30 Embarrassing Bodily Function Accidents That Will Make You Feel Less Alone

30.

“I got my first period just after my 10th birthday on a family road-trip camping vacation from the Midwest to the Southeast US coast. My mother noticed the stain in the laundry and tried to say it was a streak of a different kind, because it was dried blood. The next day, at a rest area bathroom, I realized I was bleeding and called out to my mom that I think I started my period. She said she didn’t have anything with her except a panty liner, gave me that, and then we drove another five hours to our campsite for the night.”

“No one stopped to get me anything more than that stupid thin panty liner until we got to the campsite area. They even got upset when I didn’t want to get out of the car and go into a store. My mom bought Super Max tampons and told me I had to put one in to go to the beach, then left me in the tent (which was not tall enough for me, a 10-year-old, to fully stand up in).

“I remember screaming because it hurt, and I didn’t want to keep pushing it in. I was yelled at for being dramatic and reminded, ‘no tampon, no beach.’ I finally got it in, but it hurt the whole time. And I was only given those and panty liners, no pads, at age 10. It was about six months later that I displayed what I now know was toxic shock syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. I would pass out at school monthly and have to be picked up until I was old enough to drive, and then I could drive myself home. No one took me to a doctor, but I did get in trouble if the cats got into the open trash can, as my family seemed to think I was leaving used pads in the hallway. 

“I have committed myself to doing better for my kids. My daughters knew what to do, had options, and when they displayed PMDD symptoms, I took them to get medical intervention and worked with them on non-medical relief, too. My son was desensitized to period products at a young age because his sisters are quite a bit older. He saw pads, tampons, menstrual cups, etc., in the bathroom he shared with his sisters, and it was just normal. He went so far as to carry a pad in his backpack in high school just in case a girl needed it. He also wore a hoodie most days because he could give it to a girl who had a leak, and he even practiced what to say if he sees period stains on a girl at school (go to her directly, tell her what can be seen, offer her the hoodie, or ask if she wants him to get someone else to help her). He is going to be an amazing partner!”

—Anonymous, 48, NC, USA