You're not imagining it - travelling can impact your menstrual cycle - and here's how to manage it

"As well as teaching me and my younger sister to exfoliate thoroughly in order to get the best tan (it was the early 2000s), and taking us to get our legs waxed (again, 2000s), we would also make a visit to the GP to get a prescription of Northisterone, a period-delaying medication that would ensure we wouldn't get our periods while abroad. I didn't use tampons until my twenties for this very reason - I'd simply never had a reason to."

"It's a shame I didn't take more notice, as when I went travelling to New Zealand in my late twenties, I completely forgot to pack my contraceptive pill. This led to me not only getting my period while there, but also having to abruptly come off it completely, which resulted in months of irregular periods and hormonal confusion. The thing that really irked me the most? I was travelling with four male friends, none of whom obviously had to think about such things."

"From avoiding white summer dresses and constantly having to plan ahead and remember to pack enough products, to just being grumpy, depressed or in pain, there's no denying that periods can be a massive bummer when you're on holiday. And even if you're someone who is typically pain-free and not as bothered by the side effects of having a period, there's always the chance that simply the act of travelling can have a knock-on effect on your menstrual cycle."

A mother prepared daughters for holidays by teaching exfoliation, arranging waxing, and obtaining a GP prescription for Northisterone to delay periods. One person avoided tampons until her twenties because periods were deliberately planned around travel. Forgetting a contraceptive pill while traveling in New Zealand led to abrupt cessation of the pill, months of irregular periods, and hormonal confusion. Male travel companions did not face comparable concerns. Periods complicate holidays through clothing choices, product packing, mood changes, and pain. Crossing time zones, sleep loss, dietary changes, and travel stress can impact reproductive hormones, and the circadian rhythm is sensitive to light and routine.

Read at CN Traveller