# How do women at nudist camps manage their period? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836 "2002-04-26T19:26:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/1 "2002-04-26T19:26:45Z")
How do women on ‘heavy’ days manage at nudist camps? Wouldn’t there be a pretty good chance they get spots of blood on anything they sit on during their period? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/2 "2002-04-26T21:00:14Z")
I have a friend who was in the theater. I her asked the same question about nude scenes on stage a few years back. They have these plastic diaphragm things that they put up there to catch the fluid. That plus a tampon with the string cut off does the trick. I would imaging that they go to the bathroom a few times a day to change out the equipment. Haj ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/3 "2002-04-26T21:10:55Z")
That _plus_ a tampon? I can’t see any reason why a tampon alone wouldn’t do it, unless the woman has severely hemorraghic periods. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/4 "2002-04-26T21:18:56Z")
Yeah, a tampon should be fine. That’s how the ~40 members of my high school swim team managed. With pheromones and all, by the end of the season, we all ended up “managing” at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/5 "2002-04-27T00:11:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ruadh \* > \*\*That _plus_ a tampon? I can’t see any reason why a tampon alone wouldn’t do it, unless the woman has severely hemorraghic periods. \*\* I’m going to reveal a little TMI here-I know of women who often, for the first few days, have to use a pad AND a tampon. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/6 "2002-04-27T01:24:10Z")
There a time factor involved, too - most pads or tampons presume you’ll be able to swap “equipment” about every 4 hours. Sometimes you can’t. If I’m traveling, for instance, and the next 12 hours might be problematic regarding bathrooms I go for the “belt and suspenders” approach myself on the heavy days. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/7 "2002-04-27T04:29:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Incubus \* > \*\*How do women on ‘heavy’ days manage at nudist camps? Wouldn’t there be a pretty good chance they get spots of blood on anything they sit on during their period? \*\* Not at all… for some women it’s the perfect time for Arts and Crafts. An SDMB [classic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37847&highlight=period+prints+menses). > [@](#): > > When I first began menstruating, and the first time my cycle coincided with my mother’s, my mother and I made what we called “period prints” together. We would squat, pantless, over a piece of fresh white paper, and sit, leaving a bloody print featuring the impression of folds of skin and curls of hair. Sigh, a tender mother-daughter bonding experience. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/8 "2002-04-27T04:45:36Z")
**astro** , that was really, really ew. I would assume that most nudist woman would probably just use a sarong and some ginch if they were in danger of making a mess everywhere. I’m pretty sure the nudity is not manditory at _ALL TIMES_. ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/9 "2002-04-27T05:24:02Z")
A couple I know are ardent nudists, and I asked the same question. She said at those times the women either choose to stay home or wear something nearly-nude, like a bikini bottom or such. And, not all women like tampons. And, some women require _two_ tampons and a pad. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/10 "2002-04-27T05:44:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lorinada \* > \*\* > And, some women require _two_ tampons and a pad. \*\* :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/11 "2002-04-27T06:09:34Z")
Ugh. I know its a feminine thing and every fertile woman does it, but the thought of bleeding out my crotch every month just throws my stomach in knots. One particularly horrible experience was one evening when my bathroom was occupied so I asked my mom if I could use hers. She just finished using the toilet and said sure. I go to the toilet and there is something in there. As I don’t have my glasses, I have to bend way down to see what exactly the red thing in the toilet is- a used tampon. My mom forgot to flush it, and left me with her little menstrual gift to contend with. I honestly almost threw up. I don’t know what exactly it is about it, the concept just grosses the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/12 "2002-04-27T10:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lorinada \* > \*\*A couple I know are ardent nudists, and I asked the same question. She said at those times the women either choose to stay home or wear something nearly-nude, like a bikini bottom or such. > > And, not all women like tampons. > > And, some women require _two_ tampons and a pad. \*\* TMI ahead! Before I finally had my hysterectomy, I was having to use those adult diapers, and I had to change them every couple of hours. This meant that I would have extremely interrupted sleep for several days in a row. My hysterectomy was a big relief to everyone in the family. I think that I’ll spare everyone the details of my clots…this time. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/13 "2002-04-27T15:11:20Z")
**Incubus** –do I remember from some other thread that you are on the young side? You’ll get over your menstrual gross-outs in time. Not to worry. I thought the OP was a very good question, BTW. Perhaps nudist women also have an extra incentive to find the tampon brand that fits best. I leak with Tampax, for example, but don’t leak when I use O.B., or my favorite organic cotton brand. (For those males who don’t understand why they would work differently–get a hold of a Tampax tampon and an O.B. tampon. Unwrap them and run them under some water. As you can see, they expand to different shapes. One shape or the other may work better for some women.) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/14 "2002-04-27T15:39:27Z")
I remembered that thread too, **astro**. But I can’t for the life of me find the one where the person posted of “painting mystic symbols on their tummy with the blood”. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/15 "2002-04-27T17:27:11Z")
…but then I decided to do things nice and carefully with notations and cross-refererencing, JUST like they do in the Straight Dope Scientific Labs, so I got myself about 7 or 8 of the most popular brands, and a few lengths of 2x4. I bought 8 plastic funnels, and some rubber bands and hyrometers from Edmund Scientific. I pretty much had it rigged so I could release the same trickle of warm ( 98.6\*, OF COURSE ) water into all 8 tampons at the same moment, and then using calipers, measure the increase in diameter per tampon/inch over Pi. Just as things were tricling and expanding nicely, suddenly without warning an angry mob of Fundamentalist Gynecologists BURST into my Private Laboratory. They destroyed my materials and burned my notes, and walled me up here, here where NOBODY can hear my anguished cries. All because I felt the need to know the Straight Dope. That’s my story. My name’s Friday. I’m a cop. 😃 Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![ivebeenabadboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b77776/32.png) [@ivebeenabadboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivebeenabadboy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/16 "2002-04-27T19:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > probably just use a sarong and some ginch \*\* What’s a ginch? Astro – wow! I’m speechless. ---
**Author:** ![Stinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@Stinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinky)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/17 "2002-04-27T19:47:07Z")
Once again,\*\* THANK GOD I’M A MAN !\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/18 "2002-04-27T20:29:06Z")
lol. So why wear a pad and a tampon? I mean, doesn’t wearing them both defeat the purpose of the tampon- or is it like absolutely necessary? In which case, wow…I thought _I_ had a heavy flow. As for two tampons…not sure I even want to know! ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/19 "2002-04-27T21:05:40Z")
> [@](#): > > So why wear a pad and a tampon? Tampons sometimes leak so it’s safe to have a back-up. Unless I’m having a really light day, I always wear a pad with my tampon, just as an insurance policy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836/20 "2002-04-27T21:31:42Z")
Sometimes, one tampon isn’t enough-you still leak. And I don’t like tampons anyways. So, you use a pad just to be safe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-women-at-nudist-camps-manage-their-period/105836.md?page=2)