“I have my periods or menses, can I dive?”, “Are the Tampax going to prevent the blood from flowing?”, “What alternatives can I have to protect myself?”, “Will the blood attract sharks? “,” Is it dangerous to dive when I have my periods or menses ? All questions related to women menses.

The question of menstruation while diving is a question that arises regularly for many women willing to dive.

Indeed, the information that blood attract sharks is known in the world of diving. So, diving during women menses or menstruation should be risky and we should see shark turning around the divers

Urban legend or reality, what is it really like?

1. Sharks are attracted by the blood … of fish!

These constitute their food (and humans are not part of their normal food chain 😉). We are indigestible to them. Experts tested sharks and they are not at all attracted by human blood but by the blood of fish (see video below). My personal experience is to have seen my partner hurt his finger; a lot of blood flowed (much more than during menstruation) and no shark on the horizon.

2. During women menses,

They may use protections to avoid losing blood: a menstrual cup (personally tested and approved for scuba diving). A video about tampon and shark attack was shot some time ago with a rather special humor. Discover it below and take it with humor (no kiddies beyond the screen)

3. Any drops of blood that could escape from the tampon or cup must still pass the barrier of the swimsuit and neoprene of the wetsuit. Women menses is not annoying for sharks attack but much more if you have a long time to sail  before reaching a diving center and sanitary facilities.

4. To avoid being bothered and of course with the agreement of your doctor, it is possible to combine two contraceptive pills when planning a dive trip, to be quite reassured.

5. And if you are really very stressed, it is better not to dive because diving drysuit in tropical sea could also cause other problems more pesky or fools laughing at your buddies.

So, I’m a diver and I have my menses, can I really dive into areas where I might meet sharks?

In my opinion the answer for diving during women menses is YES.

Personally I have tested and I am still alive. My buddy sometimes humorously regretted that I would not be a bait to see more “big fish”.

So do not give credit to the fear of sharks during women menses. They are important to the balance of the eco-system and let us focus on the real effects of diving during menstruation: sensitivity to cold, effect of depth, fatigue, sensitivity to narcosis, …?

If you think this information about women menses may interest your friends, circulate it 👌🏻 or like our blog and our Facebook page to continue sharing the adventure with us.

Diving when I want …

What great day 😃

Helene

Shark experience video

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