A New Monthly Gift for Women
Cramps are awful. This new service can help. Illustration via Shutterstock.
More than half of all women deal with chronic pain on a monthly basis, and we’re not talking about some exotic ailment or emergency room-worthy mystery. We are talking about the monthly menstrual cycle. Last year, TIME reported that more than half of teen girls and women suffer from painful periods. The article focuses on relieving menstrual pain with birth control pills and says that approximately 15 percent of teen girls regularly miss school or work due to severe periods. In the U.S. alone, this is associated with $2 billion in lost productivity.
When it comes to relieving menstrual pain, health professionals have a number of suggestions like birth control pills, prescription drugs, over-the-counter pain medication, cutting out caffeine, using heating pads, and even practicing yoga. But the bottom line is that periods are a pain.
A new company, the oh-so-delicately named Le Parcel, is valiantly trying to staunch the flow (ahem). The company is a tampon and maxi-pad delivery service that comes direct to the customer once a month, thereby eliminating any late-night jaunts to CVS. We’ve all been that girl before. And fellas, you know you’ve had to make that run for your girlfriend or wife.
The idea is a bit silly, but since you have to buy tampons anyway, paying a few extra bucks when it’s 20 degrees outside might be worth it. When your “monthly gift” arrives, you really do get a monthly gift. Le Parcel customers get favorite brand of tampons (they stock Playtex, Kotex, and Tampax) or pads, and chocolate. There’s also a surprise gift in the package, usually a cosmetic . Let’s just call it a Birchbox that’s actually useful (as much as we love deliveries consisting solely of random make-up samples). They had us at chocolate, anyway.
You select your brand and when you expect to begin your cycle, and then forget about re-stocking the bathroom cabinet. A little faux-French package appears on your doorstep. The final touch? Le Parcel’s irresistibly kitsch tagline: “Every month without fail.”
Though this idea might not help with the serious health issues of menstrual pain, we can’t help but appreciate the effort. And while we doubt that one less trip to the drugstore is going to greatly improve our quality of life, it does sound like the kind of surprise that could brighten up our day. Le Parcel might not have a magic cramps cure, but it does come with chocolate.
