In the American film *She's the Man*, the female protagonist, Viola, moves into a boarding school in place of her twin brother, Sebastian, and joins the school's soccer team. Later, during her period, her roommate discovers her tampons, leading to a very awkward situation. The girl cleverly suggests using tampons to stop her nosebleed, and her male roommate actually uses them.
Many viewers burst into laughter at this scene, which also made everyone who watched it remember tampons.
This product was invented in 1929. Due to its many advantages, such as not affecting clothing or sports, tampons are widely popular in Europe and America, with a penetration rate of 70-80%. However, in China, its market share is less than 3% . One of the important reasons for this is that many people believe that using tampons will break the hymen.
Today, Xiao Jiu has invited Dr. Liu Zhaohui, Chief Physician of Gynecology at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University , to talk to us about tampons.
Advantages of tampons:
When a tampon is inserted correctly, there should be no foreign body sensation "down there". If you feel discomfort, it is likely that it is not inserted deep enough . Insert a new tampon, pushing the inner tube into the vagina before pushing the outer tube in, and try to insert the outer tube slightly into the vagina. Of course, do not insert it too deep, making sure your hand can reach the outer tube.
Women with heavy flow know the pain of side leakage; they need to wear longer diapers during the day and diapers at night. However, tampons generally don't leak unless they're fully saturated. If you see the string turning red, you need to change the tampon immediately. If you want to sleep in, it's best to wear a sanitary pad as well.
Using tampons is indeed convenient, and some users even exclaimed after their first use that it's a window the world has opened to women. However, Chinese women still have reservations about them, worrying that they might damage their hymen.
Will using tampons "puncture" the hymen?
Regarding this concern, Dr. Liu stated, " Theoretically speaking, virgins can use tampons. The so-called hymen is not a membrane, but rather an elastic fold of mucous membrane located at the vaginal opening. There is an opening of about 2cm in diameter in the middle of this fold, so inserting a tampon with a diameter of about 1cm will not damage the fold. "
While tampons won't damage the hymen, Dr. Liu doesn't recommend them for virgins . Firstly, the insertion position is likely to be incorrect, and secondly, when menstrual flow is light, the lack of lubrication increases the difficulty of insertion. If you're worried about damaging your hymen, girls who have no sexual experience and whose hymen is still intact should avoid using tampons for now.
What's truly noteworthy is that many people forget to change tampons because they don't feel like a foreign object and aren't as easily visible as sanitary napkins. Dr. Liu warns, " Blood is an excellent culture medium that allows microorganisms to multiply rapidly. If you're going to use tampons, remember to change them frequently, ideally every two hours. Never leave them in for extended periods! Bacteria will multiply inside ."
If you don't remove tampons for a long time, you may get this disease.
A netizen asked online that they had left a tampon inside their body for four years and later discovered that it had become fused with their body. Touching it with force would cause mild, dull pain, and their vaginal discharge sometimes contained a small amount of white, flocculent material similar to cotton fibers with a slight fishy smell. What should they do?
Seeing this, Xiao Jiu was truly worried for her and, of course, rushed to the hospital to have the tampon removed. She was lucky; her life wasn't in danger. If it had been toxic shock syndrome (TSS), there would have been no time to lose.
TSS is a serious and life-threatening bacterial infection. 90% of those infected are young menstruating tampon users , thus it is believed that the absorbency of sanitary pads is associated with toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
Tampons come into close contact with vaginal epithelial cells. Not changing tampons for extended periods increases the risk of Staphylococcus aureus entering the bloodstream. Generally, tampons should not be left in the body for more than 6 hours.
American model Lauren Wasser contracted Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) at the age of 24 after using highly absorbent tampons during her period, and subsequently had both legs amputated below the knees.
Although the probability of TSS during menstruation is very low, to avoid a tragic discovery, Xiao Jiu reminds everyone to remember to change tampons frequently.
Comment below: Have you ever used the Sanitary Slimming product?
