So you let your tween/teen swim with a pad?

[Anonymous]

My very Catholic mother (almost became a nun) just showed me by putting one in herself. Was it embarrassing? Sure, a little...but I quickly figured out how to use a tampon. To those whose DDs can't figure this out, have you tried showing them how to do it yourself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But that’s what it is - a tablespoon of blood that trickles out over 5 days. It’s not much for most people.

Right, which is why the array of feminine hygiene products offered is so small, and why super absorbent pads and tampons are non-existent. And why women and girls never bleed through their protection, because there's so little blood lost anyway.

I wish the guy would quit posting here.

He clearly knows nothing about periods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's very individual. I wore tampons almost from the beginning. One of my daughters wore tampons with no problem at all. My other daughter could not wear them. She simply cannot relax her muscles enough to allow insertion without pain. And she swears she can feel them even when they are correctly positioned. She is 24 years old and wears pads. She hates tampons. I've heard other women say the same.

You don't need to teach your daughter how to insert a tampon beyond very basic instruction. Girls are capable of reading directions and figuring it out. But you never swim with a pad. That's just gross.

+100 to all of the above. I never had any issues wearing tampons and have tried explaining how to use them to my daughter. She knows how to do it, but I suspect she also isn't able to relax her muscles enough to insert it properly. She's more comfortable using pads - maybe that will change down the road, but if not, that's perfectly fine. She just doesn't go swimming when she has her period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these girls can't get a tampon in? That sucks for them in the summer! You can buy super slim teenager sized tampons. My 11 yo refused pads from the beginning and figured the tampons out with youtube videos on her phone.

And what if she hadn't figured them out - would you have berated her for being an idiot and told her that ALL girls can do this?

No.

We are berating the man who keeps insisting that a period is only a tablespoon or two of blood.

I bet he was upset that his poor wife wouldn't have sex with him during her period, so he found these couple of sentences to berate her into having sex with him during that time of month.

Or he is a former guy who has never had a period.

Where are you getting that the poster was a man? I agree with you that periods can be absolute floods of blood (mine certainly used to be), but how do you know that poster is a guy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t read all of this, but I have taught six of my friend’s daughters (and my own) how to use a tampon. I think this special skill comes from the fact that I didn’t use them until I was much older myself, so I really had given it some thought. Hard to explain in a post, but here is how you walk a girl through it.

1.) buy the small plastic applicator tampons AND KY jelly.

2.) slather that baby at the top 1/3 or so with the KY. Do not use your hands or you will then be too slippery to hold it. The Mom can put the jelly on.

3.) face the toilet, one foot goes up on the seat, the other foot is on the floor. Have them clench and then unclench their vagina so they know the difference. Don’t have them try inserting tampon until they are in unclenched position!

4.) stick a finger in your vagina to get a sense of the angle , which is kind of toward your lower back. This step is helpful but not critical.

5.) Holding the tampon, angle it toward your lower back and glide it in. If she gets anxious, she can pause. When it’s in all the way so that she can no longer see the top part and just has her finger at the bottom, push in the applicator thingie all the way. Remove applicator. Show her where string is hanging. Tell her NOT TO PULL IT OUT until it’s saturated. If she pulls it out dry it will hurt and she will be reluctant to do this again. The main thing is getting it in far enough that first time.

Ok that’s it. Good luck all.

Pretty sure we're all well-versed with this entire method. The point is that some girls simply can't get the insertion down. It hurts, or they're scared. There's nothing you can do in these cases except let them know it's ok to wear either a tampon or a pad. It's not the end of the world if a girl isn't able to / chooses not to use tampons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But that’s what it is - a tablespoon of blood that trickles out over 5 days. It’s not much for most people.

Right, which is why the array of feminine hygiene products offered is so small, and why super absorbent pads and tampons are non-existent. And why women and girls never bleed through their protection, because there's so little blood lost anyway.

I wish the guy would quit posting here.

He clearly knows nothing about periods.

Why do you keep insisting it's a guy? Did this poster say s/he was male?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But that’s what it is - a tablespoon of blood that trickles out over 5 days. It’s not much for most people.

Right, which is why the array of feminine hygiene products offered is so small, and why super absorbent pads and tampons are non-existent. And why women and girls never bleed through their protection, because there's so little blood lost anyway.

I wish the guy would quit posting here.

He clearly knows nothing about periods.

Why do you keep insisting it's a guy? Did this poster say s/he was male?

I'm one of the posters who pointed out that most sources say that total flow is 2-3 tablespoons. I am not the only poster making these statements. Here is another source that says that- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072478/

apparently b/c I like to back up my statements with sources, rather than just going based on my own personal impression, at least one, possible multiple posters, have concluded that I am a male. I certainly am a menstruating woman, who started menstruating at age 12, but whatever- they are welcome to think whatever they like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these girls can't get a tampon in? That sucks for them in the summer! You can buy super slim teenager sized tampons. My 11 yo refused pads from the beginning and figured the tampons out with youtube videos on her phone.

