Managing menstruation on a road trip

28^th May – World Menstrual Hygiene Day!

Now this is a first – I never thought I would write a full-blown article about the topic, much less my personal experience of menstruating on a road trip. But then, there’s always a first time.

This, in fact, is a story of two roadtrips – one from 2005 and the other from 2015.

2005 – My first offsite with colleagues, and that too Goa. We all bundled ourselves into trains on our way to the event. On the way back, it was to be a Goa to Bombay bus journey. That was my second day of the cycle – the worst. But nothing was to be done – just grin and bear it, or frown – as the case is during the four days.

After an extremely uncomfortable first half of the trip, we finally trudged into a bus halt – must have been a dhaba. I still recall the shivers from the smells hitting my senses as I tried to finish my business before I could run back into the bus. The lack of lights in the washroom may well have been a blessing in disguise.

Fast Forward – 2015

I take a road trip – my first one in a long long time, the first, in fact, with hubby and baby. This time we are coming back to Mumbai from Kerala.

Again the aunty mysteriously finds her way into our compact car, and as expected I am only seeing red on the journey thereafter. But this time, thankfully, we have enough Vithal Kamats along the highway and many other nice hotels and restaurants that I can use without any fear or disgust. This, however, was only limited to Maharashtra. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – you disappointed me no end! It almost felt like I was in the Maharashtra of 2005.

On hindsight though, I know it was the thought of the ‘ordeal’ than the experience that made it difficult for me. Now, of course, I have learnt my lessons on how to manage this.

So, here is what I follow when the aunt insists on accompanying me on that much-awaited trip.

1. Keep calm – getting worked up won’t make the aunt in red go away, but keeping calm will keep my daughter in a good mood which again is imperative for my peace of mind, especially in such sensitive times.
2. Track my journey – thanks to Google maps, I can know exact distances to the next washroom facility. While I love maps for showing us the way out every time, I have learnt to maximize other features too. It was a life-saver for me. Twice I went out of our tracked route so I can use a washroom in a hotel (as against a dhaba) that showed up on Maps.
3. Eat chocolates – a couple of pieces in a day never hurt anybody. Even if you are on the strictest of diets, indulge yourself. Those mood-elevators will definitely help, especially since the other mood-swingers wouldn’t be an option.
4. Take breaks – every once in a while, take a break by stepping out and stretching your legs. It just breaks the monotony and diverts our minds.

These got me through my next four-day road trip with ease.

Hope they work for you too!