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How Often Should You Change A Tampon?

Using tampons is always a question of personal choice. They come in various shapes, sizes and absorption abilities. The night-absorbents are usually thicker, while the ones for daily usage are smaller in size and less absorbent.

How Often Should You Change A Tampon

Women use various products depending on their menstrual flow, so there are no general recommendations that need to be followed. Internal tampons are made of soft, absorbent material and they are inserted into the vaginal opening. They will be left inside the vaginal canal to absorb the menstrual fluid.

Internal tampons also have various sizes and degrees of absorption, are scented or not, and some of them are accompanied by applicators.

Internal tampons need to be changed frequently to prevent the occurrence of toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Table of Contents

How Often Should You Change a Tampon?

It`s important to choose the tampons size depending on the flow. Changing tampons may help women even establish the right size for each of them. If the tampon remains with a lot of white portions when you change it at 3 – 6 hours during days with high flow, it`s may be a good idea to opt for a smaller tampon. Tampons should be changed at maximum 8 hours. – More info!

So, as mentioned, tampons need to be changed depending on the flow, but as a general rule, they need to be changed at 3 – 4 hours, even rarely during days with low flow. Girls, who just started their period, bleed less and don`t need to change them too frequently.

How to Use Tampons?

On first use, women might need guidelines to insert the tampons.

  1. The first step is to wash your hands with water and soap. You`ll now unfold the tampon with your clean hands.
  2. Adopt a more comfortable position. You may sit down relaxed on the toilet with your thighs apart or standing with one foot high.
  3. You`ll hold the tampon with your swab finger.
  4. With the other hands, you`ll spread the lips of your vagina to facilitate the access in the vaginal opening.
  5. You`ll push the tampon into the vagina. If you feel resistance, change the direction a bit.
  6. The tampon is inserted correctly when you don`t feel it anymore.
  7. The string should hang out from your vaginal opening. When you want to remove the tampon, you`ll pull the string outside until the tampon exists completely.
  8. Don`t forget to wash your hands, before and after inserting the tampon.

8 Important Aspects to Consider Before Using Tampons

Ideally, there are a few aspects to consider before using internal tampons.

How Many Times Do You Have to Change your Pad?

Regardless of the fact that you have a heavy flow or not, you will usually want to change your pad at 3 – 4 hours. Or else, you may risk ending up with an infection or other vaginal problem. So, maybe it`s best to change it as often you consider it necessary.

How Do You Know When the Tampon Is Full?

Your best bet to know if you need to change your tampon or not is by giving a light tug on its string. If it will be easy to pull it out, then you can be sure you need to change it. If not, you may leave it a little while. – Check this!

What Is Better to Use Tampons or Pads?

On occasion, pads are also known as sanitary napkins or pads. On the other hand, tampons absorb menstruation blood, but they usually work in the interior of your vagina. There are tampons that come with applicators, made either from plastic, either from cardboard tubes which aids keep the tampon in the right position. Obviously, internal tampons need to be inserted. – Check this out!

Can You Pee with a Tampon In?

Yes, you can. Peeing without removing the tampon won`t produce any harm or discomfort you in any way. The only inconvenience is that will make the tampon`s string wet, but you can solve this issue by move the string to one side or another when peeing.

Are There Different Sizes of Tampons?

Just like pads, these too come in various sizes for a lighter or heavier menstruation. “Super” tampons are usually for heavy flows. But don`t use them if not necessary, as they may cause issues if they are too absorbent.

Are Tampons Safe to Use?

Like mentioned above, a tampon that is too absorbent may lead to increased risks of toxic shock syndrome, ulcerations or vaginal dryness. – More similar details!

Can Using Tampons Make You Infertile?

There`s a new theory of doctors claiming that tampons don`t absorb tissue, only fluid. Each month, the uterus expels a high tissue amount. When using tampons, your uterus gets kind of “full” of tissue at some point, causing some uterine conditions that aren`t healthy, maybe even leading to infertility. However, there`s no scientific evidence backing up this theory yet.

Is It Okay to Sleep with a Tampon In?

For women with heavy flow, tampons might not absorb all the blood flow. Dr. Ghodsi, a popular doctor from Mississippi says: “if you leave tampons for too long, you may get an infection.” So, not only this may lead to TSS, but most likely to other bacterial infections as well. This means you should consider changing your tampon before going to sleep.

Can a Tampon Help Prevent Pregnancy?

Tampons aren`t a contraceptive method, so they cannot prevent you getting pregnant as they don`t absorb sperm. If you choose to use one in an attempt to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, you may put yourself to risk as they aren`t efficient or safe in this regard. In addition, you shouldn`t use an internal tampon during a sexual contact either.

8 Major Mistakes when Using Them

Do you use internal tampons, especially when there are high temperatures outside and you want to wear light-colored clothing? Before using them you should consider a few things, otherwise you may put your health at risk. – Learn about this!

