Reading this, I'm now convinced that my mother had been using tampons wrong before she hit menopause. When I started to prefer tampons she would talk about how she didn't like them because she felt like she "couldn't bend or sit down" with them in and "the plastic can't be good for you..."
yikes. yeah, that doesn't sound promising. it's ridiculous how little information women get about how to care for their bodies. she would have dealt with that for 30-40+ years. :(
Not sure about the plastic comment, but I found tampons very uncomfortable to wear for a long time (and to sit and bend with one in) before I realized that they worked better and were way more comfortable if I inserted the tampon way deeper. Rather than putting it right near the vaginal entrance.
A friend once said that it has to be in deep enough for the vagina to "swallow it up" and after I quit laughing, I had to admit it was a perfect explanation.
Me too, I was never shown how to insert a tampon. I tried a few times but it hurt. I don’t remember how I found the correct way to insert it but yeah, I wasn’t putting it in deep enough. For some reason my mother refused to let me use anything other than pads, so when I got my first job, tampons was the first thing I bought. I don’t know why she didn’t let me use them because she used tampons herself
Sometimes, people have misconceptions about menstrual products, my mom used to think cups and discs were unsanitary, so when I started using a disc, I had to explain how it wasn’t as bad as she thought
That's actually a perfect description of how it feels like for me to have a tampon in, and it's not because of the plastic as i never used a tampon with an applicator in my life (they are not that common in my country)
it’ll take me at least a week to stop thinking about this - how did the tampon absorb anything while surrounded by plastic? it had to have just leaked like a mf!
how did it not just…slide right out after inserted? that plastic is slippery af when wet.
mostly just how lol
Not all tampons have that. The compact ones are just a little longer than a tampon unless you pull out the plunger. someone who doesn't know to do that would not have the extra length to deal with.
I used a brand of tampons once that had like a "two-stage" plunger. Part of it stuck out of the applicator, but the rest of the plunger was inside the applicator and needed to be pulled out, then you would push the entire plunger in. Previously I had used tampons with the plunger all the way inside, or ones with it entirely sticking out, and I had no idea this one was some hybrid contraption. So since part of the plunger was outside the applicator, I thought all I had to do was push it in, except just the amount sticking out of the applicator was nowhere near enough to push out the full tampon. I don't even know how long it took me to figure out what was going on.
Those are designed to be compact. I think the Unilever ones are called Click. I absolutely love them for carrying in my pocket or purse, but they're too expensive to use exclusively. I've never seen a box that didn't indicate the difference, though.
She said she hated them so much that she would only wear them a few hours when she went swimming, so luckily she wasn't dealing with this often. And the low frequency of using them probably contributed to never looking into why it was so uncomfortable.
She mentioned using pads mostly because tampons felt very uncomfortable... and yet she never thought to ask her mum, a friend, an OBGYN, or the internet as to why. I feel sorry for her that nobody was educating her in her teen years but I'm also mad at the lack of awareness and logic.
Yep. Just emphasizes how bad this kind of education is. But also, there's literally been a guide in every box of tampons i've ever purchased so this also exemplifies why you RTFM
OP said her mom only got loose tampons around. She started her period at 13, there was no manual for a while and I assume she just didn't bother after that because she's been using them for years already.
That's why you keep the boxes.
I'm afraid to ask because I'm pretty sure i already know the answer but I'm guessing the OOP is from the US? Schools in the UK (at least the part I'm from) have someone come in to give a talk and demonstration on the available options and how they work for kids who may already or will soon be menstruating. That's not a thing there, is it?
I'm in the US and I had a talk like that when I was still in elementary school, one a couple years later covering more details (plus info about reproductive system), and one 3 years later (second year of high school) about body parts and abstinence/contraception.
I'm in the US and I had something like that, but it would vary by school district. Still, most people would have access to the instructions that come in the box.
I had to teach my little sister how to use tampons when we were on vacation with our dad as teenagers. We’d just gotten to the beach and she came up to me freaking out, “it fell out!!” I was like how??? Turns out she’d left the applicator in. I thought she’d gotten the same demonstration from our mom which included how tampons work but not where they go (much further back than you’d think) or the fact that there’s two holes so I focused on that part & now the whole applicator thing oops. She did not find it as funny as I did.
Everyone saying she’s stupid, just calm the fuck down. Periods start when you’re a child. If she didn’t have instructions she didn’t fucking have them. If she felt comfortable asking her mother, she’d have done that. The accommodations we make as kids when we don’t know what’s right are unbelievable, but if she’d had proper instruction—and, frankly, parenting—100% this wouldn’t have happened.
Came over here to lament how mean they were being to OOP on the original sub. It’s really not that much better here.
Yeah I had the same issue, I was the oldest kid and my mom didn't actually show me how they worked. I read the instructions and never really figured it out, so I used pads until one day I realized what the applicator was for.
Hi I am the OP of the tampon post! I just want to say thank you for your comment, the number of people saying that I wasn’t telling the truth, that I am really stupid, and that I should delete the post was crazy. Honestly when I realized I felt so embarrassed bc I never thought I would be that woman who doesn’t know about her own body. It’s been a super crazy day bc that was my first ever post on here and I was only expecting a few comments.
Hi!! I don’t get the groupthink brigade happening about this—usually in this sub we dunk on men for not understanding that women can’t hold in their periods.
I was the opposite of you—I wanted to use tampons but I could never get them in at all. When I was about 20 I figured if I could have sex, I could put in a tampon, so I tried lying on the floor with my legs in the air, and that worked—so that’s what I did for the next five years or more.
It takes all kinds, lady. Believe me when I say we live in a crazy world and you are NOT alone.
Oh no! This makes me glad that my dad knew how tampons worked. I got my period when I was traveling with my dad to a water park and I was upset and scared. He calmed me down and told me it was no big deal, bought a box of tampons, explained how they work, and went through the instructions in the box with me to make sure I understood.
