Free flow/alternative period handling and piercings

[pinesandmaples]

I use the free-flow method of period handling, which basically means I use nothing except my underwear (which has to be washed anyway) to catch my blood during my period. This can get messy sometimes, but I usually enjoy seeing the red smears on my thighs and pubic mound. (Doesn't that sound clinical?) Plus, my flow has gotten tons lighter and smells really good and sweet in the 4 years that I've used this method.

I'm also DYING to get a genital piercing of some sort. Inner or outer labia, more than likely, but I don't know what sort of things blood could do to a healing piercing.

Does anyone around here have experience with using cloth pads or free-flowing while healing a genital piercing?
I'd love to hear any advice and yays/nays/cautions because my piercers were a little stumped when I asked them if this would be a problem in healing or dealing with such a piercing.

Comments

[maidenmorticia.livejournal.com]

Totally unrelated to your question, but this is the first time I've ever heard of "free flowing" (ie using nothing to catch the menstrual blood -- maybe my friends aren't hippy enough?)

I hope you don't mind my asking & I'm sure this will sound ignorant to you, but...

what do you do when you need to sit on a chair? I mean, how do you avoid leaving a stain behind?

xo M.

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

This is the first time I've heard of it too. I'm also curious about the answer to your question. It sounds to me like "free flowing" would be very messy. Or maybe it's just me and my period.
I know for a fact that it would be very messy for me, and would leave a huge stain on my pants and anything I sat on because once, just after I started my period, it stopped, then suddenly started up again the next day, and I didn't have a pad. Just that little bit of flow (for about 2 or 3 hours until I could get home) left a big stain in my pants.

[pinkgerbil.livejournal.com]

Haha , yeah agreeded . I googled it and found nothing . Links please! I am facinated !

I use cloth pads , and my flow is most times pretty light , but have had my times where I bled like a stuck pig.

[destynnee.livejournal.com]

wow i could never do that with mine unless i am at home... then i am in bed with a dark towel cause mine are like someone stabbed me...

i have had my tongue, belly, and nipples done.. but not that yet.. i would say just clean it all the same way... it might get sore cause of the blood.. but a good pierciest might be able to help you with that questions

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

I think as long as you get it done right after your period so it has time to heal before your next period, it should be fine. Mucus membranes heal quickly. I think it takes 4 to 6 weeks for piercings to heal (I could be wrong on that, though).
Once it's healed, just wash it when you have a shower. Lather it up, and turn it back and forth through the hole. Then rinse it, turning it back and forth through the hole to get the soap out. I've had my bellybutton pierced for about 5 years now, and that's what I do. It takes 6 months to a year for bellybutton piercings to heal, though. That was a pain in the ass.

[destynnee.livejournal.com]

i have seen that depends on the peircing... my nipples took six months, my ex never did heal.. my belly took six months... but doing it right after your period would be a good time.. and the way to clean it sounds good.. but be very careful the soap you use.. cause some can stay in tehre even if you rinse like crazy! i found this out the hard way lol

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

At the piercer I went to, they told me to use either Dove or Ivory. I used Dove since the day I got it pierced, and never had a problem. It healed fine and didn't get infected.
Mine took about 7 months or so to heal.

[angelwifey.livejournal.com]

really? i had my hood peirced and the peircer recommended NOT to wash it with soap. that pee, and just rinsing would do fine.

interesting. But whatever works right:)

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

I don't know about genital piercings, because I've never had one, but the piercer I went to told me to wash it twice a day with soap, and soak it for 5 minutes after I washed it with epsom salt and water. I also had to put some type of antibiotic cream on it, like polysporin. (They actually recommended one called Mecca, but I couldn't find it, so I just got polysporin).
I don't think that's very good advice they gave you. What if you had a bladder infection and peed on your piercing? That would have made it infected. They should have at least told you to use some type of antibiotic cream on it to keep it from getting infected. You can get bacteria on your vulva. Your vagina is self cleaning, but your vulva isn't.
Not to mention the fact that in order to pee on your clit hood, you'd have to pee upwards. Your urethra is below your clit. It sounds to me like that piercer doesn't really know what they're doing.

[angelwifey.livejournal.com]

perhaps i should clarify. What my peircer meant is that i should do as zeuberwench expained in her comment:
"cupping my hand in my urine stream and directing it to flow over my piercings. Urine is sterile to your own body when it first exits, and is great for genital piercings."
he didnt explain all that, but made it clearer at the time and i got what he meant. and genital peircings generally heal up very quickly and dont get infected much. Also, avoiding sexual contact (all, manual, oral and otherwise) helps with not getting infected from salivia and the worst thing is contact(even walking and having clothing brush it roughly) could make it hurt the first few weeks. But really, it was fine and painless and really easy to keep clean. He did say to take showers for a few days instead of baths, and wear looser underwear and pants. just give it breathing room i guess. (that and the contact thing=less pain)

[angelwifey.livejournal.com]

i think it should be fine. mine healed up amazingly fast, within a few weeks. Also, be careful not to leave it out for too long if you take it out, mine healed up just because i took it out for a week:(

ps. send me the links too.

[pinesandmaples]

Thanks!