And what if she hadn't figured them out - would you have berated her for being an idiot and told her that ALL girls can do this?

No.

We are berating the man who keeps insisting that a period is only a tablespoon or two of blood.

I bet he was upset that his poor wife wouldn't have sex with him during her period, so he found these couple of sentences to berate her into having sex with him during that time of month.

Or he is a former guy who has never had a period.

Where are you getting that the poster was a man? I agree with you that periods can be absolute floods of blood (mine certainly used to be), but how do you know that poster is a guy?

Because he keeps repeatedly insisting that periods are only a tbsp and keeps reposting 1/2 statements taken out of context with lots of contradictory stuff excluded.

He clearly has no experience with periods by doubling down and repeatedly insisting that periods are just mere drops of blood that are barely noticeable.

There is not a woman on the planet who has had an actual period who would agree with what he keeps posting.

[Anonymous]

It really is just 2-6 T of blood that comes out during your period if it's light to normal. Over a 6 T loss is classified as a heavy period or may put you into the HMB level (where anemia and other symptoms can occur).

What makes it seem like so much more is that the blood is mixed with fluid secretions from the uterus and cervix.

Did no one learn this during Biology in school?

Also, no, I'm not a guy, lol. I've had a period so heavy that when I went to take the tampon out, it fell out because it was so saturated. I get that sometimes it feels like we're bleeding to death, but no, it's just blood mixed with fluids.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully you are talking about this in regards to your very own private pool. And not subjecting the public to her swimming with a pad. That’s just gross

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these girls can't get a tampon in? That sucks for them in the summer! You can buy super slim teenager sized tampons. My 11 yo refused pads from the beginning and figured the tampons out with youtube videos on her phone.

And what if she hadn't figured them out - would you have berated her for being an idiot and told her that ALL girls can do this?

No.

We are berating the man who keeps insisting that a period is only a tablespoon or two of blood.

I bet he was upset that his poor wife wouldn't have sex with him during her period, so he found these couple of sentences to berate her into having sex with him during that time of month.

Or he is a former guy who has never had a period.

Where are you getting that the poster was a man? I agree with you that periods can be absolute floods of blood (mine certainly used to be), but how do you know that poster is a guy?

Because he keeps repeatedly insisting that periods are only a tbsp and keeps reposting 1/2 statements taken out of context with lots of contradictory stuff excluded.

He clearly has no experience with periods by doubling down and repeatedly insisting that periods are just mere drops of blood that are barely noticeable.

Your obsession with those posters is just bizarre. They've already said they're women. You sound unhinged.

There is not a woman on the planet who has had an actual period who would agree with what he keeps posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why these girls can't get a tampon in? That sucks for them in the summer! You can buy super slim teenager sized tampons. My 11 yo refused pads from the beginning and figured the tampons out with youtube videos on her phone.

And what if she hadn't figured them out - would you have berated her for being an idiot and told her that ALL girls can do this?

No.

We are berating the man who keeps insisting that a period is only a tablespoon or two of blood.

I bet he was upset that his poor wife wouldn't have sex with him during her period, so he found these couple of sentences to berate her into having sex with him during that time of month.

Or he is a former guy who has never had a period.

Where are you getting that the poster was a man? I agree with you that periods can be absolute floods of blood (mine certainly used to be), but how do you know that poster is a guy?

Because he keeps repeatedly insisting that periods are only a tbsp and keeps reposting 1/2 statements taken out of context with lots of contradictory stuff excluded.

He clearly has no experience with periods by doubling down and repeatedly insisting that periods are just mere drops of blood that are barely noticeable.

There is not a woman on the planet who has had an actual period who would agree with what he keeps posting.

Your obsession with calling that poster (or posters) a "man" is bizarre. They've already said they're women. Move on.

[Anonymous]

I was a competitive swimmer and could not use a tampon. I ended up quitting swimming sadly. Some girls have extremely thick hymens. I wasn't able to use a tampon until my mid 20s after having sex several times. I think a doctor probably could have helped with breaking it. But I didn't know to ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really is just 2-6 T of blood that comes out during your period if it's light to normal. Over a 6 T loss is classified as a heavy period or may put you into the HMB level (where anemia and other symptoms can occur).

What makes it seem like so much more is that the blood is mixed with fluid secretions from the uterus and cervix.

Did no one learn this during Biology in school?

Also, no, I'm not a guy, lol. I've had a period so heavy that when I went to take the tampon out, it fell out because it was so saturated. I get that sometimes it feels like we're bleeding to death, but no, it's just blood mixed with fluids.

Just FYI, nobody wants to be in the swimming pool with the (larger) amounts of fluid secretions from your uterus and cervix, either, especially mixed with your blood. But also not.

[Anonymous]

I am astonished at the judgemental tone of so many of these posts. OF COURSE it is okay for a teen, or a woman, to not force herself to use a tampon if it is not her thing.

Please, ultimately it is much more important for our girls to feel supported and comfortable in their decisions about their own bodies. Do not decree that there must be something wrong with them if they use pads!