If you have periods from H e l l like I do you cringe at the thought of your trip abroad—or to anywhere—being interrupted by menstruation. My period is typically 8-9 days and sometimes 10 long days. Even a long 3-4-week trip can be overshadowed by my period. I tend to move through life with my period and have a high tolerance for pain until it becomes excruciating. Even still, I can't help but take a couple of days sitting out from planned activities. My period comes like clockwork and I typically know when it's coming. If I'm lucky enough I even get it twice in one visit! So fun. My last trip to Sierra Leone in December was super short (less than two weeks) and I was blessed to only be starting it during my journey back to the States. When I got back it was painful as usual. I got to enjoy my birthday and my limited days free of pain. Sadly, I was hit with a nasty cold a few days into the trip, so it wasn't all that pleasant.
May-June 2018 I traveled with a menstrual cup and had my period during the trip. I bought a Pixie Cup from Amazon (a year ago today, actually). I ended up not using it because I didn't feel comfortable disposing the blood and sterilizing it under the sanitation conditions. Basically, I had to flush toilets with a bucket of water, and it isn't always a clean, perfect flush. I didn't want to boil or request boiled water to sanitize the cup. Even simply rinsing it would have required decent water quality, which I did not have access to. The water used to bathe, wash hands and flush toilets is collected in a large plastic barrel inside the bathroom. It smells a little like mildew and likely contains parasites, your usual bacteria, and cute little mosquito babies. That's definitely not something anyone needs pushed into their vagina. Most of the time I used purified water (bottled or packaged) to clean between my legs. I would even do this in the shower if I was not able to put some Dettol soap in the water.
For my first trip to Salone, we packed plenty of pads, so I just used those and bought some in Freetown when I needed to. I started using cloth pads bought on eBay before traveling to Freetown in 2014, but I didn't bring any due to the hassle of cleaning them. I would have had to rinse them out, soak them in water with the right detergent in a clean bucket. Which means I would have had to go out and spend money in Freetown. I would have also had my personal sanitary napkins sitting in a bucket, and had to dry them where everyone could see, as a guest in someone's house. You can imagine that reusable pads can be a challenge to use for Sierra Leonean women too. I’m sure women in the village who can’t buy conventional pads use cloth pads. I should investigate what they use in addition to disposable pads next time. If you forget to pack pads, you can buy them in pharmacies and from street vendors.
My first trip to Salone in 2012 I had a really painful period and I had to sit in someone's living room looking like I was ready to die. My period affects my mood and energy levels, so I have malaise and just generally dgaf. Seriously, it doesn't matter where I am, I will lay out anywhere I can. I can hardly move around and try not to even leave the house, but this time I went out with my family. The lady we visited that day saw I was miserable and told me to lay down on her bed, I think I took meds too. I usually can't stomach food because my digestive system is messed up, I don't have an appetite, and eating can make the pain worse. I must eat before taking pills, so this prevents me from taking pain relievers sometimes and I just silently suffer. When I came back another day the lady told me how different I looked pain free. It is all over my face; I can't smile naturally and hold normal conversations. If you know you need pain relief, make sure you pack pills. The pain relievers we use in the States are not always available. People always ask me to bring any pain drugs in bulk when I’m traveling, and grandma is always getting some aspirin. I prefer the natural way with teas, herbs and rest, but I don’t need the mind-numbing pain, fever, and chills while trying to enjoy a hot, humid climate.
I'm so glad I traveled with some naproxen sodium tablets last May because they really helped keep me less miserable during that time. My flow was also surprisingly lighter. Not sure if it was the pills or the change in environment. When you travel, your period may also be delayed due to stress and your sleep pattern. Additionally, diet, change of routine, and water quality can influence your cycle. My water was always boiled, bottled or packaged (packet wata). I have not visited Salone without getting runbelleh, what they call diarrhea. I just can’t escape it. You need to be careful with the food and water, as even cleaner homes are easily contaminated by flies and unclean hands. It's important to protect your gut health, since any issues will make your period worse.
The easiest zero-waste period solution I have for anyone traveling to Sierra Leone would be a menstrual cup. Depending on the cup and your body you may need to wear a pad or pantyliner. You could use a reusable pad along with the cup or a 100% cotton pad or liner, especially without plastic packaging. Sierra Leone does not have a sustainable, environmentally-safe waste management system, so it's important that visitors not contribute to the poorly managed waste in the country. My menstrual pads were thrown down the village toilet (a deep hole in the ground), put into a pile to be burned, or simply tossed in a trash pile away from the house. I'm not even sure if the homes in Freetown have a pickup service available to anyone. Understand that when you toss your pad it ends up somewhere, and probably not the best place. If you stay with family, they likely will be handling your pad at some point and they don't typically use trash bags, which I guess is a good thing in some ways. If you are in a hotel/guest house they should have a waste bin for you and the maid service will take care of it.
There were many times when I didn't even use a toilet but a bucket with water, and emptying a menstrual cup would be unpleasant, to put it nicely. Once you know exactly what you are getting into as far as toilet facilities and hygiene standards, you can better decide how you want to go about managing your cycle. Your menstrual cycle doesn't have to overshadow your travel plans and journey. Plan ahead so you can be ready for whatever your uterus decides to throw at you!