Wildland Firefighting While on Your Period
Very dirty after a desert mop up shift during my first season
I get lots of questions from women about how to navigate your period while fighting fires. Here are some tips on how to save yourself money and feel comfortable during your time of the month.
I use a menstrual cup in place of pads or tampons during my period. It’s saved me money and annoyance because it’s useable for years, it’s easy to clean, I don’t have to deal with keeping and disposing of used tampons while in the woods, and I never have to remember to restock supplies in my bag, it just lives in my personal backpack when I’m not on my cycle.
I’ve tried several brands including Saalt, DivaCup, and June. All are great and at this point I have one at home, one in my fire bag, and one in my travel bag so I’m never without one.
They take a bit of time to get used to, but I can’t recommend them enough. There are tons of options besides the brands I mention, all are the basically the same and great options over pads/tampons in my opinion.
All the gory details: When you’re ready to empty it out just pour it out on the ground in an out of the way spot. If you can, use some stream water or a wet wipe to clean it out.
Otherwise I’ll put it back in after emptying it and clean it well with soap in a bathroom when I get a chance. It depends fire to fire how clean I feel. I've found that the unscented face wipes I use to clean my face work quite well to wipe down there every few days (or more if it's really dirty work/hot/humid/whatever). I’ve never had a yeast infection or anything like that even after 14-21 days working hard just maintaining with wet wipes and not getting a shower.
My energy levels are all over the place during my cycle and I think it’s great to be aware of your own cycle and how you feel and what you need during each stage.
Sometimes I need more water or a salad or some gummy bears for energy. It’s important to be gentle with yourself if you are feeling lethargic or blah due to cycle fluctuations. If you have an off day it’s ok. Everyone does and guys have no excuse :)
It’s something I rarely ever talk about with the guys for obvious reasons, but I try to work to my energy levels and take care of myself as much as possible.
In my experience, when multiple women are on a crew our cycles usually all sync up to the full moon together after a month or so and then we get really witchy.
Continue Reading