Female Health While Accessing The Outdoors

Ladies, this ones for you.

Getting my period before or during an outdoor activity is literally my worst nightmare, and it happened to me in August.  And I didn't take care of myself and I ended up with a friggin PAINFUL bladder infection.

So the purpose of this blog is so you can learn from my mistakes.  We gon' talk about ways I try to keep clean, ways to avoid what I want through, my favorite undies, and tips for PACKING IN AND PACKING OUT.  YEP.  I do have a medical-ish background (i'm not a doctor or a nurse or anything) but for the purpose of this blog post, I will be referring to the female genitalia as every slang word I can think of, just for fun.

Keep Your Coochie Clean On Trails

Obviously, we want to keep clean to avoid smelly/sweaty vag, but what about infected urethra??? I have never struggled with this, so it wasn't really on my radar.  Heres what I do.

- Butt wipes - instead of only bringing toilet paper, bring some butt wipes.  Or wet wipes, whatever you wanna call them. Basically like these Asswipes  I use them at home, and they keep you clean and moist.  You use much less wipes than you do dry TP.
- Cooter Wipes - Some companies make wipes for your "sensitive areas" and those are nice too.  They smell fresh and make you feel like you took a shower even though youve been wearing leggings in 98 degree weather and hiking 10 miles and are NOT clean whatsover.  I use these Summers Eve wipes.
- Furnace Spray - Summers Eve, the brand that makes a bunch of products for your Hoo-Ha, makes a cooling spray in different scents.  It comes in a can and you just spritz your crotch and it'll give you a shiver, its so cold, but dang it feels nice.  My friends and I call it our "furnace spray" because we use it when our "furnace" is overheating.  HAHAHA.  This is a luxury item that I wouldn't take backpacking with me, but I'd have it in the car ready for me when I return!
-Take off the leggings - Leggings are pretty much the only thing I wear while hiking.  I have some pants that I wear sometimes, but tend to stick with leggings.  Leggings obviously trap the moisture in there and if you're in the woods for a couple days without a shower, be sure to either bring a pair of loose pants/shorts to wear when you're not hiking, or plan to atleast take your pants off for a while.  When I'm backpacking/camping in the summer, I tend to just take my pants off and sleep in clean underwear to allow my Cookah to breathe in the fresh mountain air.  It's good for her, too.
- Take a Sponge Bath - Or use these towel sized wipes from Epic Wipes.  They aren't paying me to say this but they DID send me some to try, and they were truly game changing, especially when backpacking in muddy conditions.

How To NOT get a UTI

- Stay hydrated - You should stay hydrated while on the trails for a number of reasons and I am an advocate for peein clear before, during, and after your outdoor adventures.  Water flushes out your system and doesn't give bacteria a chance to grow.  So yes, obviously, drink a ton of water while hiking, but if you're on your period, its smart to drink even more.
- When you think you have  to pee, go pee.  I have issues with this.  I hate peeing outdoors and I will hold it in as LONG as posssible.  NOT A GOOD IDEA.  This gives bacteria a chance to grow and then BAM it hurts to pee and you have to go all the time and nothing comes out aka UTI.

So, You Got Your Period 

Shitty, but it happens. I know a lot of women use Diva Cups or the like while on their periods in the wilderness, but I have never had luck with those.  I do have some Instagram followers, however, who LOVE the diva cups.  Mountaineer @flyingmonkey1689 educated me so I could educate ya'll.

She told me that you can wear them for 8-12 hours without changing them, which is amazing especially if you're hiking/climbing/outdooring with men who can't empathize and just assume that you poop a lot.  She uses Summers Even wipes (like the ones I linked above) to clean them while on the trails and to keep your pH levels normal.  She ensures me that its comfortable as long as you get the suction right and that it takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, its a game changer.  Honestly, the cups kind of freak me out, but I am 100% going to give them another chance.

But for me, currently, I use tampons. Thats it, so thats what I'll talk to you about.

I use O.B. brand tampons  Not just because they are hella cheap, but they also work better than any other brand I've used and I like that they use less trash.  O.B doesn't have the plastic/cardboard applicator for inserting, its literally just the tampon itself and you just have to stick it up there

Trying out my giant wet wipe from Epic Wipes

yourself.  Thats why a lot of people think i'm a weirdo for using them, but hear me out.

O.B.'s....
- take up less space and less weight
- produce less garbage - literally just a thin plastic wrapper on the outside, no plastic or cardboard
- I can wear them longer because they absorb so well

Keep in mind that it might be smart to change your tampon every time you pee.  Idk about you guys, but when I'm at home, I usually change my tamp probably every other potty-break. When hiking, its not that easy.  It'd be smart to change it every time for cleanliness.

PACK IT IN, PACK IT OUT

DON'T LEAVE YOUR EFFING TAMPONS ON THE GROUND.
It doesn't matter how off trail it is.  No, I'm not joking, and no, it isn't as gross at it seems.

Ways to make it less gross?
-Wrap it in something (i.e. TP, a butt wipe, a scented coochie wipe, a scented face wipe, etc)
-Wrap a ziplog bag with ductape and stick it in there, so you can be discrete about your personal tras. or put the dirty tamp in its own Ziploc
-If you're eating something with a package (i.e. dehydrated meals), put the dirty tamp in that garbage.  That really masks unwanted odors so this is typically what I do.

Underwear I Use While Outdoors

Avoid cotton.  On my first backpacking trip, I wore cotton.   And wow.  I had never had chafing on my bikini line but when I did, it STUNG.  I had to backpack for 3 days with severe bikini area chafing, and I survived by sleeping naked.  It helped.

Honestly, I wear Lulu Lemon thongs while doing anything outdoorsy.  They are a GAME CHANGER.  But they are EXPENSIVE.  $16/pair.  But ladies, I am not joking you, they are 100% worth it.  I haven't chafed since.

So How Did I Get a Bladder Infection?

Idk about you guys, but feeling mild UTI symptoms while I'm on my period is semi-normal for me.  I get the urgency, sometimes get the burning, reduced bladder control, etc.  That's my normal while Aunt Flow is visiting.

So I already had those symptoms + holding in my pee + not drinking enough water because the water was SO silty  and basically the infection just traveled up my urethra and even though the initial UTI symptoms went away, I was having severe, unrelenting abdominal pain for 5 days.  So here we are.

So ladies...…..

Do you have any tips and tricks that I should know about?? Let me know! Happy Hiking!