Are there helpful tips for inserting tampons?

Now that you know all of this information about tampons, it’s time to tell you the secret to effortlessly inserting tampons so that you can pass it along to your daughter.

But guess what? The secret is that there really is no secret.We gynecologists don’t have any special insights or methods that we learned in medical school or elsewhere. (Sorry about that.) However, the tips and steps listed below can be quite helpful to you and your daughter.

• First, your daughter should read the instructions in the tampon package. The pictures that accompany the directions can be particularly helpful.
• You should tactfully ask your daughter whether she wants help inserting a tampon for the first time. It’s her decision.
• Your daughter should try her first tampon on one of the days that her menstrual flow is the heaviest. This helps to ensure that dryness is not an issue during insertion or removal.
• Your daughter should start out using “slim” or “slender” tampons because they tend to be more comfortable. Also, it would probably be wise for her to choose a tampon with a rounded, smooth applicator because they typically are more comfortable than applicators with blunt ends.
• She may want to apply a small amount of lubrication such as K-Y Jelly to the applicator tip because it can help ease the insertion.
• Your daughter should find a position that is comfortable for her to insert the tampon. Most women insert a tampon while sitting on the toilet, but other women, especially adolescents, may find it’s easier if they remain standing in the bathroom and place one foot up on the toilet seat.
• Your daughter should relax as she inserts the tampon. Tensing the vaginal muscles causes resistance to the tampon, thereby making insertion more uncomfortable.
• She should hold the applicator between her thumb and her middle finger. Her index finger should be kept free so that she can push in the tampon.
• Using her other hand, she should separate the labia (lips) of her vagina and insert the tampon applicator into the vaginal opening.
• Some adolescents find that a small hand mirror is initially helpful in locating the vaginal opening.
• Using her index finger, she should push the tampon all the way in while holding the applicator steady with her thumb and forefinger.
• She should then remove the applicator, being careful not to pull on the tampon string.
• Your daughter can remove the tampon at any time simply by pulling on the string.

It’s important for your daughter to know that once the tampon is inserted she shouldn’t feel it or even sense that it’s there. If it’s constantly making its presence known, it may be positioned incorrectly or not be inserted far enough. The best thing to do in that case is to remove the tampon and try again with a new one. Remind your daughter that practice makes perfect with tampon use, and with time it will become a comfortable routine during a rather uncomfortable time of the month.