s/o Are Tampons Really that Popular?

[abacus2]

In the thread about at what age girls should use tampons, someone posted that 70% of women prefer tampons. This surprises me, given how much I dislike them. I am curious if this poll will reflect those numbers.

[sarasue7272]

I used to use tampons all the time. The last time, several years ago, it hurt really bad and caused me to leak another liquid. That was a very bad day. I had to leave my buggy in the aisle and go straight home! Menstrual cup all the way. If I didn't have my cup, I would probably use a pad.

[poppy]

I started with pads and moved to pads by high school.  And to a diva cup after kids.  Each one was leaps and bounds better than the previous option!

[6packofun]

I would love to use tampons but after baby #4 things changed and they became uncomfortable no matter what kind I used.  :(  I started using them right away after getting my period at 13 because I swam competitively, but I never used them exclusively.  Not sure I'll ever try a cup because it seems annoying and sloppy and I don't want to spend money on something I probably won't like using a lot.

 

My period has never been that heavy, though, so pads aren't too annoying.  The other thread made me realize that even though I gave all of my girls a full explanation of their options, none of them has chosen to use tampons yet.  (None swim a lot, though, and oldest dd is NOT athletic, so that plays a part.)  So, all disposable pad users here.  We've toyed with the idea of getting cloth, but the upfront cost is a bit much for 4 women in the house.  lol

[The Girls' Mom]

I've always hated pads.  3 out 4 females here use tampons.  One does when swimming.  However, I did just start using the cup.  Loads better.

[SKL]

I used to use them 100% of my cycle.  As I got older, my periods got lighter and closer together, and tampons got less comfortable for me, so then I used them 50% of the cycle.  (I voted 50%.)  Now I am in perimenopause, so it varies from cycle to cycle.  I generally don't use disposable pads, but I usually wear cloth pads for backup / just in case.

[Farrar]

Pads are evil. And painful. And leaky. And uncomfortable. I occasionally hear of adults wearing pads and am baffled. I mean, to each their own, I guess. Everyone's body is different.

 

I have tried to use some of the cup options, but none of them have worked well for me.

[Joker]

I'm an adult and pads have never been painful, uncomfortable, or any more leaky than tampons for me.

 

None of the females in this house use tampons. I keep them and the girls know they can use them but so far no takers. Oldest tried but she had to wear both (she has to double up on pads) so she said it was pointless and no more comfortable.

[MyHandsAreFull]

Holy cow! Who knew?! I have always hated tampons and assumed the only reason anyone used them was for various activities.

 

I never feel like I put them in right and I'm afraid they will leak. Huh. Must just be me...

[Word Nerd]

If pads are painful, you're doing it wrong.

[SKL]

I find pads (used as primary protection) gross, especially on heavy days.

 

Not that all of it isn't kind of gross ....

[strange_girl]

If pads are painful, you're doing it wrong.

Exactly.

 

On the other hand, after trying several times with several different brands, I cannot get a tampon to be comfortable. At all. Or even bearable. So I hope I never have to use one. Ever. Again. Just me :)

[Amira]

Love them, although I've never used the applicator types (which is inconvenient because there seem to be none without applicators in Guadalajara).  Once you've tried to take enough feminine hygiene products to last a year or two in a suitcase when you only get one or two suitcases, tampons seem rather miraculous.  The applicators would ruin a lot of the space saving and I can't imagine throwing away that much plastic every single month.  Once I switched to tampons in my late teens, I've never gone back except for immediately after birth.

 

A menstrual cup would be even better in my suitcase, but I'm happy with tampons.  

[AFwife Claire]

Holy cow! Who knew?! I have always hated tampons and assumed the only reason anyone used them was for various activities.

 

I never feel like I put them in right and I'm afraid they will leak. Huh. Must just be me...

Not just you!  I feel the same way.  I used to use them back in high school and college, but I could never fathom forgetting one and leaving it in--I was always *really* aware there was something in there, and I was terrified of losing the string and not being able to get it out.  So I was just nervous whenever I wore one.  And then I started having babies (and nursing, and then being pregnant . . . I actually have had very few periods over the past almost 19 years), and since you can't wear tampons for the flow after birth, then I just always wore pads, and now I honestly can't remember the last time I used a tampon.  I don't have a very heavy flow, and I use those thin pads, so they are not uncomfortable to me.  But I'll certainly tell my daughters about them and give them options.  Makes no difference to me what they are comfortable with!  But I also am not going to giving them the impression that *everyone* prefers tampons, because that is not true for me.

