Sanitary pads or tampons? What are they and how do they work? Find out with the kids guide to periods and growing up, with support from bettybox!

Sancare… sanpro… femcare – you might have heard these words in school, on telly, or seen them on the internet.

But what do they mean? All these words mean sanitary protection – that’s what you can use when you are on your period, to manage your flow.

You might have heard of sanitary pads, or seen machines in public toilets selling them.

There are more types of sanitary pads to choose from than JoJo has bows!

Pads are made of absorbent material. Some are thin, and others are thick so you can choose one that suits the kind of flow you have.

Many fold up into decorated wraps, and some have wings shaped bits at the side so you can actually fly!

OK, I lied about that.

The wings are just extra sticky bits to help them stay in place in your underwear.

Tampons are another great way to manage your flow – they are kinda bullet shaped and made of similar absorbent stuff to pads. Sometimes they come in a tube which helps you to get it in the right place inside your body.

They can be handy to use if you want to go swimming when you’re on your period. Like pads, they come in a massive range of shapes and sizes.

So what should you use – pads or tampons? It’s totally up to you!

Because your period flow might be heavy at some times and lighter at other times you might find it handy to have a mixture. Why not experiment with a few to see which ones suit you best?

Remember, it’s okay to have stacks of questions – just remember having periods is amazingly common and so you’ll be able to get great advice from friends and family – but if you don’t want to talk to them, that’s OK too.

You can get great advice in other places too – why not try the library or even if you’re shy why not check out the information available online at betty.me.