Everyone who has ever had a period probably has had the same fear at one point or another – leaks. You know when you stand up after sitting for a few hours and it feels like the floodgates are opened? Normally, this is just paranoia and everything is okay, but sometimes it actually happens. The worst possible scenario. You’ve leaked.
It’s super embarrassing and horrifying in the moment, but what better way to get over it than to share it with the world? After all, it happens to even the best and most prepared people! The Her Campus Wilfrid Laurier squad is embracing this mentality and sharing some of our period horror stories. We hope you enjoy reading them just as much as we didn’t enjoy experiencing them!
“What’s worse than bleeding through your pants? Getting a clot stuck on them. A big one.”
“Running out of toilet paper in the communal washroom happens to me at least once a period. I cry every time.”
“I’m in a long-term relationship and have a habit of not flushing to save on water and at this point, we know each other pee and poo. What I forgot is that he is afraid of blood and I am pretty sure I made him faint when he lifted the lid.”
“My second time ever getting my period was in the eighth grade and was during a trip to Quebec. I got it while rock climbing. I guess you can say I didn’t just pee my pants out of fear.”
“On my 19th birthday, I was out at a dark club in Toronto, pretty lit and kind of getting hot and heavy in the corner with a guy. He (questionably) stuck his hand in my pants… long story short he commented on how wet I was but it wasn’t till I got home and was changing into pyjamas that I realized I had started my period. This is my first time telling anyone about this. Y I K E S.”
“I had a bad abscess ~down there~ over the summer, and of course I had my period when I went in for my second surgery. All of the ladies were so nice but I was still so embarrassed about bleeding all over their bed before I was even cut open.”
“On a Grade 12 school trip to Disney World I was expecting to get my period on the last day of the trip, so for the first few days of the trip, I felt totally fine. We were in a workshop and all of a sudden I felt super sick, my stomach was killing me and I just felt this feeling of impending doom looming over me. We got up for a break, and I instantly knew what was wrong – my period came early. Blood was everywhere, it was impossible to hide, we were far away from the hotel. I had to beg my parent supervisor to bring me back to the hotel to change and clean up. Most embarrassing day of my life!”
“Got my first period ever on a plane. Yup. Was on my way to Jamaica and was horrified when I went to the tiny bathroom because 12-year-old me thought I was dying. I told my mom, but after congratulating me she realized she just finished hers so she didn’t have anything on her to give me. We had to ask a flight attendant, which was AWKWARD. We got to Jamaica and I had to wear swim shorts the whole time, but by the end of the trip, I forced a tampon in. GOOD TIMES.”
“I was working at a summer camp one summer, and one week we had a huge rainstorm. Me and a couple other counsellors, already soaked by the rain, decided to take a few runs down the slip and slide since all the campers were rounded up into the dining hall. After my second run down the hill on the slip and slide, I felt something weird on my leg. I had forgotten that I had my period and had run out of tampons, so I was forced to borrow a pad from a friend, and as an avid tampon user, I didn’t even think about what the water would do! I had an awkward waterlogged pad lump threatening to escape the bottom of my shorts, so I tried to run to the bathroom to get rid of it, but as I walked there, it worked itself loose and plopped out onto the grass. Thank god it was just one of my closest counsellor friend with me, or it would have been 100 times more embarrassing than it already was!”
“I was the only girl in my high school computer science class, which was an adventure and a half all by itself, but the best was when I got my period – while wearing light jeans – and leaked all over the chair! None of the boys or the teacher knew what to do, so they just awkwardly let me go to the front office while staring nervously at the puddle of blood I’d left behind. Half an hour later, none of them had cleaned it and all their faces were still shockingly pale. Pretty sure I scarred a couple people that day.”
“In Grade 8, I was wearing these light grey sweats that had my nickname airbrushed on the bum. I was writing a math test and when I stood up I had leaked through my pants and onto the chair. I ran to the washroom and had to wait for a friend to bring me a change of clothes. Worst experience. Ever.”
“I got my period unexpectedly during a swim team meet once in high school. I had a trail of blood flowing behind me as I swam, and the pool looked like a scene from Jaws (probably TMI, but I’ve always gotten really heavy periods). I was absolutely mortified when one of my coaches had to tell me about it when I didn’t notice and I had to climb out to grab a tampon while everyone stared at me, knowing what had happened.”
“I got my period for the first time at sleepover camp. It was horrifying. I didn’t bring any tampons or pads to camp, so I had to go to the nurse and explain my situation. I was also too scared to use tampons – so swim class was not an option. It was definitely an awkward conversation to have with my MALE swim instructor, at the age of 12. I also leaked all through my pyjamas onto my sheets and was too embarrassed to tell anyone, so at the end of the summer I just threw out all my sheets and duvet. My mom was not happy…”
There you have it, the period horror stories of Her Campus Wilfrid Laurier. Remember us the next time you have a mishap with your period, and don’t fret it. It happens to the best of us! And to anyone who has an issue with me if I have a leak, I’ve got one final thing to say to you.