12 tampon mistakes you may be making unknowingly

Surprisingly, while you can take on the world with a tampon on while aunt flow is visiting, you could be making some tampon mistakes knowingly or unkowingly. Yes, tampons are comfortable AF especially cause you can do nearly everything in them, like a daily dose of masturbation, swimming or even getting some cunnilingus, don't roll your eyes, c'est possible! But even with all those very important benefits, tampons can end up being harmful to your health if used wrongly. Here are ways you may be using tampons wrongly.

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1. You're not inserting the tampon far enough.

If the tampon is not far enough, you will be super uncomfortable. You will not sit or even walk comfortably because you will feel it at the opening of your cervix. The tampon comes with a string for a reason so do not be afraid to push it up a little further.

2. You're keeping your tampon in for way too long.

Even if your flow is not that heavy, a tampon needs to be changed every 4-8 hours. When you're wearing a tampon, in many instances, you can tell when it's getting full but if you don't want to risk soiling your clothes, always set your timer to remind you.

3. You're sleeping while wearing a tampon.

Keeping a tampon in for more than 8 hours can lead to an infection called Toxic Shock Syndrome which is a potentially deadly disease.

4. You're not washing your hands before inserting the tampon.

You may have come into contact with bacteria and if you do not wash your hands, you may ned up transfering that bacteria into your vagina.

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5. Not moving the string when peeing and pooping.

Technically, you're not supposed to pee and poop while you have your tampon on but then, it doesn't make sense to remove the tampon that often so what you need to do is ensure that you're not peeing on the string and, when you do a number two, ensure that you wipe well, ensuring that the string doesn't get any poop as the bacteria in the feces may come in contact with the vagina thus leading to an infection.

6. You're using scented tampons.

We may be tempted to use scented tampons so as to smell better but more often than not, scented tampons will end up irritating the skin around the vagina.

7. You forget to take it out.

Trust me, it happens to the best of us. Sometimes, we even have sex and forget that we had a tampon on. So what happens when you have sex with a tampon on is that it gets pushed up, including the string. In the event this happens, squat and use your clean fingers to remove it, simply insert your finger and pull it out.

8. You're wearing two tampons at the same time.

You might be thinking to yourself "who in the world does that?" Well, some people do, perhaps afraid that that one is not is not enough and they may end up soiling their clothes. But wearing two tampons at the same time means that you risk 'losing' one in the vagina see point number 7.

9. You wear a tampon on the last day of your periods.

This may irritate the walls of the vagina and even cause dryness of the vagina. On the last days, instead of wearing a tampon, wear a panty liner.

10. Not removing your tampon after swimming.

The chlorine in the water may cause irritation and you should change the tampon after swimming.

11. Wearing the wrong absorbent tampon.

Wearing a super tampon on the first and second day of your period is okay since most of the time the period is heavy on the first days, but as the period gets lighter, you should switch to regular tampons to avoid dry vaginal tissue and the risk of contacting Toxic Shock Syndrome.

12. Wearing a tampon when you're not on your periods.

Sometimes, when you're planning on going commando because the dress you're wearing shows the panty line, you may be tempted to slide in a tampon to soak up the lady juices. But that's totally dangerous. You may disrupt the PH and the good bacteria in your vagina, leading to an infection. Wearing a tampon when you're not on your periods may also lead to dry vagina tissue and this may led to tears and lesions during sex and well, who wants dry, painful and uncomfortable sex?

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