Introduction
Menstruation in the field is a topic that all members of the expedition will deal with either directly, as people who menstruate themselves, or indirectly, as colleagues of people who are menstruating. While discussing and dealing with menstruation can be a source of social discomfort, we strive to treat it as another everyday necessity of life in the field. We hope to make this potential point of friction as mundane as possible so that all members of the expedition can spend their energy on the more exciting parts of JIRP.
During Student Orientation for the Undergraduate Field Course we will have an short session for the whole student cohort on how to deal with menstruation in the field. Faculty who wish to receive more information than what is detailed below are welcome to ask any JIRP staff member. In addition, all Field Staff receive training on providing support to people who are menstruating, and all first aid kits are stocked with extra tampons and ibuprofen.
There are many ways to deal with getting your period in the field, detailed below. When choosing the method(s) that will be most comfortable for you, please consider:
We encourage participants to try out new products at home before coming to JIRP. It’s easier to get the feel for how to use something new in a bathroom with plumbing.
Menstrual cycles can be irregular due to stress and changes in nutrition, exercise, and sleep. You may get your period more often or at a different time than you’d expect.
It may make sense for you to combine methods of managing your period, ie using tampons on heavy flow days and a menstrual cup on lighter flow days.
First, a bit about how our bathrooms are set up on the Icefield…
Bathrooms on the Icefield
In Permanent Camps
Most JIRPers spend most of their nights at permanent camps. The exceptions to this are funded research teams who may be at a tent camps for multiple weeks. Every permanent camp has several outhouses. Every outhouse (except one outhouse at Camp 10) is a single-user, fully-walled-in pit toilet with a toilet seat. The outhouses are all at the edge of camp to reduce contamination issues. Most of them have windows with great views! Every outhouse is equipped with toilet paper and a trash bag. We throw away (and then burn) all toilet paper and disposable menstrual products.
At the center of every camp (so roughly 100-500 ft away) is a handwash station. The handwash station is an insulated gatorade cooler full of warm water, a basin below the spigot to catch the water, and a pump bottle of hand soap. At the handwash station, there is also a two-burner propane stove and a series of pots for heating up water for non-drinking uses (handwashing, laundry, shower, etc.). The stove is available for anyone to use at any time, except immediately before meals when we need it for group handwashing purposes.
At Tent Camps
For a few nights at a time (or longer for research teams), you may be staying at a temporary tent camp on the glacier. At tent camps, we dig latrines - deep pits in the snow for human waste - behind a snow wall. Every latrine also has toilet paper and a trash bag (for used toilet paper), similar to an outhouse. In tent camps, we don’t have handwash stations. Instead, we scrub our hands off with snow (it’s fairly abrasive and wet) and use a lot of hand sanitizer.
Day Trips
Everyone has to use the bathroom at some point while out on the glacier during a day trip. The routine is you ski about 60 ft/20m away from the group, dig a hole if you’re pooping or emptying a menstrual cup, and do your business. Folks who are squatting to use the bathroom are encouraged to face the group - when you squat in this position, other people can really only see your face, your shoulders, and your shins (still covered by your pants). It’s counterintuitive to face the group while you’re using the bathroom, but it does a far better job of protecting your privacy than facing away. We’ll go over the ins and outs of this system during Student Orientation, as well as how to maneuver your pants without removing your harness.
Privacy
The menstrual product you choose may depend on your level of comfort with dealing with it in public. The outhouses themselves are very private at JIRP, but washing facilities (hand washing, menstrual cup washing, and laundry) are all fairly public. This comes down to personal preference, but please make a plan that will make you feel comfortable.
Menstrual Product Options
Menstrual Cups and Discs
Menstrual cups and reusable discs are available from several brands, and they fit differently based on your age, flow rate, anatomy, and your childbirth history. They’re made of medical-grade silicone, and they’re meant to be re-used for years at a time. We have a designated menstrual cup sanitizing pot at every permanent camp for boiling menstrual cups. If you go this route, we suggest bringing some wipes you can bring into the outhouse with you for on-the-spot clean-up. We also advise folks to bring (a) a water bottle into the outhouse with them (and a small bottle of soap if you want) to rinse out the cup/disc between uses, and (b) perhaps an extra cup/disc just in case you drop one into the outhouse by accident (advise from one friendly menstruating JIRPer to another 😉)
Pros:
Reusable, so you only need to bring one (or two).
No waste, and menstrual blood can be emptied anywhere you’d pee or poop.
Can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time, so you often only have to deal with it twice a day.
Cons:
Washing with soap and water between uses is a bit cumbersome because the washing station is not adjacent to the outhouse.
Disposable Tampons and Pads
Disposable tampons are also a popular option. Some tampons come without an applicator, which cuts down on bulk when packing for a lot trip. If you’re new to applicator-less tampons you should try them out at home before coming to JIRP.
If you go this route, you’ll set up a field kit to carry both used and unused tampons and pads during the day. Most people set it up in an opaque stuff sack. Inside the stuff sack, you have (a) a small hand sanitizer and maybe some wipes, (b) one ziploc bag of unused products, and (c) one ziploc of used products. Some people cover the ‘used products’ ziploc with duct tape so that you can’t see inside it. Inside this bag goes another ziploc to put used tampons and pads into, along with a couple crushed aspirin or a dry tea bag to cut down on odors. This bag, the one with the used tampons/pads and the aspirin, can go straight into the outhouse trash in camp. New ziplocs are available in camp.
Disposable pads can also be a good option, although they’re less popular than tampons. If you’re accustomed to using pads, we suggest also experimenting with tampons. On especially rainy days it’s common to have your clothes soaked all the way through, and it may not be comfortable to wear a pad during long ski days.
Pros:
May be less messy
Disposable products can alleviate some concerns around cleaning products that are inserted into the vagina.
More private, in that there is no public washing/boiling of a reusable product.
Cons:
You have to carry enough for the time you’re out, plus extras for backup.
* We can always re-stock from town in an emergency, there are grocery helicopters every 7-10 days
If you’re out on the glacier, you have to carry your used products back to camp every day.
Pads can be uncomfortable while skiing and hiking.
Hormonal Birth Control
Many people who menstruate find that using hormonal birth control makes their periods lighter or even non-existent (especially long-acting options like an IUD or an arm implant). This is a very personal preference, and the decision to use hormonal birth control is between you and your doctor. Some people find it freeing to not get their period or to have lighter periods, although some are not comfortable with this option or with the side effects of hormones. Going on hormonal birth control can be a mental and physical adjustment for your body - we suggest trying this for at least a couple of months before coming into the field.
Reusable Pads and Period Underwear
Reusable underwear can be a comfortable alternative, although we believe this option is the least popular. We recommend bringing enough pairs to last for a whole cycle, as drying laundry can be difficult to do depending on weather conditions. It may also be helpful to bring a back-up option (tampons, menstrual cup, etc) for especially rainy days when clothing can get soaked all the way through.
Pros:
Using an external product may be the most comfortable for you when handwashing before using the bathroom isn’t easy.
Cons:
Requires more laundry.
Packing enough pairs for a full cycle may be bulky.
Bottom Line
If you’re coming to JIRP for the first time, we encourage you to do whatever makes you most comfortable! Feel free to ask JIRP staff if you have questions or want to discuss different options.