What "old wives tales" were you told about periods?

Luckily, my mother was quite enlightened. The first time our boxer bitch was on heat, and there were blood spots on the lino, she took the opportunity to explain periods to me - I was ten or eleven at the time, so had plenty of warning before I started at thirteen.

Had to smile at some of these memories of periods. I was told not to ride my bike! Oh those awful Dr. Whites and so hush hush about buying them, hidden away at the back of the counter at the chemist or haberdashery store. They were so bulky, leaked as no waterproof backing and the belt was just gross. I was told I would be "unwell" and I felt so embarrassed. Mum did explain but she was obviously mortified telling me. But I felt so grown up when it did happen. Thank goodness there is no shame in being a woman today and the modern protection is excellent.

My mother said she thought you couldn’t use Tampax until you were married, ie. no longer as pure as virgin snow, but she raised no objection when I started using them quite early on, so I don’t think she really believed it.

OTOH, the mother of my German exchange student (I was 16) wouldn’t allow her daughters to have a bath or wash their hair during their period. Her younger daughter had a major tantrum at the dinner table one night, on account of being unable to wash her hair.

It says something that I still remember some of the exact words, so for anyone who understands German, ‘Ich kann es nicht mehr leiden!’ (I can’t bear it any more!)
followed immediately by, ‘Immer ein Theater!’ (Always a drama!) from Mutti.

I was so grateful that I didn’t have such an old-fashioned mother!

I started my periods in 1953 when I was 11 years old.
Mum told me to imagine I was a windmill and that a bucket was revolving inside me full of blood. Once a month it would reach the top and tip out!
I believed this and was suitably horrified. So glad when sex education and advice arrived at high school.
I dreaded games as I was convinced everything showed. Thank goodness for the huge navy gym knickers.

Slightly off topic. My mum told me nothing, I learned from my friend. When I was 16 my mother pushed a book at me called 'Married Love'. One sentence has stuck in my mind all my life. 'On your wedding night, put a towel underneath you to soak up the blood'.

I'd forgotten about that 'Married Love' book. When DH and I got engaged we were invited to the vicarage for a 'little chat' with the vicar who was a family friend. A strange ritual and he must have been as embarrassed as we were because he just shoved the book at me and poured us a glass of sherry!

He and DH then talked about birdwatching.

My mum's m.i.l. said the same thing about baths and hair washing Evie so my poor mum unaware of her views, got into serious trouble with her before she married my dad, because she washed and set her future s.i.l.'s hair to make her feel better.

Re ‘married love’ I once found in one of my GPs’ bookcases a manual on Christian marriage. (Like many of their books it was very likely pre 1900 though I can’t be sure now.)

Among other things long forgotten, it said in much more euphemistic language that sex should be indulged in only when a child was wanted!
Glad to say there were a lot of far cheerier volumes in those bookcases, all my father’s old William books, for starters.

I loved the William books Witzend especially Violet who would "thcream and thcream until she was thick". Happy memories.

I got the talk when I was probably about 10 or 11. Mum was pretty open about periods and showed us some books she had. By that time sticky pads were available; Mum said they only had the belts and thick pads in hospital when you had a baby. (Those have gone the way of the dinosaur now too, as I discovered when I did my maternity rotation in nursing school.)

annsixty, I used a Tassie, the forerunner of the Mooncup, most of my adult life. I found it very simple and reliable. At work I used the disabled loo as it had a wash basin in the cubicle, which made cleaning it easier. I wonder how much money I saved not using STs or tampons, let alone saving landfill.

I didn’t hear any old wives tales around periods, but neither was I ever told by anybody that periods would start.
I was at grammar school ( all girls) and they didn’t tell me either! One day at school, there was blood so I told a teacher about it, she rang my mother to take me home ( my mother was at work) and I was told that I was ‘unwell’.
Once home I was given something called Indian brandy for the pains and packed off to bed with a hot water bottle.
Later, my mother told me I could expect this to happen once a month, so naturally I was horrified.
I was never told why periods occurred and had to find out for
Myself later on.Sanitary belts and those pads that rubbed were designed by the devil.?

