Womens' periods and sharks

Question

Is a woman on her period, in the water more likely to attract a shark? I understand that one's chances of being attacked aren't that great as it is, but is there an increase because of the blood?

Answer 1

In general sharks are attracted by the 'smell' of blood in water.  A little blood diffused in a large volume of sea water is enough for the shark to 'smell' you. It is a natural way for the sharks to detect their prey...wounded animals or fish.

Answer 2

Yes.

How can it not be?  Even if the chances only increase 1 percent, or even 1/2 of 1 percent, that still would make it "more likely."

Answer 3

have you been watching shark week

Answer 4

No, a woman having her period is NOT more likely to attract sharks than at other times.  Believe it or not, women don't wear menstrual pads when then they go swimming, at least not more than once, they wear tampons, and they soon learn to tuck the little strings up inside so the strings don't act as wicks filling the tampon with whatever they were swimming in.  With the strings tucked up inside like that, no fluid can either enter or leave until the tampon is full, so no leakage of blood takes place if the tampon is changed frequently enough.

However, sharks' sensors are as sensitive to urine as they are to blood, so divers of either s*x who relieve themselves in their wetsuits might as well be leaving a trail of blood in the water, as far as a shark is concerned.  Sharks have an acute sense of smell, even though they have no noses and would not breathe if they did.  Most people know that sharks are covered with tiny teeth, called dermal denticles meaning skin teeth, but most people don't know that, nestled among all those skin teeth, are taste buds.  

A shark swimming up the urine stream left by your wetsuit is guided by its tasting systems, turning in the whatever direction the scent seems strongest, and by the time it gets to you, it already knows you're edible, so it doesn't have to check you out before striking.  Now do you understand why most people never see it coming or even know there are sharks nearby until they're hit?  They weren't watching behind them.

When I was in the process of setting the world's record for the longest canoe trip, we had daily shark escorts in the Gulf of Mexico until we stopped peeing over the side, and we never saw another shark after that

Answer 5

I've always believed it.  Better safe.