Tampon Advice

I use Tampax.
After each time you go to the bathroom change it.
Sometimes mine are more full but I always change when I need to go. If I dont; my body tends to try to reject the tampon.
I have to wear a maxipad with a tampon. For the first day I change mine every 30-45 minutes then the second day I can change it every time I pee.
I sleep with a maxi pad and super tampax, have for 30 years and have never had any TSS symptoms or issues.

When you gently tug on it, and it comes out, its ready. If you gently tug on it and it stays put, its not full yet.

TSS has not been around for years and years... don't worry about that. As long as you are changing your tampon decently often and not leaving it in for more than a day or something (which can mess with pH of your vagina), you will be fine!

I think it's a great question, and the answer is so personal, depending on the woman's body, flow, ect. I personally like Tampax tampons, with the cardboard applicator. The fit works well for me and it's absorbant. They have different sizes depending on how heavy your flow is. I also always wear a panty liner, just in case. Other people here wrote that they love Playtex. For my body, Playtex tampons don't fit right and they hurt me. I've tried them many times.

You never want to take out a dry tampon cuz it feels like it's ripping your insides out. I normally leave my tampons in a feew hours, changing it when I go to the bathroom. I also make sure that I have the right tampon for my flow. It it gets real full, I start to get cramps.

Good luck!

Overnight is fine. I've been doing that for 30+ years! LOL

I like OB, but they can be hard to find. Tampax Pearl is my next choice.

Just change more frequently on you heavy days....2-3-4 hours, then about 3-4 times per day the rest.

I have used tampons for most of my life and only stopped when my flow got very light. I mostly use regular or light flow and they're quite comfortable. I always put a pantyliner or super thin small pad on, cause it'll spot when the tampon is full.

I found this on wikipedia re. toxic shock - it looks like the outbreak in the 80's resulted from the invention of rediculously absorbant tampons that women left in for days. I don't know of any tampons now that aren't full in 4-6 hours . The longest I've gone is overnight and that's only 7-8 hours. I don't believe toxic shock needs to be a valid concern if you stick with the light/regular absorbency. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_shock_syndrome.

It's recommended that you change it every couple of hours.

I change mine whenever I go to the bathroom and see color on the toilet paper. I use the toilet paper to pull it out, so no pee string for me either lol. Once you use them for longer you will start to know.

Good Luck and congrats on your upgrade :) I've always hated pads.

Interesting question! I've been using tampons since I was 13, I do not like pads at all. I have a light flow, so a regular or lite tampon for me will last anywhere from 4 hours to 8 hours. I have heard some women say that they have to change them in 2 hours because of a heavier flow.

I guess what I do is give the string a very light tug, a full tampon will slide out easily. A mostly dry tampon will not move much. A full tampon can allow some leaking, also. If I discover leaking when I wipe, I change my tampon.

I guess I would suggest during the first period you wear tampons, be tracking how long it's been between changes, for next time.

As long as you change tampons reasonably often, like 8 hours or less the chances of toxic shock are extremely small. Almost all the cases of toxic shock caused by tampons occurred with the Rely tampon, which was taken off the market. That one was so absorbant that women left it in sometimes for days. It actually was shown to leech the moisture from the inside walls of the vagina, causing skin damage and increasing the chances for infection to take hold. It was made from a different material than the tampons on the market now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rely_(brand)

I leave tampons in all night, I think you have to leave them in for a really long time for the TSS to occur. For your flow, you will pretty soon figure out how long to keep them in. I have to change mine every hour on my heavy day, then after that its every 2-3 hours or when i have to pee...

You definitely dont want to pull them out too dry, ouch.
It's really a personal thing and has to do with your flow.
On a heavy day I'd sometimes find myself changing them every hour but on a normal to light day 4 hours was about average.

This is a great question!!!

I couldn't use tampons after I had babies - for some reason they didn't feel right!!

You need to make sure you are using the right protection level...it all depends upon how much and how heavy you bleed. I was always told to use the lowest one....and then work up...

When the tampon is "full" you do leak. If it is NOT in right - it will leak and you can "feel" it there...if it's in correctly - you can't feel it there. Make sure you have good access to the string as well..