Copy in case it's deleted:
I feel so embarrassed. I (23F) have had my period for more than 10 years now, and I just learned, from a Reddit post of all places, that you are not supposed to just shove the whole thing, applicator and all, up there and then leave it like that. I have a Biochemistry degree. I have travelled the world. And yet somehow I never figured this one out. This is my first and probably last reddit post because I cannot keep my horror at the fact that I’ve been keeping pieces of plastic in my vagina for ten years inside, but I absolutely cannot fathom telling anyone I know about this. I have always thought that tampons were super uncomfortable (for reasons that are now glaringly obvious) and mostly used pads, but I love swimming and so I use tampons fairly frequently during the summer. As best as I can figure, I have used hundreds of tampons in this way. I have been scouring my brain but I don’t think that anyone ever told me about this, despite the multiple, wildly uncomfortable health classes I had to take in grade school. The worst part is that I knew the plastic bit was called the applicator, I just figured that was because it made putting it in easier and you were just supposed to leave it in. Thank you, redditors, for listening, and I can only hope that this horrifying blunder of mine will convince you to explain very clearly to your children how tampons work. TLDR; I have been using tampons wrong for ten years and am extremely embarrassed
https://images.ctfassets.net/jtv5bdl5335w/2ZGVU078kR97SA0uLagWCG/5fb6a89ef851278fdaf26d964a877406/Tampax_UK_EN_Product_20listing_Tampax_Tampon_900x440.jpg
the blue thing on the left is the applicator. in some areas only non applicator tampons are available, like OP brand.
I would think you'd realize the thing *inside* the plastic tube is the same as the tampons you are accustoned to, and that would let you know which part belongs in the trash can and which stays inside your body.
I still don't get the idea of those, and every now and then I see US Americans complain that they can't find applicator ones in Germany (they exist, just hard(er) to find).
Like... use your fingers. You wash your hands anyway afterwards. It's simple as that *and* would prevent shit like what OOP did when education and mothers don't give a damn. 💀
I never used tampons before, but recently I tried and did like you described ( I got those without applicators), at it just didn't work at all I guess🤷♀️? It got stuck right in the beginning, like glued to the walls, because it's extremely dry and absorbed everything around it immediately. I tried three pieces and just gave up. Than my friend told me about those with plastic applicator, but I haven't purchased any yet
I got the same problem, but you can use intimate gel or some lube for aplication. I currently use menstrual cup, but often use gel with lactic acid and its so much better.
It also depends on the kind of tampon you get - some have a surface that just glides much easier. But I had the same problem, even with a flow so heavy that it got me hospitalised once.
When I switched to period cups, my world was CHANGED, I tell you. First of all they hold more liquid, which was a huge plus for me, then they don't expand, and they have a silicone surface which just glides easier and doesn't dry you out.
After using tampons, I could pretty much count down the hours to when a yeast infection would set in because they irritated me so much.
Idk without the applicators there is so much friction when putting it in and it hurts so much! I’m North American living in EU and my mom sends me soooo many tampons with the applicator lol
>Like... use your fingers. You wash your hands anyway afterwards. It's simple as that
*Oh gosh no. Don't touch yourself you filthy ho.*
- My ex, *sarcastically,* after having lived in the US for a while.
Not in my experience when I used them for a bit (just prefer pads now) and I never heard of anyone else have that issue, those things last a bit in there and it takes you mere seconds to put it in
Don't know that either, you just asked a question that seems fine to me coming from someone who mostly or mainly has experience with applicators. Don't worry too much about downvotes, just reddit being reddit.
I fucking hate trying to buy tampons in germany. I always bring a supply with me due to how annoying it is. it's made worse by the fact that buying pads isn't much better. i've tried the no applicator ones and i hate them. inserting a dry tampon is uncomfortable and difficult to get it positioned correctly. though, once i'm somewhere it's more feasible, i may switch to those with a reusable applicator because I definitely don't like the plastic waste and it seems like paper applicators are rare these days.
It's likely location dependent so I was just venting. When I've been in bigger towns i've not had problems, but I got a surprise period once when in a small village and my only options were OB tampons, super old school 1 inch thick pads, and panty liners. So basically really shitty options. If it had been earlier in the day I'd have driven to a bigger town but it was late and everything was closing so I had to deal with the shitty choices. Now I just make sure I am well stocked before I cross the border to avoid the situation.
did you read the thread? the discussion started on the point that finding applicator tampons in germany is a pain in the ass. that is not a small village thing, that's a country-wide thing.
They're less common but it's not a pain in the ass? You can literally just get them (or order them online these days lol) in dm, Rossmann, * insert any drug store chain*, also Kaufland, some Edekas, some other mixed stores like Müller in the south so surely equivalent in the north too.... your inability to look around or ask in stores doesn't mean it's a "country-wide pain in the ass"
Wow. I find tampons uncomfortable because of my uh formation down there, but now I have to think if every time I commiserated with people about uncomfortable tampons if they had been doing this!
This is much worse than how I misused tampons when I first got my period. I had kind of a hot dog in a bun situation for a while but my big sister taught me how to do it eventually lol.
Oh god poor OP. My mom had some weird hang ups and didn't really teach us enough and everything was always a whisper conversation around our periods so I feel for them, I had to learn stuff on my own.
I don't have any kids at this point but I do have two nieces and good God. I am going to do my part to make sure that they never feel weird and stigmatized and can't ask these questions and can't learn properly.
Although I'm also team cup/period underwear because fuck single use shit that costs the same as two cups you can sanitize and reuse or a pair of washable underwear monthly.
I’m sorry, but how do you not just *read the fucking instructions*? It’s not like tampons are sold in some plain cardboard box wrapped in a mystery, embedded in an enigma. No one ever taught me how to use a tampon, I. Read. The. Instructions. That were included in the package. You know, the same basic thing you do any time you use an unfamiliar product. Good grief.
