PackWise: 4 Things to Trek with When You are on Your Periods

When you have “that time of the month” looming around the corner, trekking plans go off beam. But it needn’t be that way. Your periods need not dampen your resolution to the summit. Here are 4 things that can help you make the most of your trek even during your periods.

• Sufficient Sanitary pads or Tampons: Easy to carry and easy to use, a lot of women trekkers choose tampons; especially because biodegradable ones are available in India. (Google your way to it!) Free of the plastic applicator, these will cause no harm even if disposing in nature becomes unavoidable, though advice goes strongly against it.

If you are comfortable with sanitary pads, just ensure that you wrap the used pad to cover it fully. Talk to your Trek Leader about the camp’s non-biodegradable waste management and trash accordingly.

• Double Zippered Zip Pouch: Remove tampons/pads, pop them in the zip pouch, zip up, spray the rag-bag with disinfectant, wet wipe, sanitize your hands, and you are good to move on. It can’t get any easier! Carry your used tampons in a zip pouch to the base camp. To ensure no stains and no stink, get a double-zippered one. At the campsite, trash the zip bags with the non-biodegradable campsite waste.
• Hand Sanitizer:

Living in the wild need not be unhygienic—clean grubby hands after every pad-change with a splatter of hand sanitizer. Keep the travel packs handy in your day pack or in your jacket pocket. Gel sanitizer has a slippery feeling and tends to slide off hands while foams are a little more expensive, but work fine.

• Quick Relief Meds: Get your doctor-prescribed medications to curb cramps in order before the trek. If you think you have missed something check with your Trek Leader. A medical kit equipped with painkillers and paracetamols is always available with the team.

Last note: Remember, your Trek Leader is always there to assist you. Since it is you who knows your body the best, from time to time, feel carefully whether it is ready for further climb. If it is a “no”, alert your TL immediately.

Trekking is about grit and will. It is your endurance that can help you achieve new heights and conquer summits. Go on, live every moment of it.