Toxic shock occurs when women leave tampons in for hours and hours (like overnight) and I would NEVER recommend a tampon to sleep!! Talk to your GYN to find out more about TSS so you are going on information and not paranoia. Always best to be informed and educated...

My 13 year old daughter tried tampons recently. She did not have much success, she bleeds heavily and the wetness of the blood while trying to put one in would make her hands slip on the applicator and not actually push the tampon out. But the brand that worked the best was Playtex Sport, because of the shape and grip of the applicator. Tampax paper applicators just were too slippery when wet for her to use. She really only used it one day when we went swimming and took it out right after coming out of the water, about 2 hours. Funny, because I started with tampons when I got my period (at age 15 so I couldn't wait since all my friends had theirs) and only started using pads after I had kids.

You can usually feel it slip. I sometimes cramp real low when it is time to change it. I use tampons with pantiliners as I bleed pretty heavily anyway, but that is a good thing to do just to ease your mind

So funny you say this b/c I have gone 15 years using only pads and just two weeks ago I had to try tampons so that I could go to swim lessons with my son (parent&child class. I had to get in!)

Anyways - I was too embarassed to post a question about what brand, etc, so looked in the archives. Ended up using OB brand. It said to change every 8 hours, but IMO, just put it in before you go to the pool, swim, have a fun time, then take it out when you get out of your swimsuit. 8 hours is a long time! So if you stick with 4 hours or whatever you should be fine. OB makes a different absorbency multi-pack so you can judge your flow needs.

I'm no authority, but TS is practically non-existent now. It was a problem years ago, but not so much anymore. The key is make sure a tampon is changed regularly. The box should recommend to change @ least every 6- 8 hours.

The tampon is in fully, when basically, you feel no discomfort from it. You literally feel nothing. When I started using them, I would just check to make sure nothing was on my underwear, b/c I thought the same thing you did, that maybe it wasn't in right.

You want to match the tampon to with your flow. On the heavy days, use a super and on the lighter days use regular. There should be no discomfort when you have it in. My preference is Playtex Sport. They seem shorter and are a better fit.

I think toxic shock syndrome is something of the past. I'm not sure why that is but I believe I read it somewhere.

I typically wear a liner with them as a back up.

Personally I change it each time I go to the bathroom. The idea of touching a string that was peed on just grosses me out. As long as you match your flow it should be okay. If it has not been in long enough (as in not full enough) it does give some resistance coming back out.

I almost exclusively use tampons. I like Tampax with cardboard applicator or CVS generic of Tampax. I also use Carefree or Always pantyliners. I do not go by the 8 hour recommendation. I change it almost everytime I go to the restroom, unless I'm going very frequently. So maybe every 3-4 hours. I also change it when I shower, get done swimming, or am about to leave the house. I really like the convenience!

Most boxes will say that you can leave them in up to 8 hours depending on your flow. It's something that you get the hang of based on your flow pattern. The materials that they use now are very, very different than what was used years ago and that cause TSS problems.

But if you want to avoid that issue all together check out Instead or The Diva Cup! Awesome alternatives. I absolutely hate pads so I always looked for an alternative. Instead is disposable but the Diva can be reused (after cleaning of course). Both are very simple to use once you get the hang of it. I can leave the Instead in for up to 12 hours I think it is with no worry because it isn't absorbent. They make it feel like you aren't even on your period. And you don't have to worry about trying to figure out what size tampon to use based on your flow. With either of these it doesn't matter what your flow is. You would just change up how often you empty/change it. And it's not messy or gross.

I like the kotex tampons. you can get a box that has 2 different sizes so your covered for both heavy and light days. Change them every 2 to 3 hours at first till you get the hang of it. You will know it is full when you start leaking lol. I always still wear a pantyliner. and not its not a silly question.

I usually can't wear them the 1st 2 days because my flow is so heavy I drip. If I can wear them the 1st 2 days, I change them every 2 hours. After that every 4-6 which is when I go to the bathroom to pee anyways. I have had problems towards the end when the flow is so light that it hurts just a little coming out. I use the Playtex Sport and I get the box that has super and regular. I've tryed every brand and thats the one I like best. I have slept in them but I have to get up and pee during the night so I change it then.
Its a great question. I