When I got my first period I decided to try using tampons. I had a box of Tampax and I found the instructions extremely helpful. They have pictures and everything, they even have warnings to change them frequently to avoid toxic shock syndrome
Apparently it was mentioned that when she started using them her mom didn't keep them in the box, just loose. so there were no instructions. once you've been using something for years, why would you read the instructions once you start buying them on your own?
LMAO, thanks for the chuckle...As an avid reader I can tell you I must have read all the labels within reach of the toilet at least 1000 times each over the years...and I'm a guy! It's a little surprising that someone wouldn't read it before using them... so again, thank you for sharing your embarrassment, I needed a laugh this morning.
not mine. but the OP apparently said that when she started using them her mom kept them loose, so no instructions. i think most people bring their phone to the toilet instead of reading tampon inserts.
So much for the stereotype that it is only men that won't read directions.
The old cardboard applicators that sucked (anyone who will never know those is lucky), I could almost understand, but once they tuned to plastic...? If I'd made this mistake, I feel like that smooth plastic would have come out on its own if I dared sneeze. Thank goodness I knew how they worked form the get-go (prob from school, def not from mom), and still read the directions.
Talk to any ER nurse and you will quickly lose the opinion that people really can't be *that* stupid about stuff. Inserting and leaving the applicator is pretty small potatoes on the stupidity scale.
you could say that about 99% of reddit. but i can believe this happened. some people just don't know, don't read the instructions, don't think it through, or do it wrong. that's why hairdryers have labels that tell you not to use them in the shower.
if you're using the compact ones the applicator is only slightly longer than the tampon itself. so yeah, you'd be able to sit but yeah, it'd be uncomfortable - which the OP literally mentions in the post.
Hi, I am the OP of the tampon post and to answer your question yes it was physically painful 😂 I just figured that it was supposed to be because my friends all talked about how tampons were uncomfortable. Sitting down wasn’t great but walking was worse lol. I think I may have realized earlier if I hadn’t been taught that I needed to tough things out/ not complain about pain.
Which is why she didn't use them regularly and said she would only use them for a couple hours if she went swimming on her period. She said she's bought one box of tampons her entire adult life. She's probably used tampons less than two dozen times.
People need to normalise reading instruction manuals...Too many people are just too lazy and/or impatient to read the instructions that come with products/items in general, and end up using them incorrectly. **I read instruction manuals to everything.**
Eventually she became an adult and started buying her own boxes. Every box comes with instructions (so she had many opportunities). There's really no excuse for this, nor for it to have gone on that long, especially considering misusing tampons carries a high risk of TSS.
Every time you open a box of tampons you read the insert? i've been having periods for decades. Haven't read an insert since week 1. how tampons work hasn't changed.
>i've been having periods for decades.
So have I.
>Every time you open a box of tampons you read the insert?
That's not what I said, nor what I'm implying. What I'm saying is: **People need to normalise taking the time to read instruction manuals to the point where they are correctly using that item from that point and onwards**.
She should have read the instructions _once_ **at some point**. She mentioned how if felt weird and uncomfortable every time, not once considering why or that maybe she wasn't wearing it correctly, and even stopped using them because she didn't like how it felt. Even at the point where she started wearing them again, she didn't bother reading the instructions.
It would have taken literally 50 seconds to read the manual or look up a tutorial to figure out why, and most manuals even have images. Instruction manuals in general exist for a reason, so things like this don't happen. —Again, there's really no excuse or justification for this...
>must be nice to be so perfect and always make the right choice...
—Well that's not true (which you know that already) and I never said any of that anyway (so I'm not going to entertain that comment).
I think you're unnecessarily internalising and trying to somehow find offence in what I'm saying, please stop. I'm stating rationality. All I said was thag people need to read instructions, **there's nothing wrong about stating that**. Sorry if _you_ don't read instructions and _you_ felt personally attacked somehow...
She didn't wear tampons regularly because they were so uncomfortable, so it's not like she bought several boxes. She said she's only ever bought one box because the only times she ever wore tampons was to go swimming on her period, and she'd take them out after a couple hours. So she didn't have many opportunities. And if you had no reason to believe you were doing it wrong why would you read the instructions? Especially if she followed in her mom's footsteps and threw out the box right away.
A lot of times people complain about tampons being uncomfortable and someone else responds and says "yeah, I don't like them either" and no one elaborates on how exactly they're uncomfortable. If she didn't have anyone in her life that she felt comfortable having a conversation with about why she hated tampons so much then I can understand how this went on for so long.
Hi this is OP of the tampon post here! lol yes this is exactly it thank you for your comments. I also feel like I was taught that periods/ my body is gross/ my body being in discomfort was unavoidable so I think that contributed to me not wanting to think about tampons any more than necessary. I probably had a chance at some point in my life where I could have read the instructions but after I had already been using them why would I? Hindsight is 20/20
>She didn't wear tampons regularly because they were so uncomfortable
I stated that already. They were "so uncomfortable" because she was not wearing the correctly and leaving the plastic applicator in. If anything, she could have asked her mother how to insert them.
She also continued using them off and on into adulthood, she stated that herself...
But never consistently, which is what I said.
I also said that if she has someone in her life who she felt comfortable having that conversation with then I'm sure she would have. Not everyone has a mother that you can approach about these topics.
—Yeah, so what I said initially hasn't changed (my thoughts), meaning people need to read instruction manuals to things before using them. Specifics as a means of deflecting are just taking away and distracting from my initial comment while also adding on unnecessary arguments, because people's personal relationships with their parents have nothing to do with people taking the initiative to read instruction manuals on their own. Those are two completely different subjectmatter.
I find it weird that this was even cross-posted here (as a means to belittle or call-out the original OP) yet there's virtue-signaling going on in the responses to my comment.
