Is it okay to use tampons?

Whether tampons are useful or not depends on the individual. Some women have very little menstrual flow, in which case it is better to use tampons without worrying about changing them too frequently. If the menstrual flow is heavy, it is recommended not to use tampons as much as possible. If you must use them, you must change them frequently to avoid backflow of menstrual blood and avoid long-term use that may lead to bacterial growth and vaginal infection.

A tampon, also known as a sanitary plug or simply a tampon, is a cotton cylinder that can be inserted into the vagina to absorb menstrual blood when a woman has her period. A regular tampon user may use more than 10,000 tampons in their lifetime. The material of tampons is mainly made of cotton, synthetic fibers or a mixture of these two materials. They come in sizes ranging from 1 cm to 1.9 cm in diameter, with a cotton thread (drawstring) attached to the end.

Tampons are not suitable for girls who have no sexual experience and whose hymen is still intact. In addition, because tampons press on the vaginal wall, they can sometimes cause ulcers in the vaginal wall. There have also been reports abroad of horrific cases where the use of tampons caused a large number of Staphylococcus aureus to multiply in the vagina, resulting in symptoms such as sore throat, fever, joint and muscle pain, low blood pressure, and even shock.

The biggest concern of many women who have no sexual experience about using tampons is whether tampons will damage the hymen? According to a study published by Dr. Emans in 1994, there was no significant difference in the hymen between habitual tampon users and habitual tampon users in women with no sexual experience. The reason is that the hymen is an elastic tissue with an opening diameter of about 2.5 cm, while the diameter of a tampon is about 1.5 cm. If used correctly, it will not cause much damage to the hymen.

The above introduces some possible problems with the use of tampons. Let me emphasize again here that tampons are not popular in my country or Asia, and many women don’t even know about tampons. As to whether tampons are suitable for Asian women, it will take some time to verify. Therefore, female friends who want to use tampons should consider it carefully.