The grim reality of getting your period in prison revealed by former inmate

Being in prison is an experience that many of us will never have to go through. However, many people do and their lives behind bars are often ignored. Plenty have denounced the hard conditions inmates live in but while those articles and essays are interesting, nothing will ever be more interesting than personal experience.

On TikTok, content creator and former inmate Amanda Dove explains what her experience looked like. From the most disgusting things she’s seen to what not to do, Amanda gives valuable insight into the life of inmates.

On her TikTok account, a topic that keeps coming back is periods. What happens when people get them in prison?

Pads are free but …

On 2 October 2023, Amanda answered a question from a subscriber.

What do they do for periods in prison?

According to Amanda, in prison everyone gets a bag of pads. Distribution of pads was interesting. Amanda explains:

It was so weird because you would hear an announcement (...) and they would say “building 3 can now come pick up their pads”

After the announcement, some inmates would be sent to pick up the bags. However, the pads given weren’t of great quality. In other videos Amanda explains that the pads were somehow too big and too small. Indeed they were too narrow for the underwear they had to wear in prison.

The panties we were given were like granny panties and there is a good bit of room in them. So you would have to lay like 2 down just to cover the bottom.

Pads turned into tampons

Even though this was not allowed Amanda claims that a lot of inmates turned their pads into tampons. The reason behind that is simple: pads are given for free while tampons had to be bought.

In 2022, the TikToker gave a tutorial on how to turn pads into tampons and, before we continue, we have to say that this shouldn’t be done at home. In the video Amanda cracks the pad open like you would open a big of crisps (long way), removes some of the cotton filling the pad and then finds a piece of cotton big enough to roll.

Then, once this is done, she goes back to one of the surfaces of the pad and rolls her cotton tampon in it. The end result is surprisingly good.

Read more:

⋙ Former inmate shares the one unexpected thing you should never do in prison

⋙ Are you likely to go to prison? Your chances are higher if you have this name, study suggests

⋙ Here’s how to deal with your period during a heatwave

Sources:

TikTok @prison_story