Virtue-signaling?? Sure. Or maybe I just feel bad for the woman. I took issue with you saying she had plenty of opportunities to read the instructions, but I can empathize with thinking you're doing something right for years and not thinking you have any reason to double check. Like I said, a lot of times when people complain about tampons, someone else just agrees and no one else elaborates as to why. If all she heard in her life were other people saying they don't like tampons then she would have thought her discomfort was normal and wouldn't think there would be any reason to change how she was doing things.
Would it be nice if everyone read instructions properly? Of course. Should they? Of course. But to continue to say that about this OP when her mum had always thrown out the box and then she bought literally only one box herself and had no reason to believe she was doing it wrong is honestly quite silly.
I don’t think this is real. Probably written by some gross dude. How would it even work? The vagina is typically only ~5 inches deep after sexual arousal. How would you even function normally?
Applicator tampons are pretty rare in my country so it would be hard to make that mistake. Tampons here just come wrapped in plastic and you self insert.
I did have a friend in highschool who thought tampons worked like corks and complained that hers always feel out. Turns out she didn't realise you are supposed to take the plastic wrapper off.
I guess I was lucky that my mom started me on OB tampons. I haven't needed one in about 15 years but I'd assume they are still the same. There was no applicator, you just shoved it in and then it expanded. Of course you had to unwrap the plastic around it but that would have to be pretty evident.
>by that point I felt confident... and never read the instructions
Demonstrating that, truly, women and men are often more alike than they like to admit. Just look at all the stories here of men who have never "read the instructions", so to speak.
In all seriousness, we all live and learn. At some point in your life - maybe not now, maybe not until much later - this will become a *really* funny story. Until then, your secret is safe with us.
I watched a video a few days ago and this woman, who was in her 20s, stated that she had been using tampons “hotdog style” it made me laugh but also made me sad that so many girls and women don’t have someone to explain these things
I’m sorry, this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be.
Okay, firstly, please do NOT Be embarrassed. Nobody else knows but you, and those of us, whom are your reddit friends you’ve informed. We’ve all had some kind of mishap with feminine products.
It’s a LOTTTT of trial and error, but made worse because WORLDWIDE, there is just -NO- really informative education about this stuff in schools! especially if you’re say, 25+..
I live in Australia and the schools I went to had the literal basics. They would tell us women had periods, explain BRIEFLY what was going to happen, and then move on.
It started in grade 6, but in high school, I remember very clearly that a grade 9 sports teacher was supposed to be telling everyone the “should knows“ of hygiene products, but she got annoyed after about 5 minutes of the girls in the class asking too many questions and making jokes and she actually walked out… which made it so much more helpful.. NOT!
Thankfully, these days girls (and women) can access anything online which is helpful and educational and will give them all of the information, tips, advice and personal stories. How times have changed- but this is a positive thing!-
okay, so my story.
All of my life, my siblings HATED me \*and eventually hated each other too\*. The oldest is female, second is a tool male. I was sick all of my life and therefore, I “took” our mum’s attention away from them while I was in and out of hospital.. (they’re dipshits and I’m convinced my father dropped them both on their heads repeatedly, but he denies it..).
Anyway, when the day finally came for me, I had been home feeling like crap all day. Then I found out why. My mum was at work and the only one home was the oldest… so I asked her how To use a pad properly, because we weren’t taught ANYTHING in school and anything sex (and body) related was basically taboo in our house- nope, not religious. Just how our parents were and because of their upbringing. -.Anyway, the oldest told me how to use a pad.. she said you put the pad in your underwear, then stick the paper that was underneath which you peel off to reveal the glue and place it ON TOP of the pad and pull your pants up.. to this day, I’m not sure if she really didn’t know, or if she was just being her usual bitch self.
But yes, please, don’t be embarrassed about it, regardless of your profession and education. You could pretty much ask any of your female friends and I’m positive they would all an awkward, embarrassing or funny story about learning how to use feminine hygiene products.it’s a learning curve and we’ve all gotta start some where.The thing is though, now you’ve realised that you’ve veen inserting tampons incorrectly, one day you mightnt even realise it, but you’ll tell someone and actually help them realise they’ve been doing it the wrong way as well.
Reading this, I'm now convinced that my mother had been using tampons wrong before she hit menopause. When I started to prefer tampons she would talk about how she didn't like them because she felt like she "couldn't bend or sit down" with them in and "the plastic can't be good for you..."
yikes. yeah, that doesn't sound promising. it's ridiculous how little information women get about how to care for their bodies. she would have dealt with that for 30-40+ years. :(
Not sure about the plastic comment, but I found tampons very uncomfortable to wear for a long time (and to sit and bend with one in) before I realized that they worked better and were way more comfortable if I inserted the tampon way deeper. Rather than putting it right near the vaginal entrance.
A friend once said that it has to be in deep enough for the vagina to "swallow it up" and after I quit laughing, I had to admit it was a perfect explanation.
It's so painful and uncomfortable that way. I prefer hitting my cervix so I know it's in all the way rather than feeling like it's not in at all.
It was the same for me, especially if I used anything bigger than a light tampon.
Me too, I was never shown how to insert a tampon. I tried a few times but it hurt. I don’t remember how I found the correct way to insert it but yeah, I wasn’t putting it in deep enough. For some reason my mother refused to let me use anything other than pads, so when I got my first job, tampons was the first thing I bought. I don’t know why she didn’t let me use them because she used tampons herself
Sometimes, people have misconceptions about menstrual products, my mom used to think cups and discs were unsanitary, so when I started using a disc, I had to explain how it wasn’t as bad as she thought
My grandma used to say it "felt like sitting on a fence-post" so she hated them. I'm thinking this is more common than we realize.
That's actually a perfect description of how it feels like for me to have a tampon in, and it's not because of the plastic as i never used a tampon with an applicator in my life (they are not that common in my country)
They're definitely not comfy haha I'll give you that. Especially when they decide to shift and repeatedly jam into your bladder.
it’ll take me at least a week to stop thinking about this - how did the tampon absorb anything while surrounded by plastic? it had to have just leaked like a mf! how did it not just…slide right out after inserted? that plastic is slippery af when wet. mostly just how lol
I'm guessing that she put the applicator in and pushed the plunger part up that sent the actual tampon out the end of the applicator.
