On ‘Flowers’: A short but frank post on how 18thC women dealt with menstruation
Menstruation is an awkward subject for many, both men and women, and whilst the understanding of the female predicament in the 18thC is not fundamental to an enjoyment of history, the more curious among you will no doubt wonder how our sisters managed. Many women such as dairymaids, housemaids, fish-workers and oyster-sellers has physical jobs, requiring them to be on their feet all day; laying up in bed for five days a month wasn’t an option.
The earliest handbooks for women are frank in their discussion of ‘suppositories’ for the 'privy place’. These suppositories were in fact early tampons, although some of them contained herbs for dubious medicinal use. Their core could be made from a smoothed stick, and were about the 'length of a little finger’, which was then bound in absorbent linen rags and securely stitched. A long cord was sewn in and could be tied about the leg if desired. These were made at home, but were disposable. Other tampons were made from small drawstring bags filled with wadding or sponge which could be replaced.
Women troubled by particularly heavy periods wrapped a belt or bandage about their hips and wore a baby’s muslin napkin looped over the front and back, with stitched 'sanitary pads’ lining this loincloth. These pads could be boiled and reused, and were placed in a covered bucket full of water until they were all washed together. If this was kept in a cool, private place, it would cause little offence.
There are records of herbal concoctions for relief of menstrual cramps and also for the lightening of very heavy bleeding, or irregular bleeding. How effective these methods were is doubtful but as any girl knows, period pain is hardly the bringer of great good sense.
