tampons (ladies only)

[aarealskei]

I have a question. I have only tried tampons years ago and HATED them. Yesterday, my husband bought a pool for the family and we made plans to go swimming today. When I went to bed last night, I got my period. While I don't like tampons, I know my only choices are to not swim or learn to wear one.

My question is this: Which tampons are the easiest to insert and the most comfortable to wear. Since I have not purchased them in years, I have no clue as to which brand to buy. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[EquiPro]

Forgoe tampons entirely and go buy The Keeper.

http://thekeeper.com/

I used tampons for 30 years and the keeper is wonderful. You don't have to change it as often, it doesn't leak, and you aren't adding to the billions of tampons that wind up in the landfill each year. I have a post on this here:

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5413&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Good Luck!

[oneness]

sorry i do not have enough experience with different brands. i would post this question on the health board or look though the other female health threads. i doubt many people will see this here in products.

[aarealskei]

Thanks Oneness...I wasn't sure where to post. I figured since I was asking for help on a product that I had to post it here. I will post in the health section.

[kristadb]

Plastic applicators are the easier and most comfortable to wear.

Slender - Super depend on your flow, so buy accordingly.

EquiPro, since she needs it today, I doubt she'll be able to fork over the $$ for same day shipping for a Keeper ;)

[janette]

you can use sea sponge, also.

[punkmommy]

I use the Organic Essentials tampons. If you have trouble using them, maybe use a little lubricant? I'd like to get the Keeper when I have some money, it sounds like less of a hassle. I don't mean to interrupt your thread aarealski, but is the Keeper latex? I have allergic reactions with latex- ugh.

[CaptainSwab]

I've used the tampax peral plastic kind before. They just glide right in.

[EquiPro]

I like the kind that you put in yourself, like the original OB's - although I prefer the ones that are natural from the HFS. I always hated applicators - they seemed to always shove the tampon into the wrong place. I also don't like Tampax or any of the brands that expand lengthwise instead of widewise.

Additionally, when there is no applicator, it is so much more descrete. I would try some this month, then, if you can afford it, try the Keeper. BTW, the Keeper is made from natural rubber, so you shouldn't be allergic to it.

[Thalia]

Well, in another thread (http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3075&perpage=20&highlight=keeper%20latex&pagenumber=2) Soilman said rubber and latex are the same thing. :(

Yes, I agree that the plastic ones are easiest to put in, and if it doesn't feel like it is going in right, adjust your body perhaps by crouching with your torso angled down or other possible positions.

Once you get used to the plastic ones, you could then "graduate" to something more environmentally sound if you wish.

But something like a sea sponge or OB's might be easier yet for getting into position, bc you can feel and control where it is going.

Basically, if you can feel it, it's probably not in right.

[aarealskei]

Thanks, everyone, for the input. I am intriqued by the Keeper, and looked at the site, but like Krista said, I needed something today. I ended up buying a box of Kotex brand....they were cheap and $$$ I do not have right now. We honestly had no business even buying the pool. My hubby broke down and got it because he wanted to do something nice for the family instead of working so hard for everyone else's benefit. (Insight: My hubby agreed to video and photograph the recital that my daughter and I were in this past Friday. He was to take pictures on Thurs. and then do the video on Fri. When Fri. rolled around, the owner of the dance studio told him he had to take photos again on Fri. and was instructed to just set his video camera up and leave it on to tape. The bad thing was that my hubby would not be anywhere near the vacinity of the video camera during the show. To make a long story short...we invested tons of money into buying equipment for this show with intentions of making it back once we sold videos....well....the auditorium we were dancing in had their own people there to operate the lights, etc.....they turned off the power to the outlet that my hubby had his video camera and things plugged into during the second half of the show. SO...now, there will be no videos to sell to regain some of the money we invested, and me and my daughter danced in the second half of the show. Needless to say, we were all bummed out!!)

So...now I have a pool! Anyway...back to the actual subject. I have to say that I was NOT impressed with the tampon I used, and it hurt to remove. Are the natural ones better or is the Keeper less painful? I noticed that the Keeper suggested that people who suffer with UTI drink extra fluids as the problem can increase due to using the Keeper. I suffer with bladder problems, so I wonder if any type of tampon idea is even safe for me. I would love to continue to hear from others, and I am going to look into ALL of the products that are listed from each person.

Thanks bunches!! It's so nice to have a place to go to ask for help.

[thefragile77]

Ok this may sound gross but you actually stop bleeding in the water for some reason. As long as change just before you jump in and straight after you get out you should be ok. I'm guessing it has something to do with primal self-defence i.e. predators would be able to 'smell' the blood in the water? I dunno. I was told that years ago by my PE teacher and I tried it and it works *shrug*

[aarealskei]

Are you saying that I don't need to bother with wearing a tampon (I could use a pad to line the bathing suit) as long as I go straight into the water and then straight to the bathroom afterwards? I wonder how that works if it's a heavy day? I bet that's correct, though. I put the tampon on and went straight into the water. As soon as I got out of the pool, I removed the thing, and there was just a speck of blood on it. Perhaps that's why it hurt so bad to remove it. Wow...interesting....