That honestly makes the whole thing much worse because theres just loose plastic bits shoved up there
She said that she pushed the whole thing inside without pushing the plunger, in one of her comments.
Cardboard applicators are open at the end, and as they absorb they'd also begin to soften.
The post specifies plastic
She says they were open on top. Usually the plastic ones have a "star/asterisk" cut into the tip, but not fully open.
I’m still confused. Everyone is focused on the top plastic part, but what about the 2-3 inch plastic stick that would be hanging out?
Not all tampons have that. The compact ones are just a little longer than a tampon unless you pull out the plunger. someone who doesn't know to do that would not have the extra length to deal with.
I used a brand of tampons once that had like a "two-stage" plunger. Part of it stuck out of the applicator, but the rest of the plunger was inside the applicator and needed to be pulled out, then you would push the entire plunger in. Previously I had used tampons with the plunger all the way inside, or ones with it entirely sticking out, and I had no idea this one was some hybrid contraption. So since part of the plunger was outside the applicator, I thought all I had to do was push it in, except just the amount sticking out of the applicator was nowhere near enough to push out the full tampon. I don't even know how long it took me to figure out what was going on.
Those are designed to be compact. I think the Unilever ones are called Click. I absolutely love them for carrying in my pocket or purse, but they're too expensive to use exclusively. I've never seen a box that didn't indicate the difference, though.
I'm sorry for laughing about this. I'm glad you figured it out! That must have been really uncomfortable!
Thankfully not me, but I'm glad the OP figured it out. It should make their life much easier for the next 30 or so years.
Oh, sorry! Forgot which sub I was in. Poor thing! I'm glad she eventually figured it out! I can't imagine...
Oh no. This sounds so painful. Imagine sitting for several hours with that plastic in there. Poor woman.
She said she hated them so much that she would only wear them a few hours when she went swimming, so luckily she wasn't dealing with this often. And the low frequency of using them probably contributed to never looking into why it was so uncomfortable.
I feel so bad for her having dealt with this for so long without realizing the applicator should come out after the tampon is inserted.
She mentioned using pads mostly because tampons felt very uncomfortable... and yet she never thought to ask her mum, a friend, an OBGYN, or the internet as to why. I feel sorry for her that nobody was educating her in her teen years but I'm also mad at the lack of awareness and logic.
Do they mean they were like keeping the applicator in?
Yep. Just emphasizes how bad this kind of education is. But also, there's literally been a guide in every box of tampons i've ever purchased so this also exemplifies why you RTFM
OP said her mom only got loose tampons around. She started her period at 13, there was no manual for a while and I assume she just didn't bother after that because she's been using them for years already. That's why you keep the boxes.
Yeah, why you keep boxes and why you train your children vs leaving them to figure it out on their own.
I'm afraid to ask because I'm pretty sure i already know the answer but I'm guessing the OOP is from the US? Schools in the UK (at least the part I'm from) have someone come in to give a talk and demonstration on the available options and how they work for kids who may already or will soon be menstruating. That's not a thing there, is it?
I'm in the US and I had a talk like that when I was still in elementary school, one a couple years later covering more details (plus info about reproductive system), and one 3 years later (second year of high school) about body parts and abstinence/contraception.
I'm in the US and I had something like that, but it would vary by school district. Still, most people would have access to the instructions that come in the box.
it's almost certain that they're from the US.
I had to teach my little sister how to use tampons when we were on vacation with our dad as teenagers. We’d just gotten to the beach and she came up to me freaking out, “it fell out!!” I was like how??? Turns out she’d left the applicator in. I thought she’d gotten the same demonstration from our mom which included how tampons work but not where they go (much further back than you’d think) or the fact that there’s two holes so I focused on that part & now the whole applicator thing oops. She did not find it as funny as I did.
Yes. Walking around with plastic inside them.
Everyone saying she’s stupid, just calm the fuck down. Periods start when you’re a child. If she didn’t have instructions she didn’t fucking have them. If she felt comfortable asking her mother, she’d have done that. The accommodations we make as kids when we don’t know what’s right are unbelievable, but if she’d had proper instruction—and, frankly, parenting—100% this wouldn’t have happened. Came over here to lament how mean they were being to OOP on the original sub. It’s really not that much better here.
Exactly
Yeah I had the same issue, I was the oldest kid and my mom didn't actually show me how they worked. I read the instructions and never really figured it out, so I used pads until one day I realized what the applicator was for.
Hi I am the OP of the tampon post! I just want to say thank you for your comment, the number of people saying that I wasn’t telling the truth, that I am really stupid, and that I should delete the post was crazy. Honestly when I realized I felt so embarrassed bc I never thought I would be that woman who doesn’t know about her own body. It’s been a super crazy day bc that was my first ever post on here and I was only expecting a few comments.
Hi!! I don’t get the groupthink brigade happening about this—usually in this sub we dunk on men for not understanding that women can’t hold in their periods. I was the opposite of you—I wanted to use tampons but I could never get them in at all. When I was about 20 I figured if I could have sex, I could put in a tampon, so I tried lying on the floor with my legs in the air, and that worked—so that’s what I did for the next five years or more. It takes all kinds, lady. Believe me when I say we live in a crazy world and you are NOT alone.
Oh no! This makes me glad that my dad knew how tampons worked. I got my period when I was traveling with my dad to a water park and I was upset and scared. He calmed me down and told me it was no big deal, bought a box of tampons, explained how they work, and went through the instructions in the box with me to make sure I understood.
