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General information, not medical advice. For anything about your own health, talk to a healthcare provider.
- Access, Culture & CanadaPeriod care in South KoreaIn South Korea, period pads are regulated as “quasi-drugs”. A public scare in 2017 changed what the government tests and what every pack must list. Here is how Korea regulates period care, what people use, and where K-beauty and K-pop come in.
- Everyday LifePeriod products at work: the federal rule in CanadaSince 15 December 2023, federal regulations say: “The employer shall provide menstrual products, including clean and hygienic tampons and menstrual pads, in each toilet room.” Here is what the rule says, who it covers, who it doesn’t, and how the law says to raise it.
- Everyday LifeFlying and travelling with period productsWhat airport security in Canada and the US says about period products, and what it doesn’t. Then packing, format by format, and how travellers keep reusables clean on the road. Rules first, in the rule-makers’ own words.
- Access, Culture & CanadaPeriod care in JapanIn Japan, period pads are regulated as “quasi-drugs”. A labour law from 1947 speaks of periods, but it says nothing about pay. Here is how Japan sorts period products, what that law says word for word, and how often people use it.
- Everyday LifeCan you swim on your period? Pool, lake, ocean and hot tubYes, says a Canadian children’s hospital. Here is what health sources say, where they are silent, what each format’s instructions cover in the water, and what the shark archive actually found.
- Every BodyPeriod care with your hands, your chair and your helpersHow each period product is put on, changed and taken off, described by grip, reach, balance, seated use and help from another person. For disabled readers, and for the parents, partners and paid carers who help. No format is ranked. You choose.
- Everyday LifeThe surprise-period kit: school, work, car, lockerA period can arrive early, late or without warning. Here is a kit that works whatever you use: the basics, what to add for each format, where to keep it, and where to find free products in Canada.
- Every BodyPeriod care and gender dysphoriaFor trans, non-binary and gender-diverse readers, and anyone supporting them. What research and community sources say can make periods harder: dysphoria, washrooms, wrappers and words. Then each product type, with what community members report about it. No verdicts, no rankings, and no medical advice.
- Everyday LifeProtecting your bed and sofa on heavy nightsWhat readers put under themselves on heavy nights, what makers and health authorities say about each format at night, and the signs that make a heavy night worth a conversation with a healthcare provider. In the sources’ own words.
- Access, Culture & CanadaScotland made period products free. What the law actually saysSince August 2022, Scottish law has required councils to make period products free for anyone who needs them (Scotland’s official guidance says visitors are included), and schools, colleges and universities to do the same for their students. Here is what the law requires, what it doesn’t do, and what exists in Canada.
- The FormatsMenstrual cups, explained gentlyA menstrual cup is a small, flexible cup worn in the vagina that collects period blood. Here is how it is used and cared for, what Canada requires, and what the sources say.
- Access, Culture & CanadaViral period trends, checkedCycle syncing, seed cycling, “period flu”, period-blood face masks, swimming and synced-up friends. For each one: what the trend claims, what research says so far, and who to ask about your own body.
- How-To & CareGetting blood out: sheets, mattresses, sofas and clothesBlood on a sheet or a cushion is part of ordinary life. Here is what care labels and makers say about cleaning it, what Health Canada says about using cleaning products safely, and what readers describe doing. Start with the label.
- Life StagesA kind guide to first periodsFor the adult beside a young person, and for the young person reading too: what usually happens, what a small kit can hold, and when to ask someone.
- Access, Culture & CanadaStrawberry week, red aunt, the monthly thingsPeople in many languages have nicknames for periods. Some borrow a relative who visits. Some borrow red things, or the moon. Here are some of the words, what linguists say about them, and why some people choose plain words.
- How-To & CareCleaning a cup or disc, between uses and between periodsMakers of cups and discs agree on washing between uses. They differ on when to boil and for how long, on soaps, and on when to replace. Here is each maker’s instruction, with its source, and the Canadian rule behind the label.
- Body & HealthTSS: the facts, calmlyCanadian tampon boxes must carry a short statement about toxic shock syndrome. Here is what Health Canada, HealthLink BC and other health sources say around it, in their own words: what TSS is, the signs they list, and what to do.
- Access, Culture & CanadaThe tampon tax: how Canada took GST off period productsCanada once charged its federal sales tax on period pads and tampons. Manitoba took its own provincial tax off in 2002. Ottawa took the GST and HST off on 1 July 2015. Here is what the tax was, who removed it, when, and what the law says today.
- The FormatsReusable period pads, explainedA reusable period pad is worn in underwear, like a disposable period pad, then washed, dried and worn again. Here is how makers and health bodies describe the snaps, the layers, the washing and the lifespan.
- Materials, Safety & PlanetWho regulates period products in Canada, and elsewhereIn Canada, some period products are medical devices and some are consumer products. Here is who oversees which, what “licensed” means, how to look up a licence yourself, and what four other places say, in their own words.
- The FormatsPeriod underwear, explained: reusable and disposablePeriod underwear is underwear with absorbent layers built in. It comes in reusable and disposable versions. Here is how it works, how to read a size chart, how to care for it, and what the label tells you in Canada.
- Access, Culture & CanadaPeriod care on a tight budgetShort on money for period products this month? Here is where to look today, what schools, campuses and some workplaces provide, and a few plain words for asking. It sells nothing. It is the short version; the full list lives in its own guide.
- Life StagesPerimenopause periods: flooding, skipping and everything betweenPeriods can come closer together or further apart, and get heavier or lighter. Here is what Canadian and UK health sources say, the one sign the NHS says to get checked even if it happens only once, and what each period product format offers when the calendar stops helping.
- The FormatsMenstrual discs, explainedA menstrual disc is a rim with a shallow basin. It sits inside the vagina and collects period blood. Here is how it sits, goes in and comes out, and what Canadian rules say.
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Written with our proud team of AI assistants; read and signed by the Editor. General information, not medical advice.