Teens and first tampon use

[SusanBAnthony]

Does anyone have recommendations on YouTube videos to help. Teen with tampon insertion?

DD will be getting her period on about Wednesday of next week. She has daily swim practice and a meet next Thursday.

Last swim season she had just started her period and didn't get it all season thank God!

This summer she tried a tampon and it Did Not Go Well. We finally got the damn thing in after about an hour. When it was time to come out she was screaming in pain. Realized her hymen had caught on the tampon. My mom is a nurse and couldn't get it out. We had to go to the ER to get it out. Needless to say it was traumatic.

Nothing I say or do is helpful. I need a calm person in a video to help.

[erbear]

Aww, poor bug. I don’t have a video but I am 100% sure there is one out there. What worked for my daughter was my explaining the idea and sending her to figure out what her body looked like and how a tampon fits in there.

[jlt19]

Oh wow, that’s awful, I’m so sorry. Honestly, I’d let her take the lead on this and figure it out for herself at this point. I imagine she’s a bit traumatized and may not be ready to try again. If she really wants to go to practice, she’ll find a way.

Just make sure you have her start with the smallest, smoothest, plastic kind you can find and support whatever her choice is.

The first time DD tried she said it was super uncomfortable and took it out quickly after. The next day she told me she had done it wrong and it was fine now. So she either googled it or asked a friend. I had “taught” her a few years prior using a toothbrush holder, so guessing it wasn’t my tactic that helped, lol.

[minzy]

That sounds so unpleasant, poor thing.

I tried demonstrating on a mostly empty clear upside water bottle so it was transparent and she could see how it absorbed fluid. However, my kid has stuck with the swimming underwear to date as far as I know. Best of luck.

[majique]

My daughter is on the swim team too.

This is what she watched and it seemed to be very helpful. youtu.be/03G9H5H89mY?si=E6EYmlwcA7IpbDXa

[nicolewi]

Wow. I think I am traumatized by reading that story! Your poor daughter! No great tips because my daughter still struggles with this as well.

[heygrey]

Wow. Having that many people up in my bits the first time I used a tampon would have sent me over the edge for eternity. The fact that she's willing to try it again is remarkable.

I know it's a bigger financial investment, but what about a cup? Diva Cup makes a size 0 for teens and I'm sure there are other options. Even as an adult I don't love tampons. Unless they are soaked, they are always a little painful to pull out. The cup had a bit of a learning curve, but for me it doesn't leak and it isn't painful. I wish I would have had that option to try as a teen.

[bee20]

I found OB easier when I started because there isn't an applicator. If she only pushes it in partway it won't be comfortable but there isn't any pinching possible from the applicator . I found a cup much harder and more invasive to use than a tampon, you have to break the seal to get it out.

[livinitup]

When I was on the swim team in high school, 2 girls just used pads, removed in the locker room before the pool, swam as usual, and hopped quick back to the locker room when out of the pool for a fresh pad. No issues when in the pool without a tampon.

I may have never noticed but my mother kept telling me about how it “totally worked” so I took notice of the before/after hustle. Mom was anti-tampon for ‘virgins’.

Thanks, mom. I’ll melt into the floor now. Don’t mind me and my tam-poons.

[noodleoo]

Omg your poor kiddo. That sounds awful. I think I’d just try period swimwear if I were her.

[sonrisa]

If nothing you say or do is helpful then this sounds like your priority, not hers.

Does she want to just skip it all this month? If so, I'd let her and she can tell the coach she has diarrhea (or whatever else will keep him from punishing/pushing her for not swimming.)

My focus would be on doing whatever it takes so she can have a healthy, happy adulthood and future life. If that means swimming slows down but she emotionally heals, that would be okay with me. Get through a few periods without trauma, and then if she wants and is ready, she can try again.

[meganew]

God, I hate tampons. I have no advice since I hated them as a teen and still find them uncomfortable, but for her sake I hope she’s able to figure something out. I will say, of all the brands I’ve tried, Playtex sport is the most gentle.

[sonrisa]

Aug 23, 2023 21:56:17 GMT -5 livinitup said:

When I was on the swim team in high school, 2 girls just used pads, removed in the locker room before the pool, swam as usual, and hopped quick back to the locker room when out of the pool for a fresh pad. No issues when in the pool without a tampon.

I may have never noticed but my mother kept telling me about how it “totally worked” so I took notice of the before/after hustle. Mom was anti-tampon for ‘virgins’.

Thanks, mom. I’ll melt into the floor now. Don’t mind me and my tam-poons.

I had a friend who would do this with success. 

[treschic]

Aug 23, 2023 22:11:38 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Aug 23, 2023 21:56:17 GMT -5 livinitup said:

When I was on the swim team in high school, 2 girls just used pads, removed in the locker room before the pool, swam as usual, and hopped quick back to the locker room when out of the pool for a fresh pad. No issues when in the pool without a tampon.

I may have never noticed but my mother kept telling me about how it “totally worked” so I took notice of the before/after hustle. Mom was anti-tampon for ‘virgins’.

Thanks, mom. I’ll melt into the floor now. Don’t mind me and my tam-poons.

I had a friend who would do this with success. 

Maybe this tactic with period swim suit bottoms? She could maybe “practice” in the bath tub to make herself comfortable that the bottoms won’t leak?

[InBetweenDays]

Oh man that had to have been traumatic! Here is the video that DD watched the first time she used a tampon. I hope this time goes better!

youtu.be/03G9H5H89mY?si=u1_MU1dTdqQDLe3s

[gault]

You could be like my mom and literally mimic how to do it in the bathroom, squatting and angling your hands at your crotch. It won't be embarrassing for her at all!

[basilosaurus]

Gosh that had to have been rough.

Maybe try ob? I used applicators at that age which were always painful. But I was not given options. Once I found ob it was much easier. That's still my preference which has served me well in places that have it as the only tampon option

[SusanBAnthony]

Thanks all! Yes it was traumatic but she wants to use one. Yet gets so upset. She does do a period swim bottom for shorter practices but we don't think it will work for a longer meet where she is in and out of the water constantly. And she has a pretty heavy flow the first couple days.

Cup is a no go, we've tried.

She did start BCP this period and we will likely use it to have her skip periods, but her doctor wants her to take it normal for a couple cycles first.

[georgeglass]

My school nurse friends are all about the lube.


edited just to comment that that's not a sentence I ever expected to write.

[Birdie]

Aug 23, 2023 23:31:59 GMT -5 gault said:

You could be like my mom and literally mimic how to do it in the bathroom, squatting and angling your hands at your crotch. It won't be embarrassing for her at all!

My mom had never used a tampon, so I got to waddle around with mine half in half out the first time I tried one! It was still better than the jumbo sized pads she'd buy me.