I don't take my jewelry out unless I absolutly must. Mostly because I like having the piercings so why risk it? When I was really sick that was a pain because I kept having to switch studs and posts out to keep my facial piercing clean, but it was worth it. Sometimes, it's the small things that make me feel pretty that make everything better during yucky mono.

[angelwifey.livejournal.com]

mono is the worst! i lost 20 lbs on it and was SO awful awful sick. you poor thing. I hope it doesnt haunt you forever as it did me!

[uber-wench.livejournal.com]

I've got seven genital piercings, and I use a combinaiton of Diva cup and cloth pad when I'm bleeding. Do like a previous commenter said and get your piercing done right after your period--then it's got 3 or 4 weeks to get over that initial healing hump. I washed my piercings with a plain unscented all natural soap once a day, and the rest of the time my piercer suggested cupping my hand in my urine stream and directing it to flow over my piercings. Urine is sterile to your own body when it first exits, and is great for genital piercings.

I've found that most of my piercings healed very quickly--the vertical clit hood healed the fastest, inner labia second, and outer labia last. I think becuase it was easier for it to get bumped and whatnot.

[pinesandmaples]

Thank you so much. Info like this is exactly why I was posting!
I'm honestly leaning towards the inner labia because it seems to heal a lot faster (something about the blood flow, I think?) than my other options.

[1scarletbegonia.livejournal.com]

since it's your own blood, and you know piercings bleed anyway, it shouldnt be a problem if you follow regular hygiene and aftercare. incidentally i got a vch saturday night and my period started today so this post was kismet :-)

[pinesandmaples]

Awesome! Thanks.
I hope your piercing heals well and is happy for a long time!

[mynamewastaken.livejournal.com]

what happens if you want to go out somewhere :S

[pinesandmaples]

As far as I know, nothing. The world doesn't end, blood spots don't show up anywhere except my underwear, and no one knows. Life goes on; it's not like we need all sorts of strange devices to catch our blood when we wear two or three layers of clothing down there anyway.

[mynamewastaken.livejournal.com]

I guess that makes sense.
I guess it depends on the woman and her flow.
it would never have worked for me before i had my baby but the 1 period i've had since having her has been light enough i didnt need anything.

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

Like heffalump said, it must depend on the woman and her flow. I know that for myself personally, the two or three layers of clothing I wear anyway would never be enough to catch it all.

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

Also:
"it's not like we need all sorts of strange devices to catch our blood..."

Most of us do.

[zinnea.livejournal.com]

Most of us do.

Yes.

With all due respect to those who are able to "free flow" without any serious inconvenience, there are many women who have very heavy flows. My period typically starts and ends with couple light days where the only thing that would get bloodied is my underwear but then I also have heavy flow days. More than once I've bled through a pad, panties, pajama bottoms and a sheet to stain my mattress cover and my flow is definitely not unusually heavy, it's rather typical.

I don't mean to get all ranty here but it very much bothers me when any one woman tries to speak for all women and what's "normal" or "necessary", concepts that can vary widely from one woman to another.

[pinesandmaples]

it very much bothers me when any one woman tries to speak for all women and what's "normal" or "necessary", concepts that can vary widely from one woman to another.

And it very much bothers me when someone who has NEVER given another method a chance says flat out, "I've never tried your method, I know nothing about it, and I KNOW it would never work for me even though I've never given it a fair trial so you ned to stop judging me!"

I used to have a very heavy flow. Like, bleeding through 4-5 super heavy tampons or pads a day for 4-5 days. Then I switched methods and my body seemed to really like what happened because in 4 or 5 months, I had a light, simple, clean flow that smelled better, didn't cause me cramps or pain, and really bothered me way less than a period ever had before.

So I would say I have personal experience with heavy flows and with transitioning away from traditional methods. I would ask that you don't pass judgment on those statements until you have given alternative methods a fair trial, as well.

Let me re-state this so that you might understand.

[zinnea.livejournal.com]

Who owes you an explanation of why she uses tampons or pads or a Diva Cup or whatever method she chooses? Not me. Not any of the other commenters. Not any other woman on this whole planet.

No one has passed judgement on your choice. No one's said: ooh that's gross, you shoudln't do that. People have said they couldn't do that themselves. Your statement that women don't need any of the devices that they use for containing their menstrual blood is a judgement. Suggesting that women who choose a different option than you are wrong is not juwt judgmental, it's hateful, it's anti-woman and it's rude. That's the objection I have to what you've said. I don't care how YOU handle your period, it's your body, you do whatever YOU want to do with YOUR body. Just don't think you have anything remotely resembling a right to tell other women what to do with their bodies. You don't.

For the record? On my light days I do often free-flow myself. You assume way too much.

[ruggrat.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking you could use cloth washable pads as an extra layer as well, if you were having an extra heavy day- seems like it would be no different than wearing just underwear as far as your body is concerned...

me too

[lazylipstick.livejournal.com]

i also use the free flowing concept of menstruation if i can stay at home. i have three dresses one dark pruple and one red and one black that i bleed on. besides my period seems to be heaviest in the morning. but at night i just bleed on special bloanket. it is messy. but i prefer it that way. just wanted you to know that i understand that. if anyone could answer that question too i'd like to know becasue i want to get a labial peircing as well.