[elegantlion]

I've tried every major brand of tampon. I've used them exclusively since about 3 months after starting my period at age 12. I'm 48. I had heavy periods most of my life. The best brand of tampon, imo, is OB. I've tried others and had leakage problems, OB have never failed me even when I had to use the Ultra (heaviest absorption) for a few years. I usually use a light liner with it. I cried when I had to use pad, I felt like I was wearing a diaper. Adhesive pads were fairly new when I started, before that it was the giant pads that clipped onto a belt - I was mortified thinking I'd have to use those. I never did. 

 

If I were younger, I'd try a cup, but at this point I don't want to change. I just want to be done with all completely. 

[milovany]

I started with pads, started using tampons in college (preferred ob), and then discovered the cup when I was about 42 years old.  As someone said upthread, each option was better than the previous one by leaps and bounds -- the cup is so fabulous that I can't imagine ever going back. 

[mom31257]

I love tampons and have used them since I was a teenager. Comfortable, less messy, no pad noise while walking.

[mamaraby]

Cups are incredibly uncomfortable for me and just plain inconvenient. Pads always felt like diapers, doubly so if we're talking the cloth ones (and I've tried quite a few). I'll stick with tampons. It's what I used from the first and with the exception of my "natural" phase, it's what I've always used.

[Guest]

I much preferred the Diva Cup once I found out about it, but dd never liked hers and went back to tampons.

 

Sadly, I felt the same way SKL does until I found out that menopause is infinitely more gross.

 

Society's attitude towards periods is gross; our bodies are not.

[Joanne]

I voted a "majority of the time" and "other."

The other is because I need to use both simultaneously now to deal with the menopausal issues.

[Farrar]

If pads are painful, you're doing it wrong.

 

I have never found anything beyond a panty liner that didn't chafe the sides of my legs. To be fair, I haven't tried in years. Maybe the technology has advanced, but I'm pretty dubious. I had many horrible raw legs as a young teen trying at least a dozen brands before I switched to tampons. They leak for me because they can't absorb the consistency of my flow, which is pretty thick. They just don't work for me. I'm pretty sure I'm not using them wrong any more than the people here who claim tampons are uncomfortable for them are using them wrong.

[skimomma]

I remember when I started that my mom believed that tampons were only for married women.  So, I had to start out with pads.  It was awful.  I hated them.  After just a few months I started sneaking ways to buy tampons.  I even had my high school boyfriend (who had a car) buy them for me.  I have to say that man, wherever he is now, should get a medal.  So much better!  In college, I discovered OB which was even better.  Soon after, cups became more available and I switched and have not looked back.  I will still use tampons when a cup is not the best option like when camping or being places where I don't have access to running water.  I have never once bought pads.  I occasionally wonder how my mom never noticed that I never asked for more....

 

I love cups (in my case Diva) and suggest them to anyone who asks (which is a surprisingly large amount of people) but am wary about offering that as an option to dd who will be starting soon.  I think it is a bit tricky for younger girls.  Has anyone here had a younger teen who used them with success?  I plan to just have a supply of everything, different pads, tampons, and disposable cups, and let dd figure out what she prefers.  But I have little hope that she will even try the cups.  She swims so that will be factor for her.  

[skimomma]

I have never found anything beyond a panty liner that didn't chafe the sides of my legs. To be fair, I haven't tried in years. Maybe the technology has advanced, but I'm pretty dubious. I had many horrible raw legs as a young teen trying at least a dozen brands before I switched to tampons. 

 

This was my experience as well.  It was awful.  It was 25+ years ago but what is on the market now does not look much different.

[Orthodox6]

Menopause is "gross"? I don't know what that would mean. I was so happy finally to reach it at the absurd age of fifty-nine that I still am happy!

[MyHandsAreFull]

I hate tampons with a passion. They feel so invasive.

 

I like Always Infinity pads. So very soft and absorbent.

Oh yes! I will buy generic for lots of things but not pads. Love Always Infinity!

[ikslo]

If pads are painful, you're doing it wrong.

 

Nope.  For me, a lot of pads result in a rash which feels like a yeast infection (but isn't).  So pads can most definitely be painful.

[Bluegoat]

I tried every kind of tampon as a teen, and they all leaked, so i needed a pad anyway.  Plus they often felt uncomfortable.  I also tried a cup when I was in university and it was beyond uncomfortable.

 

Since I've had kids, I can use the cup, though I still get some leaks, but it means I can use a lighter pad which is great.  I suppose tampons might be more comfortable too now but I don't know that they would be any more effective than they used to be and they would be more expensive.  Lately my periods have become more variable than before too - super heavy on a few days and then super light for a few so I only need a pantyliner.

