Refinery29 “Walking Dead Female Characters Survival, Hygiene Needs”

While watching “The Walking Dead,” arguably the most popular zombie TV show in existence, I find myself constantly thinking about two things: One, “How is Rick gonna survive this?” and two, “What would happen when someone got their period?” Always being on the run comes with the zombie apocalypse, so carrying a box of pads isn’t exactly ideal. In the zombie wasteland they called home, where were they buying tampons? And while I still have no answers for how they dealt with their periods in the show, I’ve figured out my zombie apocalypse period plan: Menstrual cups!

Amazon menstrual cup
Menstrual cups are very similar to tampons in that you insert them inside your vagina. Where they differentiate is that menstrual cups can be in use for up to twelve hours. This means you can sleep with one inserted without bleeding through it, so no passerby zombie can smell and then attack you. Menstrual cups are portable, reusable, and washable. You pop it in and instead of worrying “This feels wet. Did I bleed through my pad? I should check,” you can focus all of your attention on survival! Bonus, menstrual cups keep the blood inside of your vagina, so the fact that there’s no body wash won’t hit you extra hard on day two of your period.

I’m not a fan of menstrual cups in my day-to-day, non-apocalyptic life. I personally stick to pads, but if I was on the run from a half-dead population who wanted to eat my brains, I might reconsider.