What is period scooping? And other menstrual hacks you should think twice about

Period scooping sounds like something you would only hear in a biology lab, not while doom-scrolling TikTok. Yet earlier this year, videos claiming you can “scoop out” your period to avoid the mess and shorten the whole thing racked up millions of views. In this episode, we hear from Sally King, a visiting fellow at King’s College London, about why you can't shorten your period, and why you need to be careful about upsetting the pH balance of your body. She also gives us her perspective as a menstrual physiologist on other period hacks, including menstrual blood face masks, and drinks that some influencers say can shorten your period. Strange Health is a podcast from The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation. If you've got a question about a viral trend or video you've seen and you'd like us to delve into the science behind it in a future episode, please email us at strangehealth@theconversation.com. Full credits for this episode available here. If you like the show, please consider donating to support our work. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation here. If you've got a questeion Hosts: Katie Edwards from The Conversation and Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Executive Producer: Gemma Ware Editing and mixing: Anouk Millet Artwork: Alice Mason Menstrual health literacy is alarmingly low – what you don’t know can harm you Would you put period blood on your face? What science says about ‘menstrual masking’ Your vagina cleans itself: why vagina cleaning fads are unnecessary and harmful