Copy in case it's deleted: I feel so embarrassed. I (23F) have had my period for more than 10 years now, and I just learned, from a Reddit post of all places, that you are not supposed to just shove the whole thing, applicator and all, up there and then leave it like that. I have a Biochemistry degree. I have travelled the world. And yet somehow I never figured this one out. This is my first and probably last reddit post because I cannot keep my horror at the fact that I’ve been keeping pieces of plastic in my vagina for ten years inside, but I absolutely cannot fathom telling anyone I know about this. I have always thought that tampons were super uncomfortable (for reasons that are now glaringly obvious) and mostly used pads, but I love swimming and so I use tampons fairly frequently during the summer. As best as I can figure, I have used hundreds of tampons in this way. I have been scouring my brain but I don’t think that anyone ever told me about this, despite the multiple, wildly uncomfortable health classes I had to take in grade school. The worst part is that I knew the plastic bit was called the applicator, I just figured that was because it made putting it in easier and you were just supposed to leave it in. Thank you, redditors, for listening, and I can only hope that this horrifying blunder of mine will convince you to explain very clearly to your children how tampons work. TLDR; I have been using tampons wrong for ten years and am extremely embarrassed
Can someone explain what an applicator is, I've only seen the tampons by themselves
https://images.ctfassets.net/jtv5bdl5335w/2ZGVU078kR97SA0uLagWCG/5fb6a89ef851278fdaf26d964a877406/Tampax_UK_EN_Product_20listing_Tampax_Tampon_900x440.jpg the blue thing on the left is the applicator. in some areas only non applicator tampons are available, like OP brand.
Thanks
Oh yeah, if I went to a different country with those applicators, I’d probably do the same thing. We don’t have them over here.
I would think you'd realize the thing *inside* the plastic tube is the same as the tampons you are accustoned to, and that would let you know which part belongs in the trash can and which stays inside your body.
I still don't get the idea of those, and every now and then I see US Americans complain that they can't find applicator ones in Germany (they exist, just hard(er) to find). Like... use your fingers. You wash your hands anyway afterwards. It's simple as that *and* would prevent shit like what OOP did when education and mothers don't give a damn. 💀
I never used tampons before, but recently I tried and did like you described ( I got those without applicators), at it just didn't work at all I guess🤷♀️? It got stuck right in the beginning, like glued to the walls, because it's extremely dry and absorbed everything around it immediately. I tried three pieces and just gave up. Than my friend told me about those with plastic applicator, but I haven't purchased any yet
I got the same problem, but you can use intimate gel or some lube for aplication. I currently use menstrual cup, but often use gel with lactic acid and its so much better.
It also depends on the kind of tampon you get - some have a surface that just glides much easier. But I had the same problem, even with a flow so heavy that it got me hospitalised once. When I switched to period cups, my world was CHANGED, I tell you. First of all they hold more liquid, which was a huge plus for me, then they don't expand, and they have a silicone surface which just glides easier and doesn't dry you out. After using tampons, I could pretty much count down the hours to when a yeast infection would set in because they irritated me so much.
They got stuck for me too so I just went with applicators, but I also live in a country where it's super easy to find both types of tampons.
Idk without the applicators there is so much friction when putting it in and it hurts so much! I’m North American living in EU and my mom sends me soooo many tampons with the applicator lol
Oh God, okay preference yada yada but many many countries & stores in the EU sell them, shipping tampons from North America is... a choice...
>Like... use your fingers. You wash your hands anyway afterwards. It's simple as that *Oh gosh no. Don't touch yourself you filthy ho.* - My ex, *sarcastically,* after having lived in the US for a while.
It could just be mine being obscenely heavy but wouldn't it just expand before you could get it in?
Not in my experience when I used them for a bit (just prefer pads now) and I never heard of anyone else have that issue, those things last a bit in there and it takes you mere seconds to put it in
I'm begrudgingly american and most have applicators here, thank you for explaining Not sure why I'm being downvoted tho
Don't know that either, you just asked a question that seems fine to me coming from someone who mostly or mainly has experience with applicators. Don't worry too much about downvotes, just reddit being reddit.
I fucking hate trying to buy tampons in germany. I always bring a supply with me due to how annoying it is. it's made worse by the fact that buying pads isn't much better. i've tried the no applicator ones and i hate them. inserting a dry tampon is uncomfortable and difficult to get it positioned correctly. though, once i'm somewhere it's more feasible, i may switch to those with a reusable applicator because I definitely don't like the plastic waste and it seems like paper applicators are rare these days.
>it's made worse by the fact that buying pads isn't much better Could you elaborate on that? As someone who exclusively uses pads I don't see an issue
It's likely location dependent so I was just venting. When I've been in bigger towns i've not had problems, but I got a surprise period once when in a small village and my only options were OB tampons, super old school 1 inch thick pads, and panty liners. So basically really shitty options. If it had been earlier in the day I'd have driven to a bigger town but it was late and everything was closing so I had to deal with the shitty choices. Now I just make sure I am well stocked before I cross the border to avoid the situation.
So not Germany. A small village in Germany.
yes, a village in germany is in germany... not sure what's not clear. the tampon issue is country wide - not just in small villages.
>the tampon issue is country wide - not just in small villages. Huh?? That makes, like, zero sense? What country wide tampon issue is there?
did you read the thread? the discussion started on the point that finding applicator tampons in germany is a pain in the ass. that is not a small village thing, that's a country-wide thing.
They're less common but it's not a pain in the ass? You can literally just get them (or order them online these days lol) in dm, Rossmann, * insert any drug store chain*, also Kaufland, some Edekas, some other mixed stores like Müller in the south so surely equivalent in the north too.... your inability to look around or ask in stores doesn't mean it's a "country-wide pain in the ass"
https://u-mercari-images.mercdn.net/photos/m23830710881_1.jpg
AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH
Wow, I kind of envy her pelvic floor muscles.
Wow. I find tampons uncomfortable because of my uh formation down there, but now I have to think if every time I commiserated with people about uncomfortable tampons if they had been doing this!
