What Every Girl Needs to Know About her Period Tampons
Tampons, like pads, are products designed to absorb menstrual flow. They come in all different sizes and absorbencies. Tampons are made of soft cotton or rayon-cotton blend fibers pressed together to form a cylinder-like shape, so that they can fit into the opening of the vagina. A tampon absorbs your menstrual flow, or blood, before it has a chance to leave the body.
Tampons & FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is a U.S. government agency that regulates tampons with strict health safety standards to ensure that their design and materials are safe. The FDA makes tampon manufacturers run tons of safety studies, and won’t allow the sale of their products without them passing a brutal set of tests.
The FDA also sets the rules for tampon absorbency ratings (see section below on TSS for absorbency range chart).
IMPORTANT: PLEASE ALSO SEE THE SECTION ON TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME (TSS) BELOW FOR SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT MENSTRUAL TSS.
Tampons & Virgins
Tampons can be used by virgins without “de-virginizing” them.
Most women are born with a hymen, a thin piece of skin just inside the vaginal opening that’s not essential to life or health. The hymen usually has at least one opening for the period to flow out of. Some girls are born without a hymen, which is perfectly normal! A girl can tear her hymen during non-sexual activities like sports, horseback riding, etc. She often has no idea she’s torn her hymen, since there may be no blood or pain.
There is NO medical/scientific proof that tampons make the vagina get larger. The vaginal canal is made of flexible, muscular walls that expand and shrink as needed (think about how babies come out!).
Petite Amie tampons are available in two absorbency ranges: Regular and Super.
Period Pointers
Tampon Insertion
It’s much easier to insert a tampon when you’re relaxed. Don’t lotion your hands before you put a tampon in. It makes hands slippery and can irritate the delicate skin down there.
Dab a little lubricant (NOT a petroleum based lubricant) on the tip of your tampon for easier insertion.
Tuck the tampon string back towards your butt to prevent mortifying moments, like when it dangles from your bikini bottoms.
What to Expect & When to Change
There’s blood on your tampon string, it usually means it’s time to take it out. Never keep your tampon in longer than 4 hours. You may want to add a pantyliner at the start of your period to handle any overflow or leakage. Use your pads at night. Sometimes clumps of tissue come out along with blood during your period, which is normal
Period Problems & Solutions
Rollercoaster hormone levels before and during your menstrual cycle can cause strange things to happen and are often symptoms of PMS (PreMenstrual Syndrome):
Zits
Food Cravings
Mood Swings (Advice: saying little is best)
Body Bloat (AKA the Beluga Blues)
Cramps
Eat Smart
Don’t get all paranoid and stop eating; it’s perfectly normal to feel bloated during your period.
Spread out your regular amount of daily food across 6 meals eat 3 small meals + 3 light snacks to avoid long periods of time without eating.
Don’t pig out! Resist caffeine including coffee, tea, colas, energy drinks and chocolate. Skip the salt – it causes bloating and swollen hands & feet
Avoid processed, fast, and junk foods, salt-loaded snacks and the salt shaker.
Skin Savers
Avoid greasy foods. Keep skin clean and steer clear of greasy/heavy makeup.
Exercise, Cramps, Etc
Go for aerobic activity (running, walking, biking, swimming, etc.), 3-5 days a week for 20 to 60 minutes, and start slow if you do not exercise regularly. To relieve cramps, use a heating pad or patch, take a hot bath or an over-the-counter pill (see your doctor first).
Irregular Periods
When you first get your period, it can be irregular. Your body probably won’t be on a regular schedule for a few months. Remember, you can still get pregnant even if your period is irregular. Make sure to use a reliable, proven birth control method if you are sexually active.
Vaginal Odor
Some girls get an unpleasant odor during or after their period, which is normal. Odor can be due to sweat. To help prevent or reduce odor, try the following:
Keep your privates clean and dry
Avoid irritating soaps, and stick with bath and feminine hygiene products that are free of heavy perfumes
Change tampons and pads frequently
Wear loose cotton underwear (vs. synthetic fibers) that breathes
After swimming, change into dry clothing and don’t sit around in your wet suit
If you still notice an icky smell, talk to your mom, school nurse, or other trusted adult, or see your doctor. It may be something you need to have checked.
TSS Section
Following is information you should know about Toxic Shock Syndrome:
TSS is caused by the common and usually harmless bacteria S. aureus, which often hangs around on the skin, and in the nose, armpit, groin or vagina.
About 1/3 of the population carries the bacteria that causes TSS without a clue or a problem.
Sometimes TSS is caused by infections following surgery, insect bites or burns.
Using any tampon, whether cotton or rayon of any absorbency may increase TSS risk compared to using pads.
Who gets TSS?
TSS is not picky – it affects men, women and children.
For a tiny number of people, certain types of the bacteria create TSS-causing toxins. Most people have the antibodies to fight off the toxins, while a few don’t. But this is really rare.
Women under 30, especially teenagers, are at higher risk for TSS because some may not yet have the antibodies to fight the toxin.
Once you’ve had TSS, you are more likely to get it again, compared to someone who never had it. So if a doctor has told you that you had TSS, use pads until he/she says it’s OK to use tampons.
Menstrual TSS & Symptoms
About half of the reported cases are “Menstrual TSS” and associated with women using tampons. Menstrual TSS can be hard to identify because it can imitate the flu, and not all TSS cases are alike.
Symptoms may include sudden high fever (102 Degrees F or more), accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, and/or a sunburn-like rash, during or right after your period. All symptoms are not always present.
These symptoms usually appear very quickly and are often severe. Other signs may be aching muscles and joints, eye redness, sore throat and weakness. One or 2 weeks after first symptoms appear, flaking and peeling skin occurs, mainly on palms and soles of feet.
What to Do about Menstrual TSS Symptoms
CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY! If you have TSS and do not receive immediate medical care, you may be at risk of dying.
Remove your tampon immediately and stop using.
Tell the doctor that you are menstruating and you were wearing a tampon.
If your doctor believes you have TSS, you will probably have to go to the hospital for emergency care. With proper treatment, patients usually recover in two to three weeks.
Tampon Absorbency and Menstrual TSS Risk
Studies by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other organizations have shown that higher absorbency tampons may increase menstrual TSS risk because they can be left in longer, which may encourage bacteria growth.
To reduce your risk of TSS, the FDA recommends using a tampon with the lowest absorbency possible for handling your flow. The risk of menstrual TSS can be reduced by not using tampons at all, or by alternating with pads.
Tampon Absorbency Rates
A tampon’s Absorbency Rate is how fast it soaks up menstrual flow; it is measured in grams of fluid.
Tampons are available in four absorbency ranges (refer to the absorbency rating chart above). Under a new system adopted by all tampon manufacturers, tampons within a given range will have the same absorbency label. For example, all tampons labeled “Regular” will absorb the same amount (6-9 grams).
Match absorbency to your flow – and always use the minimum absorbency to meet your needs. (This may reduce TSS risk.)
Because your period varies from day to day, you may want to use Regular absorbency on days when you have light flow. On heavy days you might want Super absorbency.
If your tampon has to be changed before four hours passes, maybe try a higher absorbency.
You usually don’t need high absorbency tampons when your period is almost over.
Petite Amie tampons are available in two absorbency ranges: Regular and Super.
