Periods while on Peak winter treks

[Ramya]

Hi fellow female trekkers,

I'm planning to visit Brahmatal/ Chandrashila in Jan-Feb 2023.

Can you share your experience of trekking while on periods. Did the snowy conditions cause any issues while changing/managing your respective menstrual product? 

Thanks much! 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Ramya

[Debadrita]

Hi Ramya,

A very Good Morning! Brahmatal is in my bucket list and I have done Chandrashila last December with my periods. I use menstrual cups so it is quite easy to use and clean, no matter which ever time you are trekking. There will be water for you to clean the cups. 
I carry 2 menstrual cups while on the trek. You will get hot water to clean them. However we should be mindful as to how much water to use.  
If you are someone who used sanitary napkins, please carry newspapers and zip lock bags. We cannot dispose the used napkins at the campsites. Wrap it up in newspaper and put them in the zip lock bags. In that altitude and temperature, the sanitary waste doesn't get de composed. 

I would love you to go through these very articles below. These helped me prepare myself well 🙂
https://indiahikes.com/hygiene-treks-periods

https://indiahikes.com/trekking-periods-bad-idea

I hope this helps. 

[Indiahikes Admin]

Hi Ramya

I can imagine many ladies having this question bothering them. Having trekked over many years, I can tell you that if you have mostly normal periods with less or bearable discomfort/pain you will not face any big issue on a trek even in winter.  A trek does offer you sufficient privacy to change frequently at the campsite.  You can change on the trail too if you take a friend along who can keep the others off your way for the while. If you are using sanitary pads, carry sufficient newspapers to wrap them up after use. They will not smell or stain when packed adequately. These packed soiled napkins are to be brought down by you and deposited in a town and not in the mountains or the base village. If you  are used to or can switch to menstrual cups, nothing like it. But get used to menstrual cups before a trek.

Hope this answers your concerns Ramya. Let me know if you have further queries.

Sandhya

[Alveera]

On 10/2/2022 at 4:10 PM, Ramya said:

Hi fellow female trekkers,

I'm planning to visit Brahmatal/ Chandrashila in Jan-Feb 2023.

Can you share your experience of trekking while on periods. Did the snowy conditions cause any issues while changing/managing your respective menstrual product? 

Thanks much! 

 

 

 

 

Hi Ramya,

This is the genuine concern even I had when I started going on treks.

Initially, I used sanitary pads, since I was not comfortable in using menstrual cups. 

But main problem I observed, was of disposing it, since these pads are not at all biodegradable so I had to take them back with me ( after wrapping in newspapers and old plastic cover, trust me I didn't smell )

Later on, I tried using menstrual cups, and oh my god ! It worked wonderfully. 

You just need a menstrual cup, warm water to clean it, that's it. 

But my piece of advice to you is to start using it on your city so that you would be comfortable using it on trek. 

But if you aren't comfortable in using it, then you need to carry back the used sanitary pads back to your city ( for proper disposal ). 

I hope this would help you 🙂

 

55 minutes ago, Indiahikes Admin said:

Hi Ramya

I can imagine many ladies having this question bothering them. Having trekked over many years, I can tell you that if you have mostly normal periods with less or bearable discomfort/pain you will not face any big issue on a trek even in winter.  A trek does offer you sufficient privacy to change frequently at the campsite.  You can change on the trail too if you take a friend along who can keep the others off your way for the while. If you are using sanitary pads, carry sufficient newspapers to wrap them up after use. They will not smell or stain when packed adequately. These packed soiled napkins are to be brought down by you and deposited in a town and not in the mountains or the base village. If you  are used to or can switch to menstrual cups, nothing like it. But get used to menstrual cups before a trek.

Hope this answers your concerns Ramya. Let me know if you have further queries.

Sandhya

 

[Ramya]

Thank you Alveera, Debadrita and Sandhya. 

Menstrual cups are quite transformative indeed. Good to know about the privacy bit cos that'd be the main concern while on trails. 😅

 

Thanks again!

Edited October 7, 2022 by Ramya

[pranavi]

Very body is unique has is own biological symptoms..

I've trekked har ki dun and goechala while on period

 

On a regular basis I have moderate menstural cramps on 1st and 2nd days.. and I also have bloating problems.. and might have to poop many times

I usually eat iron rich foods a week before.. apples,  beetroot, spinach and usually the pains go away..

I don't prefer using meftal spas. for me it's the last resort.

 

Har ki dun (may)- observations- i had less pain than usual because I was continuously walking..  yes it smells, need zip locks 2-3 ..and yeah disposing is problem.. inconvenient while trekking if it rains .. i had bloating problems and I took pan D tablet..  urge to poop was there and had taken bio breaks time to time.. like it generally happens with me

 

Oh also there's period  undies.. its called " lemme be" check it online

 

Goechala- october- i used menstural cups.. cold weather makes a difference as you might need to wash the cup with  water.. had used menstural cup wash... it helped. I recommend carrying a bidet.. I avoided reddish and moong dal which might aggrevate my bloating.

 cold weather had my legs were shivering and everyplace I sat was cold.. it was hard to have my abdomen relaxed.. but not much pains because my iron levels were good... I had moodswings like usual.. so talking with cotrekkers kind of helped.. general advise would be don't take sleep inducing medicine.. it might affect trek performance drastically