🌸 Blicky's Period Survival Guide

🔥 heat

probably one of the easiest things that actually helps

• heating pad on ur lower stomach or lower back
• hot water bottle works too
• warm shower/bath if u wanna become soup
• no heating pad = warm towel works

just get warm and comfy basically

🧘 move around a lil

ik moving is probably the last thing u wanna do but even a tiny bit can help

• stretch ur legs/hips/lower back
• walk around for a few mins
• nothing crazy, literally just enough to stop being curled into the same position for 6 hours 😭

🍵 warm stuff

• ginger tea
• peppermint tea
• chamomile tea
• honestly even just something warm to drink

ginger is especially good if ur stomach is being evil too

🍌 eat SOMETHING

if eating feels disgusting u don't need to force down an entire meal, just eat little bits whenever u can

easy stuff:

• bananas
• oatmeal
• soup
• toast
• crackers
• rice
• applesauce
• yogurt

a few bites > nothing at all

🛌 become comfy

• curl up on ur side
• pillow between ur knees
• or lay on ur back with a pillow under ur knees
• blanket
• heating pad
• sleep if sleepy

basically maximum creature comfort

🫚 ginger ginger ginger

try:

• ginger tea
• ginger chews
• ginger candy
• ginger ale with actual ginger in it

🌿 peppermint

peppermint tea or peppermint candy can help too

🍞 tiny boring foods

if ur stomach doesn't want food, don't immediately throw a massive meal at it

try:

• crackers
• toast
• rice
• banana
• applesauce
• plain noodles
• soup/broth

eat a lil, wait, eat a lil more

💧 tiny sips!!

don't chug an entire glass if ur already nauseous

• little sips of cold water
• ice chips if drinking feels gross
• electrolyte drink if u haven't been eating/drinking much or you've been throwing up

❄️ COLD

this sounds stupidly simple but try it

• cold washcloth on ur forehead/neck
• fan
• open window
• fresh air
• get out of a hot/stuffy room

and try not to lay completely flat right after eating. prop urself up with pillows for a bit and let ur stomach chill

first of all u don't HAVE to become good at swallowing giant stupid pills

there are other versions of a lot of medicine

look for:

liquid medicine chewables dissolvable/melt-away tablets powders smaller tablets gel caps / softgels

if u can't find one just ask the pharmacist if there's a liquid/chewable/smaller version of whatever ur trying to take

🥤 ways to make pills easier

drown that mf

take a sip of water before putting the pill in so ur mouth/throat isn't dry

then pill + decent mouthful of water and swallow it all together

use something thicker

if the medicine is okay to take with it, try:

• juice
• milk
• smoothie

sometimes it's way easier when u can't feel the pill as much

🍎 hide it in food

if the medicine is allowed to be taken with food, put the whole pill in a spoonful of:

• applesauce
• yogurt
• pudding

then swallow the spoonful without chewing the pill

💊 capsules → look down

capsules float so:

1. capsule on tongue
2. mouthful of water
3. chin slightly toward ur chest
4. swallow

sounds backwards but it can make capsules easier

🔵 tablets → water bottle trick

1. put tablet on tongue
2. put ur lips around the opening of a flexible water bottle
3. keep ur lips sealed around it
4. drink + swallow at the same time

🥤 pill swallowing cups

these are literally a thing too

they're made specifically to help the pill go down with the water, so if swallowing pills is consistently awful it might actually be worth getting one

cramps / pain

• Advil — ibuprofen
• Motrin — ibuprofen
• Aleve — naproxen
• Tylenol — acetaminophen
• Midol — period medicine, but what's actually in it depends on which version
• Bayer Aspirin — aspirin
• Excedrin — combination pain medicine; ingredients depend on the version

for actual period cramps, Advil/Motrin (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen) are usually the more relevant ones because they're NSAIDs and help reduce the stuff causing the cramps, not just the pain

DO NOT take Advil/Motrin + Aleve together

they're both NSAIDs

also pls look at the active ingredients before combining random medicines because two different-looking boxes can contain the same drug and accidentally make u double-dose it

🤢 nausea / upset stomach

• Dramamine — nausea/motion sickness; different versions have different ingredients
• Bonine — meclizine
• Emetrol — nausea medicine and there's liquid versions!!
• Nauzene — chewable nausea tablets
• Pepto-Bismol — for nausea/upset stomach + other stomach bullshit

some of these can make u sleepy so read the box before taking them

u don't need to do literally everything here

heat + water + something small to eat + painkiller if u can take one + getting comfy is already a pretty good combo

but if the pain is genuinely insane, way worse than ur normal periods, ur fainting, have a fever, bleeding an extreme amount, or can't stop throwing up, don't just sit there suffering and assume it's period stuff. tell someone/get medical help

otherwise wrap urself in blankets, put something stupid on to watch and survive the uterus boss fight ily ♡