My mum explained quite simply about periods so when it started I was prepared. I remember her telling me it was a private thing and I was not to mention it to my father or brother (said in hushed tones)

I was quite lucky that my mam was a nurse. But she was always blunt and to the point. I hated the sanitary belt, yuk! Also once when I was on a bus with her she asked me if I was menstrating!!! Honestly my face must have been red/purple by the time she had finished. I knew the people in front must have heard. I also used to have to sneak the sanitary pads into the fire/stove in the kitchen and past my dad. What the hell he thought I was doing I dont know but my mam always said to not talk about it in front of him. I still think I was born under the gooseberry bush with all the cloak and dagger bits that went with it. What an age we grew up in! I can just hear my grand daughter now as she says she has a hormonal stomach ache, haha!

My mum told me not to go out with wet hair when I had my period. Madness.

I remember my mum thought I was very uncouth to leave a packet of contraceptive pills on the bathroom shelf when I was newly married!!

My mum told me in simple language what would happen, so I was prepared. Lucky really as I started at age 10 and remember the horrible belts and Dr Whites towels. They had to be incinerated and at grammar school there was a disgusting incinerator called a “Bunny” in the girls toilets for this purpose. It used to give off smoke and smell vile, the worst thing was the embarrassment of having to use it.
Despite the clear practical explanation my mum also told me that Tampax were for married women only (I didn’t understand why though!) not to wash my hair or have a bath during a period and not to ride my bike.

When I was doing my nurse training in the 60s sanitary towels were referred to as 'bunnies' Whingingmom to save embarrassment I suppose.

I was also told not to mention if in front of my dad or any man or boy. For a long time I thought it was a secret women had that men knew nothing about!! Fortunately I had been forewarned by my mum as I started at school. At school it was always known as ‘the curse’. I was also told the usual about not washing hair, having baths or going swimming at these times.

Like other posters I too was told that tampons were for 'married ladies'! In my case by the assistant in the chemist where I picked up my first packet, feeling very grown up and sophisticated. I bought them anyway and never regretted it.

No old wives’ tales from my mother. She told me about periods well before I started at 11. I was the first in my form, so quite a heroine! These things were talked about constantly in the last year of my all-girls junior school. I later met girls who had been told nothing and had thought they were dying when they started. I wondered how they had got through their junior schools without hearing all the schoolgirl talk I did.

Re the old looped STs, aeons ago a flatmate told me that when she was maybe 9 or 10 (probably late 1950s) she found some of these in her mother’s drawer. She thought they looked like the little hats that were fashionable at the time, with handy loops to go round your ears, too!
So she went off to meet her mother from work - down a busy street - with her nice little white hat on! ?

As she said, her poor mother’s mortification knew no bounds.

I have roared with laughter at some of these replies. I'm so pleased I wasn't the only one!

I suppose the old sanitary towels with loops may work as a face covering. The loop could tuck behind your ears. No virus could get through all that heavy cotton wool.

Witzend, that is hilarious, and made me laugh out loud!

I remember my mum having a subscription to a magazine called, 'The Book of Life', and she sat down with me when I was about 10 and explained things in simple terms.

My periods started when we were staying at my gran's, when I was 11. Mum asked gran if she had any sanitary towels in the house, as I had a very young aunt living at home, who was only 4 years older than me at the time. She gave me one her belts, and a massive Dr. White's ST, which I was horrified about. Mum promptly went off to the chemist and bought me a supply of slimline stick-on pads. My young aunt was most put out and wanted to know why my gran had subjected her to the embarrassment of wearing those horrible belts for so long!

Mum even bought me tampons when I was a young teen, but I struggled to use them ... until I was older, and had a boyfriend!