HEALTH

Pad for as long as possible

If you’re heading to the pool or the beach, but ya know that you’re gonna be layin’ out for a while before you jump in the water, don’t be afraid to keep a thin pad on ‘til you hit the waves. That way you won’t have to worry while you’re playing beach volleyball, and all you have to do is take a bathroom break to remove it (and pop in a tampon if necessary) really quickly before you get wet.

Keep track of time

The day before ya get wet ‘n wild, pay attention to how heavy your flow is and how often you’ve gotta change out your tampon. Then the next day, whether you’re layin’ out, swimming laps or surfing, check the time every once in a while, and make a trip to the ladies’ room if ya need it. But just so ya know, here’s a sweet secret about swimming: Water pressure tends to put the brakes on your period for a bit. So if you’re runnin’ to the bathroom but find that the sitch isn’t as dramatic as you thought, let a li’l more time lapse between breaks.

Doesn’t hurt to double-check

Every time ya leave the ladies room, just take a quick peek to be sure that your tampon string is safely hidden by your bikini bottoms, since they don’t provide quite as much cover as you’d normally have with shorts or pants. You definitely don’t wanna go runnin’ back to the waves with a string that might provoke questions from your BGF, so just take those extra few secs to avoid awkwardtown. Tip? You can always trim the string a li’l shorter to prevent it from slipping out.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

At this time of the month, you may think that “period” is written all over your lovely face, but don’t worry, sistah, because it’s definitely not. Some gals get grouchy when their period rolls around, but no one said that you have to let it get ya down. If you act like your normal, fun self, nobody but you is gonna know that anything is goin’ on. And if you pretend that everything’s fine, you’ll start really havin’ fun and even fool yourself!

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by Carrie Ruppert | 2/1/2016