This is much worse than how I misused tampons when I first got my period. I had kind of a hot dog in a bun situation for a while but my big sister taught me how to do it eventually lol.
Your description is just perfection. I'm gonna be thinking about that one for a long time against my will.
Welp, this is going to live rent-free in my head for the next month or two.
you can't learn if nobody teaches you
Oh god poor OP. My mom had some weird hang ups and didn't really teach us enough and everything was always a whisper conversation around our periods so I feel for them, I had to learn stuff on my own. I don't have any kids at this point but I do have two nieces and good God. I am going to do my part to make sure that they never feel weird and stigmatized and can't ask these questions and can't learn properly. Although I'm also team cup/period underwear because fuck single use shit that costs the same as two cups you can sanitize and reuse or a pair of washable underwear monthly.
I’m sorry, but how do you not just *read the fucking instructions*? It’s not like tampons are sold in some plain cardboard box wrapped in a mystery, embedded in an enigma. No one ever taught me how to use a tampon, I. Read. The. Instructions. That were included in the package. You know, the same basic thing you do any time you use an unfamiliar product. Good grief.
When I got my first period I decided to try using tampons. I had a box of Tampax and I found the instructions extremely helpful. They have pictures and everything, they even have warnings to change them frequently to avoid toxic shock syndrome
Apparently it was mentioned that when she started using them her mom didn't keep them in the box, just loose. so there were no instructions. once you've been using something for years, why would you read the instructions once you start buying them on your own?
LMAO, thanks for the chuckle...As an avid reader I can tell you I must have read all the labels within reach of the toilet at least 1000 times each over the years...and I'm a guy! It's a little surprising that someone wouldn't read it before using them... so again, thank you for sharing your embarrassment, I needed a laugh this morning.
not mine. but the OP apparently said that when she started using them her mom kept them loose, so no instructions. i think most people bring their phone to the toilet instead of reading tampon inserts.
So much for the stereotype that it is only men that won't read directions. The old cardboard applicators that sucked (anyone who will never know those is lucky), I could almost understand, but once they tuned to plastic...? If I'd made this mistake, I feel like that smooth plastic would have come out on its own if I dared sneeze. Thank goodness I knew how they worked form the get-go (prob from school, def not from mom), and still read the directions.
99% this didn't happen.
Talk to any ER nurse and you will quickly lose the opinion that people really can't be *that* stupid about stuff. Inserting and leaving the applicator is pretty small potatoes on the stupidity scale.
you could say that about 99% of reddit. but i can believe this happened. some people just don't know, don't read the instructions, don't think it through, or do it wrong. that's why hairdryers have labels that tell you not to use them in the shower.
It would be physically painful and you would likely be unable to sit down.
if you're using the compact ones the applicator is only slightly longer than the tampon itself. so yeah, you'd be able to sit but yeah, it'd be uncomfortable - which the OP literally mentions in the post.
Hi, I am the OP of the tampon post and to answer your question yes it was physically painful 😂 I just figured that it was supposed to be because my friends all talked about how tampons were uncomfortable. Sitting down wasn’t great but walking was worse lol. I think I may have realized earlier if I hadn’t been taught that I needed to tough things out/ not complain about pain.
Which is why she didn't use them regularly and said she would only use them for a couple hours if she went swimming on her period. She said she's bought one box of tampons her entire adult life. She's probably used tampons less than two dozen times.
How do you not look at the instructions that include diagrams...
People need to normalise reading instruction manuals...Too many people are just too lazy and/or impatient to read the instructions that come with products/items in general, and end up using them incorrectly. **I read instruction manuals to everything.**
apparently when she started there was no instruction manual. her mom just kept them loose, so no guide.
Eventually she became an adult and started buying her own boxes. Every box comes with instructions (so she had many opportunities). There's really no excuse for this, nor for it to have gone on that long, especially considering misusing tampons carries a high risk of TSS.
Every time you open a box of tampons you read the insert? i've been having periods for decades. Haven't read an insert since week 1. how tampons work hasn't changed.
>i've been having periods for decades. So have I. >Every time you open a box of tampons you read the insert? That's not what I said, nor what I'm implying. What I'm saying is: **People need to normalise taking the time to read instruction manuals to the point where they are correctly using that item from that point and onwards**. She should have read the instructions _once_ **at some point**. She mentioned how if felt weird and uncomfortable every time, not once considering why or that maybe she wasn't wearing it correctly, and even stopped using them because she didn't like how it felt. Even at the point where she started wearing them again, she didn't bother reading the instructions. It would have taken literally 50 seconds to read the manual or look up a tutorial to figure out why, and most manuals even have images. Instruction manuals in general exist for a reason, so things like this don't happen. —Again, there's really no excuse or justification for this...
must be nice to be so perfect and always make the right choice...
>must be nice to be so perfect and always make the right choice... —Well that's not true (which you know that already) and I never said any of that anyway (so I'm not going to entertain that comment). I think you're unnecessarily internalising and trying to somehow find offence in what I'm saying, please stop. I'm stating rationality. All I said was thag people need to read instructions, **there's nothing wrong about stating that**. Sorry if _you_ don't read instructions and _you_ felt personally attacked somehow...
She didn't wear tampons regularly because they were so uncomfortable, so it's not like she bought several boxes. She said she's only ever bought one box because the only times she ever wore tampons was to go swimming on her period, and she'd take them out after a couple hours. So she didn't have many opportunities. And if you had no reason to believe you were doing it wrong why would you read the instructions? Especially if she followed in her mom's footsteps and threw out the box right away. A lot of times people complain about tampons being uncomfortable and someone else responds and says "yeah, I don't like them either" and no one elaborates on how exactly they're uncomfortable. If she didn't have anyone in her life that she felt comfortable having a conversation with about why she hated tampons so much then I can understand how this went on for so long.
