Just curious.

These days we have the convenience of using sanitary pads and tampons. Periods are now seen as nothing more than an annoyance that the gals can get over with in a few days.

But in the days of "yore" when all of these niceties did not exist, how did we handle ourselves?

I read that in medieval Europe, women had to sit on a bed of straw and hay (in a stable) for days on end until the ordeal was over.

Were they also isolated and kept from performing daily activities such as cooking and farming?

They used rags. I even knew (when I was a child) village girls who used rags rather than regular sanitary pads.

I don't know about farm work, but they were forbidden to cook for men...especially men of rank.

(Of course, I'm only speaking for my own little corner of Nigeria.)

literatichick:
Just curious.

These days we have the convenience of using sanitary pads and tampons. Periods are now seen as nothing more than an annoyance that the gals can get over with in a few days.

But in the days of "yore" when all of these niceties did not exist, how did we handle ourselves?

I read that in medieval Europe, women had to sit on a bed of straw and hay (in a stable) for days on end until the ordeal was over.

Were they also isolated and kept from performing daily activities such as cooking and farming?

Isolated?
The woman with the issue of blood in the bible went out and mixed with the crowd to see Jesus. Haba you make it sound like it is leprosy. It is indeed true that some women sat on straws, others bled on the ground. But note that menstrual loins and tampons have been used and invented since the ancient Egyptians. So it is a matter of culture. Some ancient tribes used loins, while others believed that the smell of menstrual blood is good and a sign of fertility so they bled on the ground.

But there is no such documentation that women were in seclution during these periods. Ofcourse if she is sitting on straws and suddenly needs to go out, she would grab a menstrual loin and use it. But you can note as well that some women would personally prefer to stay in doors or secluded. Because in some women it comes with pains. Others viewed it as a time of cleansing. But that still would not stop her from the daily chores like cooking etc. Though she may not go to the farm or work.

^ The problem with the woman in the bible was not menstruation. It was probably haemophilia or something like that.

Many cultures considered women to be 'unclean' during their periods and put restrictions on their social contacts during their monthly flows.

They used Loin. Even if they used rags,they would have to hold it with a bigger material like loin.
Besides,am not sure women were totally secluded during their circle.