You Wash your Hands Only after Applying the Tampon

It`s mandatory to also wash your hands before applying the tampon, otherwise you risk introducing “bad” bacteria into the vagina that will unbalanced the vaginal flora and lead to the occurrence of vaginal problems.

You Don`t Insert the Tampon Deep Enough

How do you know if you applied your tampon properly? If you feel it and it`s discomforting, it might mean you didn`t insert it correctly. This may lead to pains.

You Use One Single Size.

At the beginning of your period, you should use a tampon larger in size, especially if you experience abundant bleeding, and towards the end of your menstruation, use smaller tampons.

You Change the Tampon Too Rarely

If the menstruation isn`t abundant, it`s recommended to change the tampon at 4 – 5 hours. Thus, you prevent the development of bacteria that may affect the health of your reproductive system.

You Use the Tampons when You Have Discharges between Periods

At ovulation, there`s a whitish discharge that varies from one woman to another, quantitatively speaking. If the discharge is abundant, it doesn`t really mean you need to use tampons, because they may change the pH of your vaginal flora and may lead to inflammations.

You Use 1 Tampon Before and After Menstruation

Even if you want to avoid various unpleasant situations, you shouldn`t insert a tampon before menstruation. It`s not recommended to use tampons if your vagina is dry.

You Don’t Change your Tampon after Swimming

It doesn`t matter if you swim in the pool, lake or sea. You still need to change your tampon when you leave the water, because it now contains salt or chlorine that may cause irritations of the skin or vaginal mucosa. –Read this!

You Use Scented Tampons

If you often confront yourself with genital irritations, it`s best to avoid scented tampons that may cause itching or redness of the vagina.

Advantages of Tampons

Internal tampons offer a lot of advantages related to comfort or security. Although you may have heard that there are risks regarding their usage, their correct positioning, by following their instructions you`ll increase their safety and efficiency.

Most women feel comfortable when using a tampon because, if used properly, it isn`t even noticeable. An absorbent may cause irritations, but in the case of tampons it hasn`t been recorded a discomfort yet. They are soft, usually made of cotton or silk, and have anatomical shape.

When used correctly, tampons reduce inconveniences caused by bloody discharges quite significantly, because they absorb the blood from the vaginal wall before draining. – Read more!

In addition, tampons are suitable for any type of lingerie, unlike absorbents. If you opt for an internal tampon, your clothing choices won`t be conditioned by “that part of the month.”

You`ll feel a lot cleaner and fresher if you use a tampon, and you`ll enjoy certain activities that you didn`t thought possible when you used an absorbent – you`ll be able to swim without worrying, with the condition to change it soon after and properly inserting a new one.

Myths about Tampons

One of the myths is the one who says that tampons contain dangerous levels of asbestos and dioxin. Although their usage involves some risks, these aren`t related in any way to asbestos and dioxin.

Researchers have analyzed various brands of tampons and confirmed that they don`t contain these substances. Still, you need to check their labels.

It was rumored that in a lot of cases of women who used internal tampons and suffered from cervical and uterine cancer, the manufacturers used asbestos in their composition. And this substance produced important bleeding, needing the usage of a large number of tampons.

In fact, tampons contain 2 substances who may be potentially harmful rayon (viscose) used for absorption and dioxin used for bleaching the cotton yarns. Experts in the field are sure that women need white products to view the product as being white and clean.

The problem is that the used dioxin in the bleaching process may lead to negative extreme situations. Dioxin is potentially carcinogenic and toxic for the immune and reproductive system. It`s assumed that dioxin has an important role in the occurrence of endometriosis and decreases the number of sperm in men.

Alternatives to Tampons

The best option would be using intimate hygiene products for females that weren`t subject to a bleaching process and which contain cotton. It`s true that other hygiene products for women, such as tampons or intimates wipes, contain dioxin.

It`s best to use tampons that contain 100% cotton, unbleached. Unfortunately, there are few brands that manufacture these tampons in safe conditions.

The amount of blood eliminated during menstruation varies a lot from one woman to another, from one month to another. This occurs especially during the first or second year from the onset of the menstrual cycle. Even if the bleeding seem to be significantly in quantity, it doesn`t exceed half of liter every month.

No matter the amount of blood eliminated, a tampon shouldn`t be used for more than 8 hours. In fact, the tampon will be changed every 2 – 3 hours at the beginning of menstruation. As mentioned above, it`s extremely important for the hands to be washed before and after handling the tampon, because your hands may contain a lot of bacteria that may enter the vagina, >triggering infections.

A woman might urinate or swim even if she uses an internal tampon, because unlike external tampons, the internal one doesn`t restrict so many things. However, it`s important as every woman ensures the strings is left outside the vagina (not outside the slip), especially when sunbathing.

It`s not necessary for the tampon to be removed during defecation or urinating. It`s recommended to avoid the tampon`s string to come in contact with the urine. Using the tampons in an efficient way offers protection from menstrual bleeding during bath or shower. When a women swims during menstruation, she can wear an internal tampon because the blood flow is absorbed internally.

Image courtesy of theperiodblog.com

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