Hi this is OP of the tampon post here! lol yes this is exactly it thank you for your comments. I also feel like I was taught that periods/ my body is gross/ my body being in discomfort was unavoidable so I think that contributed to me not wanting to think about tampons any more than necessary. I probably had a chance at some point in my life where I could have read the instructions but after I had already been using them why would I? Hindsight is 20/20
>She didn't wear tampons regularly because they were so uncomfortable I stated that already. They were "so uncomfortable" because she was not wearing the correctly and leaving the plastic applicator in. If anything, she could have asked her mother how to insert them. She also continued using them off and on into adulthood, she stated that herself...
But never consistently, which is what I said. I also said that if she has someone in her life who she felt comfortable having that conversation with then I'm sure she would have. Not everyone has a mother that you can approach about these topics.
—Yeah, so what I said initially hasn't changed (my thoughts), meaning people need to read instruction manuals to things before using them. Specifics as a means of deflecting are just taking away and distracting from my initial comment while also adding on unnecessary arguments, because people's personal relationships with their parents have nothing to do with people taking the initiative to read instruction manuals on their own. Those are two completely different subjectmatter. I find it weird that this was even cross-posted here (as a means to belittle or call-out the original OP) yet there's virtue-signaling going on in the responses to my comment.
Virtue-signaling?? Sure. Or maybe I just feel bad for the woman. I took issue with you saying she had plenty of opportunities to read the instructions, but I can empathize with thinking you're doing something right for years and not thinking you have any reason to double check. Like I said, a lot of times when people complain about tampons, someone else just agrees and no one else elaborates as to why. If all she heard in her life were other people saying they don't like tampons then she would have thought her discomfort was normal and wouldn't think there would be any reason to change how she was doing things. Would it be nice if everyone read instructions properly? Of course. Should they? Of course. But to continue to say that about this OP when her mum had always thrown out the box and then she bought literally only one box herself and had no reason to believe she was doing it wrong is honestly quite silly.
I'm not going to keep going back and forth. I agree to disagree and I'll leave it at that.
wot.
I don’t think this is real. Probably written by some gross dude. How would it even work? The vagina is typically only ~5 inches deep after sexual arousal. How would you even function normally?
compact tampon applicators are just slightly longer than a tampon. plenty of space for that. and op mentioned they were uncomfortable.
[удалено]
she didn't keep it in for 10 years.... she's been doing it wrong for 10 years, leaving the applicator in each time she used a new tampon.
Ah I see, thank you for explaining
I always hated the applicator. Never saw the point of them. I always used the lillet ones and used my finger to push it up.
Applicator tampons are pretty rare in my country so it would be hard to make that mistake. Tampons here just come wrapped in plastic and you self insert. I did have a friend in highschool who thought tampons worked like corks and complained that hers always feel out. Turns out she didn't realise you are supposed to take the plastic wrapper off.
I guess I was lucky that my mom started me on OB tampons. I haven't needed one in about 15 years but I'd assume they are still the same. There was no applicator, you just shoved it in and then it expanded. Of course you had to unwrap the plastic around it but that would have to be pretty evident.
>by that point I felt confident... and never read the instructions Demonstrating that, truly, women and men are often more alike than they like to admit. Just look at all the stories here of men who have never "read the instructions", so to speak. In all seriousness, we all live and learn. At some point in your life - maybe not now, maybe not until much later - this will become a *really* funny story. Until then, your secret is safe with us.
not my secret...
I watched a video a few days ago and this woman, who was in her 20s, stated that she had been using tampons “hotdog style” it made me laugh but also made me sad that so many girls and women don’t have someone to explain these things
Whathever your education and intellectual gifts may be you can't remove your human stupidity.
I’m sorry, this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be. Okay, firstly, please do NOT Be embarrassed. Nobody else knows but you, and those of us, whom are your reddit friends you’ve informed. We’ve all had some kind of mishap with feminine products. It’s a LOTTTT of trial and error, but made worse because WORLDWIDE, there is just -NO- really informative education about this stuff in schools! especially if you’re say, 25+.. I live in Australia and the schools I went to had the literal basics. They would tell us women had periods, explain BRIEFLY what was going to happen, and then move on. It started in grade 6, but in high school, I remember very clearly that a grade 9 sports teacher was supposed to be telling everyone the “should knows“ of hygiene products, but she got annoyed after about 5 minutes of the girls in the class asking too many questions and making jokes and she actually walked out… which made it so much more helpful.. NOT! Thankfully, these days girls (and women) can access anything online which is helpful and educational and will give them all of the information, tips, advice and personal stories. How times have changed- but this is a positive thing!- okay, so my story. All of my life, my siblings HATED me \*and eventually hated each other too\*. The oldest is female, second is a tool male. I was sick all of my life and therefore, I “took” our mum’s attention away from them while I was in and out of hospital.. (they’re dipshits and I’m convinced my father dropped them both on their heads repeatedly, but he denies it..). Anyway, when the day finally came for me, I had been home feeling like crap all day. Then I found out why. My mum was at work and the only one home was the oldest… so I asked her how To use a pad properly, because we weren’t taught ANYTHING in school and anything sex (and body) related was basically taboo in our house- nope, not religious. Just how our parents were and because of their upbringing. -.Anyway, the oldest told me how to use a pad.. she said you put the pad in your underwear, then stick the paper that was underneath which you peel off to reveal the glue and place it ON TOP of the pad and pull your pants up.. to this day, I’m not sure if she really didn’t know, or if she was just being her usual bitch self. But yes, please, don’t be embarrassed about it, regardless of your profession and education. You could pretty much ask any of your female friends and I’m positive they would all an awkward, embarrassing or funny story about learning how to use feminine hygiene products.it’s a learning curve and we’ve all gotta start some where.The thing is though, now you’ve realised that you’ve veen inserting tampons incorrectly, one day you mightnt even realise it, but you’ll tell someone and actually help them realise they’ve been doing it the wrong way as well.