girl talk

like, serious GIRL talk
19 September 2000

It shouldn't hurt. There. That's rule number one. If it hurts, you're not doing it right, or you're too stressed, or you're freaking yourself out.

It's okay. It's just a tampon. It's there to help you, not hurt you. You don't lose your virginity from using it, and it's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Some women have to change their tampons more frequently than others. You know your own flow, the days that you're heavier than others. They sell those mulit-day packages for that, and they seem to work pretty well.

So, you say you tried your sister's tampon one day when you wanted to go swimming and it hurt so bad you vowed never to do it again? Well, let me tell you the benefits first. There's very little mess. You only feel a tampon when something isn't placed correctly. There's no smell. You're cleaner. You don't have to figure out how to get rid of a pad when you're at a friend's house. There isn't something between your legs that you have to worry about. You don't ruin as many sheets or shorts or pairs of underwear. It's better for the environment. They take up less space. You can sleep without worrying. You don't make that diaper noise when you walk.

Now. Again, if you only tried it that one time and you hated it, there could be several reasons. First, you might have been given a tampon that was the wrong size for you, or isn't one you'd be comfortable using. I can't go anywhere near those super absorbancy ones. My sister used to joke that you can hear the sucking noise before you put it inside your body. They are too big and scary for me, and I don't need that much cotton to do the job. If you're learning how to use it still, I'd start with a box of slenders. For your first few times, you'll probably want a plastic applicator, as they're easier to work with when you're learning. You can move on to the cardboard applicator (or for the adventurous-- no applicator!) once you get the hang of it and are used to inserting one.

Before you start, it's a good idea to get a mirror and put it between your legs to see what you're working with. Put one leg up on the toilet (lid down, please) and hold the mirror there. You should be able to see all of your parts. And every woman should know what their vagina looks like. I can't tell you how many grown women have never looked. That's you down there. It's pretty. It's yours.

You say it's hurting when you try and put it in? That's because you're trying to put something dry into your body. Move it around the outside for a second, and let some of your own moisture get on the tip of the tampon. For you virgins, this trick will come in handy later. DO NOT, DO NOT PUT VASELINE OR ANY OTHER OIL-BASED PRODUCT ON THE TIP OF THE TAMPON FOR LUBRICATION. You don't want oil inside of your vagina. Man. That's just asking for trouble.

Once the tampon is a little lubricated, it should slide right in. Angle it to the inside of your body, and aim the tampon towards your cervix. This means that you're putting the tampon in at an angle towards your butt. Don't drive the thing straight up, unless you're standing in a weird position. There you're probably in pain, anyway, because you're not relaxed, and your stressing yourself out and you're gonna end up scraping your insides and throwing it out declaring "Not for me."

Relax. It helps. Just like when you're at the gynocologist, you have to relax or the whole thing can become incredibly painful. For a body part that can pass a baby, we can make it so a straw can't even get inside if we want to. Work with your body, not against it.

When inserting the tampon with an applicator, hold the applicator between your middle finger and your thumb, right where the two parts of the applicator meet. Once you've inserted the tampon to where your fingers are touching your vagina, then you do the "plunge." Take your index finger and push the end of the applicator, which pushes the tampon into your body. Now: REMOVE THE APPLICATOR BY HOLDING ONTO THAT MIDDLE PART. Do you know how many women give up on tampons because they didn't know this step and were walking around all in pain? Remove it. Both parts. You should be holding a tube that's double layered, and the string should be hanging from between your legs.