Trust me when I say this: I have been through it all. I got my period when I was 9 years old. 9. Years. Old. It was so horrible, I cried all night. I was in so much pain at school the next day and none of my friends knew what I was going through. What followed next was years of extremely painful cramps. My cramps were so bad that I have fainted, thrown up, and gone to the emergency room. Since I have had my period for so long and have also had so many problems with it, I learned tricks that actually help alleviate cramp pain. Hopefully, these ips will work for you too!
Heated Pad for Lower Back
This back pad is a super great resource for alleviating cramps. It is multipurpose so you can use it for your back pain or just put it on your belly and turn up the heat. This is seriously my favorite thing to use on my period. I will sit there using this while watching T.V. and most of the time my cramps will just go away. These can be pretty cheap, from $10-$20 depending on the type of back pad — so incredibly worth it.
Hot Towel
If you don’t want to spend money on a heated back pad, a great alternative is a heated towel! Just throw a towel in the dryer for a half an hour and then put it on your belly. Warmth has always helped me, and most of the people I know. The trick is that you have to keep heating your towel up since it loses heat fast. This shouldn’t be too hard because it’s not like you have plans other than lying in bed crying all day.
Exercise
This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Exercise really does help get rid of period pains! It’s easy, just go for a run, screaming at the top of your lungs the entire time, and you will feel better! Trust me, I am a scientist. But actually doing some light exercise will help you both take your mind off of the pain and helps get rid of the pain entirely.
A Hot Bath
In my house, the solution to any malady is a hot bath. Feeling sore? Take a hot bath. Coming down with a cold? Take a hot bath. Broken leg? HOT BATH. 99% of my time spent on my period is in a bathtub. That is how much I love taking a bath when I have cramps. The warmth will help you feel better and relaxed. You can also read books or go on your phone (if you don’t drop it), so you can get a lot done while in the bathtub!
Tea
I seriously love having hot tea when I am on my period. My personal favorite is black tea with a spoonful of honey. It helps me every single time. I have been using this since I was 9 years old and it has never failed me. This also really helps with sore throats and colds, too. The trick is to put the spoonful of honey, though, or else it won’t help as much.
Cry
If nothing else helps, you might as well just cry until your period is over.
So there you have it! Again, this is stuff that works for ME, so if you have a fool-proof way to get rid of your cramps, keep on doing that! Cramps are the worst and they are yet another trial for people with vaginas. We should all get a week off when we get our periods but instead, we are expected to go on with our days and act like nothing is wrong. Hopefully, these tips help you make your next period a little more pain-free. Happy period-ing!