruined underwear, money spent on products, and the mood swings. Learn more so you can manage your periods better.
Tampon absorbency ratings
What tampon absorbency ratings mean.
Is my period pain normal?
Period pain is common, but severe period pain isn't normal. What counts as normal, the red flags, causes like endometriosis, and natural relief that helps.
Feb
Aunt Vadge: can fingering bring on a double period?
Fingering can't bring on a period – when two bleeds in a month is a harmless blip, and when to get it checked.
Aunt Vadge: When I get my period, my vagina burns
Every time she gets her period, her vagina burns.
Oligoovulation: infrequent ovulation explained
Ovulating infrequently? Oligoovulation means cycles over 35 days or fewer than eight or nine periods a year – here's what drives it and why it matters.
Aunt Vadge: I took a dry tampon out and now I’m bleeding
A dry tampon pulled out has resulted in bleeding. Where is the blood coming from?
How nature figures out when we get our periods
We look over a study that figured out that girls with older sisters got their periods later than girls without.
Aunt Vadge: Did I nick my clitoris or is this my period?
She is worried she hurt herself - or is it her period?
Aunt Vadge: is this a fingering wound or my period?
Bled after being fingered for the first time, then darker blood when your period was due? It's likely a small graze, then your period arriving. How to tell them apart.
May
Understanding light or irregular periods (oligomenorrhoea)
Irregular periods (cycles under 21 or over 35 days) usually signal infrequent ovulation. The common causes – PCOS, thyroid, prolactin, stress – and what helps.
Aunt Vadge: Do I have a short vagina?
A firm wall two fingers deep is usually the cervix or a tense pelvic floor, not a short vagina. What that block is, and how to sort it.
Aunt Vadge: pain after putting two tampons in
A spare tampon can't cause lasting damage - why pain that returns every period needs proper investigation.
Aunt Vadge: I’m on the pill getting two periods a month
Getting two periods a month on a progestogen-only pill like Norgeston? Irregular bleeding is its #1 side effect - there's no oestrogen to steady the lining. What to do.
Why your period stopped (secondary amenorrhoea)
We go through all the reasons your period may have stopped, from being pregnant to being on a crazy diet or even being too skinny. Your period shouldn't be stopping, so find out why and fix it.
How to put in a tampon
If you are new to tampons, follow this straightforward guide and get it right first time.
Aunt Vadge: my period just stopped after two years
Period stopped for months and you've never had sex? Not pregnancy - usually stress, not enough fuel, or over-exercise. The causes, and why the pill isn't the fix.
Aunt Vadge: I masturbated and bled – have I hurt myself?
Bleeding after touching yourself is usually a small graze that heals on its own – here's how to tell, when it might be your period, and when to see a doctor.
May
What to do if you lose your tampon
Safe tips on how to get your lost tampon out, even if it's sideways!
How to get hormone and blood testing
Learn how to get hormone testing on the right day for the most useful results, and what to do with the results.
Apr
Aunt Vadge: did I lose my virginity or is this my period? Or both?
Bleeding after brief contact is usually just your period - why virginity isn't a medical event, and when risk applies.
What your period blood colour and consistency means
Wondering what clots in your period mean? Why period might be brown sometimes? What bleeding between periods could indicate? We explain the different colours, consistencies and (ir)regularities of your period.
Apr
Aunt Vadge: Tampon string soaked with blood, but tampon dry?
Her tampon string is soaked, but the tampon itself is dry. Has she cut herself?
Aunt Vadge: tampon starts to fall out after 15 mins
Someone is having trouble with tampons falling out. See how she can fix it.
Aunt Vadge: over-wiping on my period has left me sore and cut
What do you do if seeing your period creeps you out?
Aunt Vadge: a new tampon brand may not agree with my vagina
She tried a new brand of tampons, and now she's got a tear that hurts.
Reasons you don’t have your period yet
If your period has never come, and you are older than 15, then you need to have some investigations done into why not.
Hormones and the menstrual cycle
When we are fertile, when we get our periods, and how we feel is all down to hormonal balance in our bodies.
Jan
Aunt Vadge: my period is late but I’m not pregnant – what’s going on?
She is really stressed about school, and her period is normally like clockwork, and she definitely isn't pregnant, but it's late this time. What's happening to her, and why is her period late?
Aunt Vadge: I yanked a tampon out and now it hurts
Yanking out a tampon has caused urinary and vaginal pain at her next period. Why?
Understanding toxic shock syndrome
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare Staph infection that gets into the blood, which has been associated with leaving tampons in for too long.
Jan
What to expect from your period
We go over what you should expect from your first ever periods and talk over how to manage them, including what products to buy, how to predict your periods, and what cramps mean.
Apr
Understanding and treating period pain
Understanding what type of period pain you are experiencing is important when deciding on treatments.
Jul
Aunt Vadge: pinching feeling when I try to insert a tampon
A pinch when inserting a tampon is usually the angle, not your hymen or vaginismus – here's how to ease it, plus what the burning might be.
Aunt Vadge: unusual bruised feeling in crease
Is she allergic to her pads or is something else going on?
Aunt Vadge: inserting a tampon gives me unbearable pain
Can't insert a tampon, and sex is impossible from pain? It's likely vaginismus - not a structural fault but a retrainable reflex. The hopeful, self-directed path.
The smell of blood – why your period smells metallic
Ever wondered why blood smells metallic? We've found out for you! Plus some interesting science tidbits about humans and the smell of blood.
Nov
How to use a menstrual cup
Menstrual cups work as a tampon or pad alternative: rinse and reuse it so you save money, reduce your impact on the environment and try something new.
What is free bleeding?
Free bleeding is a term used to describe a lack of impediment of menstrual blood - a pad, tampon or menstrual cup - out of the body and into your clothes (or cool period undies!).
Jun
Aunt Vadge: I gained weight recently – is that why my period is late?
Gained weight and your period's late? They often share one hormonal cause rather than one causing the other - usually PCOS or thyroid. What to check, kindly.
What’s the difference between PMS and PMDD?
Understanding the difference between PMS and PMDD.
Dec
Tampons being used to find sewerage in rivers
Tampons are being used as glowing beacons of pollution.
Aunt Vadge: my period is 10 days late – am I pregnant or is it something else?
A late period after protected sex is far more likely to be a skipped cycle than pregnancy – here's how to check and when to see a doctor.
Causes of heavy periods
Heavy periods can be caused by (paradoxically) being low in iron, having hormonal imbalances, or even having liver issues.
Aunt Vadge: on patch, but period is two days late
On the patch with a negative test but your bleed is two days late? You're very unlikely pregnant - patch withdrawal bleeds are variable, and PCOS makes timing wander.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)
Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder are both variations on the same theme: premenstrual symptoms that range from mildly annoying to deeply disturbing.
Aunt Vadge: I masturbated today and there was blood on my fingers – why?
A little blood after masturbating, just after your period ended? It's almost always harmless - usually leftover period blood. The reasons, and when to get checked.
Apr
Where you are in your menstrual cycle may change how you respond to a vaccine
A large study links follicular-phase COVID-19 vaccination with more reported side effects, hinting that your menstrual cycle shapes immune response.
Jul