[aarealskei]

Krista....I tried doing a search for equipro and came up with nothing. Where do you purchase yours?

[kristadb]

Don't use a liner in the water! TRUST ME! Don't :)

Aarealskei, you aren't supposed to remove the tampon until it's "full" or it will hurt. Depending on how heavy a bleeder you are, you may need a couple hours before you can remove it comfortably.

As for bleeding in the pool...I have, so perhaps mine is broken ;)

[kristadb]

I don't have a Keeper. I rarely need to use anything and when I do, it's a plastic tampon or a pad/liner (depending on the blood issue).

Considering that I had a box of tampons expire on me once, the Keeper is really a waste of money ;)

[aarealskei]

Janette....I looked up the sea sponge and am interested in those. They seem easy to use and less painful. My only question is do they leak???

[aarealskei]

Forgive me for asking, Krista, but do you have irregular periods? I went for 6 months without having one, and then last month I had a heavy one, and this month it's beginning slowly. My body is weird. I would love to try the Keeper, but like you, I don't know if it's worth the price, and like I said earlier, I don't really have the money to buy one. If my hubby's mom hadn't paid him money for a website he put together for her, we would not have been able to buy the pool. We really should have bought groceries with the money...oh well...at least I'll lose a couple of pounds and look nicer in my bathing suit. :D

[kristadb]

Nope, mine are lovely. 10 minutes (heavy) 2 days (light spotting) every 29 days. Glorious, I tell you! Glorious!

When I wasn't on the pill, they were 1 day (heavy) 3 days (light spotting) every 29 days.

My body likes me ;)

[austinswingrr]

thefragile77 - I have also found that I stop bleeding in the water. I have never tried swimming without any sort of product, but I have noticed the blood stops when I am in the shower. (!!!!) That is, not even submerged! Only thing is, the magic trick doesn't work on my first and maybe second day when the flow is heavy.

[MRSSHF]

I'm amazed that some women actually do stop bleeding when they are in the water. When I was 10 or so, they showed a sex ed. video in school that claimed that the bleeding stopped when in water, but when I started my period, it certainly didn't stop when I was in water. I reached the conclusion that the sex ed. video must have been perpetuating some old myth in order to get girls to bathe when they were on their periods or something. LOL. I guess you learn something new every day.

As for tampons, if it hurts when you pull it out, it hasn't been in long enough to collect enough fluid to make it pull out comfortably. As a general rule, when you want to remove a tampon, start by relaxing. Tense muscles can make it difficult to remove a tampon. Once you're relaxed, gently tug on the cord. If it doesn't want to move, leave it alone and wait for another hour.

That being said, I don't have that problem with OB tampons, especially if I'm using the correct absorbancy. Tampax, on the other hand, feels like it's made out of sand paper when I try to remove it unless it's so full that it's leaking.

[1vegan]

*ladies only ? *

Back to topic:

When it hurts to take the tampon out, you take it out to soon, or it's to big for you. (or you don't bleed enhough for the size of it)

Don't keep tampons in too long, because in some special cases you could get (toxic shock ?) syndrome ?

[Grateful_Veggie]

I have used OB (the original applicator free ones) exclusively, never tried the ones with the applicator.

I like OB - they're small and easy to carry, and there's no cardboard or plastic to clutter up the landfills. I am told there are similar products at health food stores, but have never tried them.

I was a competitive swimmer for many years and there is some truth to the "temporary cessation" while in the water. However, it doesn't work for everyone the same way, or at all (for me, hot or warm water doesn't work while cold water does) and there can still be some leakage...which can be embarassing and unsanitary.

[Strix]

I always understood sea sponges to be animals; therefore, not vegan or vegetarian.

http://www.foodrevolution.org/askjohn/49.htm

John Robbins says these are technically not supposed to be sold because of bacteria, etc.; yet, I see them all the time in health markets and vitamin shops.
I have read that there are plant sponges, but don't know much about them and have never seen them.
Anyone know about plant sponges? Or even if they do exist?

[LadyFaile]

i'd thought they were animals too. i definately never thought they could be used for that purpose anyway lol

i rarely use tampons but decided to give them another shot, i've got the little ob ones with no applicator. they seem like a good idea but i dunno if i'm shaped funny or what cause i've never been able to get one in right. that whole if you can feel it it's not in right thing seems to be true, i can always feel them. in fact i can feel them sliding downwards every time i take a step, stand up, sit down etc. not good!! but hey they don't leak lol. i don't see how i could be doing it wrong as it's pretty foolproof but there you have it. i do find them more hygenic than pads anyway. i'm always self conscious and paranoid about cleanliness at that time of the month so i like them for that