Blog

menstrual cycle

A conversation about Period Poverty

May 13, 2024

Alternative materials for period management, such as socks, rags or sponges are often unsafe solutions for people, making them vulnerable to severe infection and irritation. They are also less reliable in absorbing menstrual blood, so users often develop anxiety about their menstrual blood leaking through, and staining their clothes, causing people to avoid their day-to-day commitments (such as work or school).

We have also learnt that people will attempt to reuse their tampon by rinsing out the tampon with water, to then reuse it again. Doing this drastically heightens the risk of developing ‘toxic shock syndrome’, a serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infection. In fact, even using a tampon once, as intended, carries risk which is why the recommended use time is strictly no more than 8 hours.

Bleeding Love: Menstruation and its effect on tennis

April 29, 2024

During a menstrual cycle, hormones tend to fluctuate to varying degrees resulting in changes in inflammation, metabolism, muscle activation and body composition. All things that seem to be pretty important to a professional athlete. When combined with cramps and body aches, not knowing the science behind your hormones could make or break a match.

“I didn’t feel like I could talk about why I had to do this. Like so many female athletes I suffered in silence.”

Ramadan: The Menstrual Experience

March 18, 2024

Ramadan is a sacred time for Muslims all around the world. Celebrated during the ninth month during the Muslim calendar, It is the month in which it is believed that the Holy Qur'an was sent down from heaven "as a guidance for men and women.”

People on their period are exempt from fasting (and prayer) and are instead required to make up their fasts before the next Ramadan. But what does this mean for the rest of the cycle?

Sameera Qureshi, an Islamic Psychology practitioner said it best, “that parents tend to misunderstand the concept of modesty and act from a place of shame instead.”

Period Tracking: A Long Held Practice

February 05, 2024

“Tell me," she continued, "what man needs to know when 28 days have passed? I suspect that this is woman's first attempt at a calendar.”

Referencing ‘The Ishango Bone’, the fibula of a baboon that is more than 22,000-28,000 years old. Discovered in the Congo region in 1957 it is something that historians and archaeologists can only really theorize on, as there is no conclusive way to prove which of the sexes created the calendar.

However there is something that tugs at my heartstrings at believing a Paleolithic woman was tracking her cycle in the same way as I do, centuries later.