FROM social distancing comes #PeriodDistancing. As the world reopens and people are back to face-to-face interactions, some girls are feeling consumed by the pressure and anxiety of having to closely engage with their friends and family once again— and now, it’s because of their menstrual period and odors.

Avoiding cramped, enclosed spaces, and long commutes, young women have inadvertently started talking about a new distancing practice, called “#PeriodDistancing”, as a way of keeping their peers from being able to smell their period odor and avoid embarrassment.

What was once a taboo topic, these girls share on their TikTok videos how they forced themselves to skip important family gatherings, school and work engagements, miss out on those long, overdue catch-ups with friends, and avoid visiting their favorite hang-out places so people won’t notice the fishy or “malansang” odor of their period.

Why do girls experience period odor in the first place?

Menstrual blood, a combination of blood and uterine lining tissue, has a distinct smell. Period blood can have a unique metallic-like odor and it is primarily because of iron present in period blood. This is normally not a cause for concern and usually goes away after periods.

Some may also notice and describe the smell as “fishy” or “rotten”, which usually indicates an infection such as bacterial vaginosis or other problems.

Period odors may indeed indicate a health issue especially if it lasts several days, so it is important to listen to our bodies and visit the doctor if needed. There are many other things contributing to the peculiar and sometimes unpleasant smell so identifying the cause of the odors will help girls address the problem.

For instance, sometimes unusual smells may also be related to hygiene, so it is recommended to practice good menstrual hygiene and change period pads every two to six hours or more frequently if a person’s period is heavy.

While there shouldn’t be any reason to feel ashamed about what is simply a normal bodily function, rarely do girls feel that way in real life.

And just because girls have been going through a period every month, it doesn’t mean they have it all figured out.

But as the saying goes, a burden shared is a burden halved. It’s a good thing that more and more young women have stopped shying away from discussing their #PeriodDistancing experiences and have even taken online to talk about it with their fellow girls. This social trend has unloaded a great deal of period pressure for young women.

The new Whisper Floral Freshness has rapid dry absorption, breathable top layer which is known to help prevent stuffy and sweaty feeling, and a new floral fresh scent for odor control.

Whisper has gifted hundreds of girls with the Whisper Floral Freshness and are now expressing their delight with the new and improved pad benefits, saying that it helped them have more #PRESKOnfidence to face interactions and activities during period days.