The national program teaching a 'hushed topic' to boys and girls

Palm Beach Currumbin High School year 9 students Jack Rogers and Zane Zimmerle. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) Link copiedShareShare articleTeenage boys are learning about periods and pelvic pain alongside girls in Australian classrooms in what's hoped will make them more supportive brothers, sons, friends, and partners. Year 9 student Jack Rogers said he would probably treat his 12-year-old sister "a bit better" after taking one of the classes at his Palm Beach Currumbin High School on the Gold Coast this month. He is one of about 160,000 students from more than 1,000 schools across Australia who are being taught about the triple Ps — periods and pelvic pain. Boys and girls attended the program at Palm Beach Currumbin High School. (ABC News) Registered nurse Nicola Jensen, a clinical educator and national programs manager with the Period, Pain and Endometriosis Program, dubbed PPEP Talk, said boys typically walked into one of the lessons "rolling their eyes going: 'Why am I learning about this?'" But they left saying: 'That was pretty cool.' "I would say the boys love it," Ms Jensen said after giving the lesson. Year 9 student Zane Zimmerle says the beginning of the PPEP Talk class was "a bit awkward", but everyone "got used to it". (ABC News: Janelle Miles) "It's so important that boys are learning about how to empathise with people around them, how they can best support them." The program, delivered by trained Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia educators, is jointly funded by federal and state governments, including Queensland Health. Girls who attended the recent lesson at Palm Beach Currumbin High School embraced having the boys there too. Nurse Nicola Jensen at Palm Beach Currumbin High School, where she addressed students about periods, pelvic pain and endometriosis. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) "I think it's really important that we educate the boys as well, not just the girls, because obviously they're going to have sisters and girlfriends and mums … that'll go through that," student Lola Hymas said. The PPEP program represents an evolution from previous generations of teenagers when many health issues affecting women were too taboo to be broached in the classroom, let alone discussed in co-educational settings. Student Grace Cybulski said it was vital such discussions were "normalised". Some of the props used during the PPEP talk in classrooms to educate teenagers about periods, pelvic pain, and endometriosis. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) "I think it's important that we get it out in the open and that it's not such a hushed topic like it used to be," she said. Zane Zimmerle said the "beginning of the talk was a bit awkward but then everyone just got used to it". "It was a big crew, so it helped," he said. Ms Jensen spoke at length about different ways to address period pain — from stretches to heat packs, acupressure, the contraceptive pill, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machines, which deliver small electrical impulses through the skin, blocking pain signals to the brain. She also talked about anti-inflammatory drugs, including rectal suppositories. Registered nurse Nicola Jensen, a clinical educator with the Period, Pain and Endometriosis Program, addresses students at Palm Beach Currumbin High School on the Gold Coast. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) One student asked about whether using a suppository could cause toxic shock syndrome — a rare complication of certain types of bacterial infections, sometimes caused by leaving tampons in for too long. "You can't get toxic shock syndrome from these, I promise you," Ms Jensen said. "It's nothing like a tampon. "They go into the bottom. It's absorbed into the bowel and so you never see it again." If there was one main takeaway message, it was that students should speak up about their pain, particularly if it was regularly keeping them from going to school, taking part in sport, or other activities. Lola Hymas and Eliah Mulimbi, both year 9 students at the Palm Beach Currumbin High School on the Gold Coast. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) "Pain that is life impacting or debilitating, it is not normal and we need to do something about it," Ms Jensen said. "If you're someone sitting there going: 'I stay home every month, I get so much pain, I don't know what to do about it, I'm saying that pain needs addressing. That message resonated with student Eliah Mulimbi. "Some people would say, like: 'Oh, you're being dramatic,'" she said. Eliah Mulimbi welcomed the PPEP Talk class at her school. (ABC News: Janelle Miles) The PPEP Talk program addresses two key priorities of the National Action Plan for Endometriosis — education and awareness. When only a few of the Gold Coast students raised their hands to a question about whether they had ever heard about endometriosis, Ms Jensen said: "Endometriosis is more common than asthma". The Period, Pain and Endometriosis Program, dubbed PPEP Talk, has

The national program teaching a 'hushed topic' to boys and girls

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