This may be gross, but……
I am not a tampon kind of gal.
Something about tampons seems so unnatural. If your body is trying to expel a fluid, why would you stop it? Why would you place a plug into your body, trapping what is inside? I think at this time of the month, you need to respect your vagina and give it some room to breathe, dammit!
Last month I did a photo shoot and I was on my period. Foolishly, I decided that I would try using tampons so that I wouldn’t have to reschedule with the photographer.
So I used the tampon, but only for the duration of the shoot (4 hours). When I got home, I felt fine until later that night. Turns out that I had a very bad allergic reaction to the foreign object that was invading my body! I am only now starting to feel better.
Call me old fashioned, but I’m sticking with pads. It seems gross, but I’d rather let my body “breathe” and have its own natural “flow”. It just seems like common sense to NOT stick a MAN made product up inside me for any amount of time.
I think there is a tampon conspiracy!
I feel the same way. Pads all the way. Go with the flow!
Dave
Totally agree with you there! I hate tampons! The only thing that goes up my cooter is made of hard plastic and vibrates or is attached to a man.
You aren’t gross at all!
Let it flow, let it flow!!!
This is something that happens every freakin’ month and isn’t going away until menopause and is utterly natural. I hate tampons, too. I hate society for acting like menstrual blood is so taboo and dirty and you gotta “plug” your cootchie up! Hate it!
Cool! I’m glad I’m not alone on this one.
I don’t even have a vagina and I agree with you. Tampons sound really uncomfortable, like shoving toilet paper in your nose to stop a nosebleed. It all has to come out eventually, why plug it up?
Have you heard of “free bleeding”? Walk around for a day with nothing holding up yer menses and you will bless the ground.
“Until recently, I hadn’t thought much about “free bleeding,” because it seemed very obviously impractical to me to refrain from any kind of menstrual product and just bleed all over things during magic time. It seemed like a lot of laundry and public concern would ensue. I couldn’t think of any motivation to consider the idea, nor could I see any practical way to implement it even if I did decide it was a great plan. (“Hello coworkers– don’t be concerned. I’m not hemorraging; I’m a natural woman! Oh sorry, was that your upholstered chair?…”)
It suddenly occurred to me one morning that I am already, in fact, quite a shamelessly free bleeder. Up until then, I had considered myself just lazy about product refreshment schedules. I tend to go productless in the bath and shower, and often to bed for convenience in bedtime seductions (and afterwards, while all comfy and warm, how could I want to hop up to find a tampon or whatever?). Also, I tend to ignore signs that my products are becoming squishy and about to lose all effectiveness if I am doing something interesting. If I am not bleeding heavily, as is common these days on the evil pill, I often leave the house in a productless state, carrying something with me if I anticipate an emergency…”
I really like the idea of “free bleeding”. What an beautiful way to think about being a woman.
Thanks for turning me on to this.
~April
okay, i’m with you there…but doesn’t it seem kinda weird to say that and then shave your pussy? just sayin…
Becca,
I don’t think it’s weird at all. You obviously missed the point.
Tampons and pads are feminine hygiene choices.
A waxed pussy is an aesthetic choice (like wearing lipstick, painting your nails, wearing jewelry, etc.)
They are two completely different things.
~April
I feel you, my sister. I just jammed a tampon in my vagina to go swimming and it was so damn uncomfortable that I turned around and went home. Yeeerch!
I am perimenopausal, and for all of my menstrating life, I have hated tampons. Like you said, the body needs to expell naturally. Just to let you know, this is going to be gross and not nicely intimate. I turned to tampons when even the overnight pads didn’t do the job, because all of my menstrual flow migrates to the back of my butt-crack, staining whatever I’m wearing. I solved this problem by putting a plug of toilet paper at the end of my butt, and that effectively has stopped the flow from reaching my pants or skirts so I don’t have to worry about stains to the public, and I work with all guys, 3 of the 4 are married, but still.
Despite heavy pressure from my daughter and sister, who both swear by Kotex Security tampons, I find them draining, and drying, and encouraging big clots to form which come out later, sometimes not at a good time. I’m glad I have sympathy!! Mary
free bleeding…. I have heard of “weed and bleed”. One the first day (typically the heaviest day) of your period weeding the yard, and letting the blood fall to the soil.
Also, there are cloth, reusable pads to consider. You can buy them or make them yourself. I find about four layers of cotton flannel sewed together around the edges in a “pad” shape to be great. Soak them in cold water a few hours or overnight then offer the water to your outdoor plants (I prefer to feed non-food plants). Wash them in a warm water wash, with a oxygen-type cleaner if you like. Dry in the dryer and/or put them in the sun to dry.
If I will be out in public for an extended period of time, I might revert to the store-bought variety since cloth doesn’t offer a water-proof backing to prevent leaking, and cotton pads are usually thicker than the thin disposable pads. I am always happy to go home and change back into the feeling of cotton. Besides, in the long run it saves money, and definitely reduces waste.
Actually, it is really unnatural. Tampons (and most conventional pads as well) contain lots of harsh chemicals, the least toxic of which is bleach. Certainly not anything I’d want to put in or around my lady parts. I’d recommend washable pads- Lunapads are sold tons of places, but I prefer P.I.M.P.s (Party In My Pants)- they’re made by these two sisters in Wisconsin, and they’re super soft flannel on top of a waterproof polyester background. Comfy, safe, and economical.