Why is tampons used

It might take a little bit of experimenting to find the right pad for the different times of your period. Some pads are scented or come with a deodorant in them.

But these can irritate the vagina or cause an allergic reaction in some girls. Pads should be changed every 3—4 hours, even if you have a light flow. Regular changing prevents buildup of bacteria and stops odor. If you have a heavier flow, you might need to change pads more often to make sure you don't leak.

Tampons absorb blood from inside the vagina. A tampon is also made of absorbent material, but it's compressed into a small tube. Tampons come in different sizes and absorbencies for heavier and lighter periods.

Tampons also can come with or without deodorant. There's no need for deodorant in a tampon, though, because changing tampons regularly usually gets rid of any odor. The deodorant in tampons can irritate the vagina, and could cause an allergic reaction in some girls. Some tampons come with an applicator. An applicator is a plastic or cardboard tube that guides the tampon into the vagina. Other tampons are inserted using a finger.

Some girls find that a slender size, applicator-style tampon is easier to use when they first start their periods. An applicator with a rounded top can be especially helpful for beginners. The first time you use a tampon, try to do so on a heavier flow day. This will make the tampon slip in easier. A tampon is put into the vagina using an applicator or a finger.

After washing your hands, follow the directions that come with the tampons carefully and be sure to relax. It's very important to change tampons every few hours and that you wear the absorbency type that is right for you.

Change a tampon every 4—6 hours or when it's saturated with blood. Tampons have a string attached to one end that stays outside a girl's body. To remove the tampon, pull gently on the string until the tampon comes out. Wrap it in toilet paper and throw it in the trash. Don't flush a tampon down the toilet. Even when the box says a tampon is flushable, tampons can still cause problems in some plumbing systems. Because you can't see a tampon, you'll need to remember when it's time to change.

If you forget to change it, you may get spotting or leakage on your underwear or clothing. There are differing accounts of the whens, wheres, and hows of the earliest tampon-like devices.

Women's Sport author Jaime Schultz, made tampons from paper, secured them with bandages, and changed these dressings between 10 and 12 times every day. Some of the earliest tampons recognizable as we know them today—intra-vaginal devices made from a string and a wad of something absorbent—were documented in Europe in the 18th and 19th century.

Curiously, these were more often used for purposes other than menstrual management. In some places, tampons were used as contraceptives , and Schultz cites a report from a French doctor that describes a tampon made from tightly rolled, vinegar-soaked linen that was used to stem the flow of hemorrhage and leucorrhea non-menstrual vaginal discharge. In the late 19th century, the accomplished U.

This is then to be gently inserted into the vagina, until it reaches the neck of the womb, when the tube may be withdrawn over the rod which is retained to hold the tampon in its place.

Lastly, the rod is withdrawn. But around the turn of the century, it seems tampons were still—in medical circles, at least—best known as devices for treatment or non-menstrual absorption within the vagina. A string is usually attached to the plug to aid in its withdrawal. Legend has it, Schultz writes in Qualifying Times , that in the early s, a Kimberly-Clark employee named John Williamson poked some holes in a condom, stuffed it with the fluffy, absorbent filling used in commercial Kotex pads, and pitched it to his dad, a Kimberly-Clark medical consultant, as a menstrual solution.

But the tampon would get its creation myth nonetheless, though about a decade later. As Tampax tells it , a Colorado-based general practitioner named Earle Cleveland Haas introduced the first commercial applicator tampon.

Thinking of his wife by some accounts a ballerina and her struggles with the bulky menstrual pads of that era, Haas developed a variation made of compressed cotton. And because Haas wanted to ensure that the tampon could be inserted and removed without having to be touched directly, he designed an applicator from telescoping paper tubes. Tampax arrived on shelves in the mids—and was one of the great game-changers in 20th-century periods.

Tampax, available for 35 cents and often delivered by mail, came in discreet, plain paper-wrapped boxes of 10, and it had imitators within a year of its debut. One survey taken in and found approximately one-quarter of women regularly used them. Shortly after, in , The Journal of the American Medical Association published its first substantial research on tampons. Some of the newly popular applicator tampons were made of absorbent cotton, explained the study author Robert L.

Dickinson, while one was made from cotton linters, and one was crepe paper held together with a net of threads. Much of the existing research on tampon safety was sponsored and published by feminine-hygiene product manufacturers themselves—a notable asterisk on the medical information on tampons from that era.

In the years following, companies continued to tweak their products in hopes of further simplifying the modern menstrual period. Many of the new products seemed to emphasize the secrecy they could offer a woman on her period. Still, tampons continued to flourish—even the deodorant ones, despite growing allergy-related concerns from physicians.

And by the time Playtex introduced the plastic, dome-tipped applicator in , the tampon was a common technology—according to Vostral, it was included in more than 70 percent of U. But the momentum was about to carry the tampon industry too far. Rely was shaped like a tea bag, engineered to expand both widthwise and lengthwise, and made of entirely synthetic materials.

One of these was carboxymethylcellulose, or CMC—an edible, hydrophilic ingredient used in manufactured products from ice cream to detergent. Perhaps U. How late is too late for a period to come? We'll break down how to know if it's late or just not coming this month and some common reasons why. For most menstruating people, period cravings are just a part of life. Here's a look at why they happen, whether they're a sign of pregnancy, and how….

Anyone with a period may be looking for a sustainable way to manage menstruation. Read on to see if a menstrual cup like the DivaCup is right for you. COVID may temporarily affect your period, and researchers aren't exactly sure why. The most common symptoms seem to be light periods or longer…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Tampons vs. Pads: The Ultimate Showdown. Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph. Tampons still reign supreme. Pads still have their place, too. But cups are shaking things up.

Oh, did you think that was all? And finally, gender-neutral menstrual products are now a thing. Bottom line. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph. Medically reviewed by Suzanne Falck, MD.