Hi, I'm an eleven year old girl in England. Last night and today I have seen a fair bit of reddish black stuff in my pants coming from my vagina. I've never had a period and I don't know if it is one or not. There isn't that much of the stuff but I'm worried about it.
I would be really great full if you replied because I don't know whats happening.
Thanks
Sam
Hi there,
Puberty can start at a wide range of ages - from as young as 8 to as old as 16 or more. For girls one of the most obvious signs that you’re going through puberty is that your periods start happening.
Your first period might happen completely out of the blue and maybe what you've experienced here is your first period. Periods can vary a lot from person to person and can even be different each time. What you're seeing here might be the bleeding phase of the period but it's actually one part in a bigger process called the menstrual cycle.
The length of your menstrual cycle is usually around 28 days, though this can vary. Some people don't have regular periods - and to begin with your menstrual cycle might not be very regular at all. Some people have such regular periods that they know exactly how long it will be until their next one begins - you won't know for a while how regular yours are.
The bleeding phase of your period might also be different each time. Sometimes your period blood might be very light pink or could be dark brown. Sometimes you get blood clots which look dark and lumpy, but this isn't anything to worry about and is normal.
There are different products to help you manage the bleeding during your period and you can try out different ones to find what works best for you. Probably one of the easiest to use is a sanitary towel - it's also called a "pad" or "liner". This is a flat, absorbent pad that you place in your underwear and it catches and absorbs any blood from your vagina. Tampons are different, they go inside your vagina and absorb blood before it comes out. There is a lot of good information about different products on the Brook website.
I hope this has been useful for you - it might be a good idea to take a look at the Childline message boards as there’re other young people there who share their own experiences of getting their period. You can always talk to a Childline counsellor about how you feel or about any other concerns that you have.
Thanks for the letter, take care.
Sam
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