During your period you'll bleed from your vagina for a few days, with the bleeding being heaviest in the first two days.
How long you bleed for depends on your menstrual cycle. Your period could last for three to eight days, but usually lasts for around five days.
The amount of blood you lose depends how heavy your periods are. It's normally around enough to fill between five and 12 teaspoons. Some women bleed more heavily, but there is help if heavy periods are a problem for you. Find out about treating heavy periods.
You can use sanitary towels or tampons to absorb the blood, or a menstrual cup (made of soft silicone) to catch the blood inside your vagina. Towels and tampons are disposable (you throw them away). You can wash menstrual cups and use them again.
If you use tampons, you need to change them regularly. Follow the instructions that come with the packet. This reduces the risk of toxic shock syndrome, which is a rare, serious infection that can affect anyone but is more common in women who are using tampons.
Before your period
The changing levels of hormones in your body before your periods can cause physical and emotional changes. You might notice that your breasts get bigger, you feel bloated or you cry more easily.
You may also feel discomfort or pain in your lower abdomen or back. The pain may last for some or all of your period. There is help if painful periods are a problem, so don't suffer in silence. Find out more about treatment for painful periods.
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS, sometimes called premenstrual tension or PMT) is the name for a set of physical, psychological and emotional symptoms that can appear in the days leading up to a woman's period. PMS doesn't affect every woman who has periods. If it does affect you, symptoms can include:
- feeling irritable and bad-tempered
- mood swings
- fluid retention and feeling bloated
Usually if you get these symptoms they'll improve when your period starts and disappear a few days afterwards.
Changes in your periods
Women's periods can change, for example they may get longer or lighter. This doesn’t necessarily mean there's a serious problem, but it does need to be checked. You can go to a GP, women's clinic or contraceptive clinic. Find services in your area, including GPs.
Any bleeding between your periods, bleeding after having sex or after the menopause needs to be checked by a doctor. Bleeding like this can be due to infection, abnormalities in the cervix or, more rarely, cancer. Find out more about what causes bleeding between periods.
If you miss a period and you've had sex, you could be pregnant. Find out by taking a pregnancy test. If you're not pregnant and you miss two or three periods, see a doctor.
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