I’ve Gone My Whole Life Not Knowing How Ibuprofen Affects Periods

Despite being a person who’s been dealing with the joys of periods for over a decade now, I still find out what seems like pretty important information on a regular basis. Today’s discovery is that ibuprofen not only helps with cramps, but it can actually slow or delay your period.

I learned that ibuprofen reduces menstrual flow BY 50% and the only reason I can come up with for why no one else knows about this is that we're such a fucking misogynist culture, we can't talk about something that women have to deal with every four weeks for 30 years.

— jesus was an anarchist (@girlziplocked) January 19, 2020

How many times have you agreed to something that involves swimwear or lycra only to realise that’s the date your period is meant to start? Cause it’s way too often to be funny. If you just want to delay Aunt Flo’s arrival by a day, or slow your period once it starts, then ibuprofen may be your friend.

Ibuprofen is in a class of drug called non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). These drugs not only help with pain, they reduce the production of prostaglandins – the hormone involved in controlling ovulation, the menstrual cycle, and kickstarting labour (but you’ll need way more than ibuprofen to cope with that). Less prostaglandins mean either lighter periods, or a delay of about a day if you take ibuprofen before it starts.

It’s definitely not a fix you’d want to rely on every single month, as too much ibuprofen can damage your kidneys or give you stomach ulcers. But as a one off, you should be fine if you’re otherwise healthy. 

If you’re looking to delay your period for longer than a day, the pill is an amazing invention for people who can take it without feeling like they’re going insane. If you’re one of the people who can’t take it, hitting up your GP is your best bet.

I’m sure there’s still a million things I don’t know about periods, and I assure you it’s not from a lack of anxious Googling. We live in a world that still tends to see periods as gross or embarrassing, and insists on shoving all sorts of weird things up there that don’t belong. Hell, Gwyneth Paltrow has made a whole career out of it. 

Next time I learn some life changing information like this, I’ll let you know. For now, go forth with the knowledge that ibuprofen does way more for you than dull your cramps.

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