Best practices for menstrual hygiene

Can I shower or take a bath on my period?

You absolutely can shower and bathe on your period. In fact, please do. Warm water can ease cramps, relax your muscles, and help wash away blood and sweat that build up around your vulva. In the shower, rinse front to back and keep soap on the outside only. Baths are also fine as long as the tub is clean; your cervix is mostly closed, and you are not "soaking in dirty blood". If you bleed in the water, it will dilute immediately. Avoid putting bath bombs, strong soaps, or essential oils directly on your vulva, since they can cause irritation. After bathing, put on a fresh pad, tampon, cup, disc, or period underwear. Hygiene is about regular, gentle cleaning and product changes, not avoiding water.

Is it normal for my period blood to smell?

Some smell is normal. Period blood often has a metallic scent from the iron, and a slightly earthy or musky odor after a few hours in a pad or cup. That does not mean you are dirty. Things that make smell stronger: long wear time for pads/tampons, non-breathable underwear, and hot weather. Change products regularly, wash your vulva once a day, and wear breathable fabrics. Smell becomes a concern when it is new, strong, and clearly unpleasant: fishy (often BV), rotten (possible forgotten tampon), or combined with itching, burning, or unusual discharge. That is your cue to see a provider, not to start spraying or douching. Covering the smell without treating the cause just lets the problem grow.

Does being on birth control change how I should manage menstrual hygiene?

Birth control can change how often and how heavily you bleed, but the hygiene basics stay the same. On the pill, patch, or ring, you might have lighter, more predictable periods, so you can often use lower-absorbency tampons or smaller pads and change them on a normal schedule (every 4–8 hours). With hormonal IUDs or implants, you may have random spotting or no full period at all; period underwear or thin liners can be easier and less irritating than constant tampons. Copper IUDs can mean heavier, longer periods, so a cup or high-absorbency products plus more frequent changes may work better. Regardless of method, you still should not douche, you still want unscented products, and you still wash your vulva gently once a day. Any sudden changes in bleeding, pain, or smell deserve a check-in.

Can poor menstrual hygiene affect my fertility?

Indirectly, yes. Not showering one day is not going to wreck your fertility, but chronic infections that go untreated can. Over-washing, douching, and using harsh or scented products inside the vagina can disrupt your normal bacteria and make BV and other infections more likely. Some sexually transmitted infections, especially chlamydia and gonorrhea, can move upward from the vagina to the uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can scar those structures and affect fertility. Good menstrual hygiene is about balance: gentle external washing, safe product use (no marathon tampon wearing), and actually getting treated when something feels off. Protecting your fertility also means regular STI testing if you are sexually active and using condoms with new or multiple partners. Your future you deserves a healthy reproductive system that was not ignored because you were told to "just use a feminine wash."

How do I manage menstrual hygiene with irregular or very heavy periods?

With irregular or heavy periods, the goal is to be prepared without torturing your body. If your cycles are unpredictable, keep a small kit on you: a couple pads or tampons, or one pair of period underwear, plus pain relief. For very heavy bleeding (soaking a pad/tampon in under 1–2 hours, or passing large clots), a menstrual cup or disc plus backup pad or period underwear can handle more blood with fewer bathroom trips. Change internal products more often on heavy days: every 3–4 hours for tampons, 4–8 for cups/discs if needed. If you are consistently bleeding that heavily, waking up in pools of blood, feeling dizzy, or getting exhausted, that goes beyond hygiene – you deserve medical evaluation for anemia, fibroids, or hormonal issues. In the meantime, prioritize products that protect your clothes, change them often, and be ruthless about comfort over aesthetics.If you are still side-eyeing your underwear, your flow, or your products and wondering if any of this is normal, you do not have to spiral alone. Bring your questions, patterns, and "is this weird" moments to Gush and talk it through like you would with a brutally honest, actually-informed friend.