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More Backcountry Bathrooming for the Ladies

• October 2014
• Simple Living

Hi Steph,
I was just reading your Big Wall/Backcountry bathrooms blog post and I thought I should share my experience with a third bathroom issue we women have to deal with: the dreaded periods. I recently switched to using the Diva Cup after looking into more environmentally friendly alternatives to tampons and pads, and I must say that this has been the best idea for the outdoors!

No more used tampons to carry out, no more risk of getting new tampons soaked. Simply take out the cup, dump the content, wipe with TP and re-insert. It can be washed with soap or sanitized by boiling, but it does not need to be done every single time it gets taken out. It does not leak, and best of all, no need to worry that it will “dry out” our insides if left in too long. It can literally been worn on a no-flow day, just in case we might be about to start. Same goes for low-flow days when we are not sure if we are done or not.

It takes a day to get used to, but that’s nothing compared to the benefits and the money we end up saving in the long run. I wish I had switched much earlier in life!

I don’t know if that’s something people will want to read about, but feel free to share the email if you think some girls could appreciate having the information.

Thanks for your blog, I really enjoy reading it!
Jess

Hi Jess,
Well, at this point we have gone beyond any point of false modesty with regards to anything, so I’m just going to share with you all everything I know about all topics relating to being female and dealing with living outside 🙂

Personally I have found 3 major cruxes: periods, birth control and UTIs (I’m one of those unlucky sufferers). Obviously the best thing would be not having to deal with any of this stuff EVER AGAIN, but since we do have to deal with it, the ideal thing is to make it all as convenient and simple as possible. After years of epicing out with all these things, I’ve found what works well for me and makes life easy. So if any of these issues has caused you any dilemmas, read on: otherwise go climbing and have fun and see you on the next post (guys, I’m talking to you)!

Periods:
I use the Keeper cup because it’s natural rubber. And yes, it works great for long days and overall convenience.

Birth Control:
I have a copper IUD which is the ultimate in no-hassle convenience. Getting it in was a memory I’m still trying to forget, but this only has to happen once every ten years. I personally refuse to tinker with my natural hormonal balance, and that’s why this is a great option for me as opposed to the pill or the Mirena IUD or any of the other hormone-altering options. It did make me bleed more during my period for a few months at first (I’m not a big bleeder, so I didn’t mind that much knowing it was temporary), but I went back to normal after that. Everyone seems to want to talk you into a Mirena, so if you feel strongly about not wanting any artificial hormones in your system you may have to be pretty firm about going with the Paragard when you go to get one.

UTIs:
I’ve been plagued with these things off and on for years and invariably get one the second I get dehydrated. They often seem to occur in waves and can make you basically dysfunctional which does not work at all if you have big climbing or mountain days or even just any kind of day where you have to be somewhere and do something. I used to (and still do) carry stashes of over-the-counter UTI painkillers and Cipro with me at all times, because when I get a UTI it comes on immediately and hard and usually at the worst possible moment (when just boarding a plane to fly to Europe, when driving to start an all-day climb, etc). Obviously taking antibiotics is terrible for your health–it also wipes me out. In the last year I’ve discovered D-mannose which changed my life. Now when I feel a UTI coming on, I immediately take a painkiller and 2 d-mannose pills, and continue to take 1-2 of the d-mannose through the day and drink lots of water of course. As soon as the painkiller kicks in, I feel fine, and by the time it wears off, the d-mannose has flushed out the UTI. If you have a propensity to UTIs, try this–it’s really life changing.

Okay, that’s all I got, hope it helps 🙂
Steph