 

I'm pretty blase about it at this point, but as a teen I was super stressed about finding a workable system that let me do what i wanted, and I never really did.

 

 

 

 

[poppy]

Pads are evil. And painful. And leaky. And uncomfortable. I occasionally hear of adults wearing pads and am baffled. I mean, to each their own, I guess. Everyone's body is different.

 

I have tried to use some of the cup options, but none of them have worked well for me.

 

You forgot smelly! It might not be as much of an issue anymore due to the marvels of modern pads, but I remember acute awareness of that issue when I was a young teen. 

 

I can't wear pads, I get a rash not unlike jock itch.  Which doesn't matter much for my period since I have other options. But it would be nice to wear Poise pads for the OTHER problem....

[earthyfamily]

Pads are super painful for me after a few days....but I can't wear tampons, those hurt me terribly.  I used a cup once and got TSS type symptoms...so I stopped using that.  I'm far too heavy of a flow for cloth pads (though I love them towards the end of my period, when I'm really light). So...pads it is and I just suck it up and endure the pain for a few days.

[Wabi Sabi]

I used almost exclusively tampons from the time I started menstruating until I was about 30, then I discovered cups and now prefer those. I'll use a tampon if I'm caught unprepared at work without my cup or when traveling (can't rinse out my cup in rest stops!), but it's pretty much just the Diva cup with an occasional Instead cup these days. 

Pads just do NOT work for me. I've tried and tried, but they bunch up, shift around, and even when wearing the big ones with huge wings I still manage to somehow get blood everywhere except for on the actual pad!

[foxbridgeacademy]

I started using them in my late teens and except for the couple months after giving birth have never gone back to pads.  I had a thermal ablation done when I was 30-ish and for years i didn't actually need anything.  I've had to go back to the small tampons (maybe 2-4 for the entire week) the past 2 years.  

[earthyfamily]

Oh yes! I will buy generic for lots of things but not pads. Love Always Infinity!

 

I tried those once....not nearly absorbent enough for me. :( Which is a shame because I really liked how thin they were.

[Chelli]

Tampons all the way! 

[Farrar]

Yes, I get the skin rash from pads too. You folks who don't get it are lucky. You have hardier skin than I have.

[OneStepAtATime]

Although I am now, I suspect, in perimenopause and my periods have been terribly erratic since cancer, I will say that prior to the inner workings getting a bit mucked up I HAD to wear tampons AND pads or I was changing every hour.  That makes it hard to get anything done.  I got used to it and was grateful for the option.  

 

TBH, though, I hate pads and tampons.  They are a necessary evil. 

[go_go_gadget]

There'll be a sampling bias on these boards, because alternative products (so all non-disposable products) are more likely to be used by people who already live an ''alternative'' lifestyle--like homeschoolers. If cups didn't exist or if I didn't know much about them, I'd still be a tampon user, and that's true of every cup user I know. 

[Cottonwood]

started my period at 12, used pads till 16.  Switched to tampons then.  Used them until 6 yrs ago when I switched to a cup.  

 

So, never use tampons, and prefer to use non disposable products.

[OneStepAtATime]

O.k. I admit I am totally ignorant here. What is a cup in this scenario?  

[MercyA]

Natracare products are great for those who react to conventional disposables.

[earthyfamily]

Natracare products are great for those who react to conventional disposables.

 

Wish they were absorbent enough for me.

[earthyfamily]

O.k. I admit I am totally ignorant here. What is a cup in this scenario?  

 

http://divacup.com/

 

http://softcup.com/

[Cinder]

Tampons preferred. I hate pads. Bleah.

[Mandamom]

I keep trying tampons and hoping they will work but I can't use them. They are not comfortable and I still have a lot of leakage. The diva cup was the same, with a lot of leaks and no change in flow when I was using it. 

 

Oh well, I keep trying.

[Butter]

I use a reusable cup.  If I can't for some reason, I use tampons.  I hate pads.

[Tanaqui]

A cup is a menstrual cup, such as a divacup, a lunette, or a mooncup. (There are other brands, those are just the ones we have in the house!) They do not absorb the menstrual fluid, they simply hold it until emptied. Most cups are designed to be reused indefinitely - after your cycle you simply wash in soap and hot water, or you may boil it if you prefer.

 

Personally, I find tampons to be waaaay too drying, and disposable pads do have a smell and itch issue. My flow is too heavy to just use a cup, but I find a combination of cup and cloth pad works well.

 

[Guest]

Pads are super painful for me after a few days....but I can't wear tampons, those hurt me terribly. I used a cup once and got TSS type symptoms...so I stopped using that. I'm far too heavy of a flow for cloth pads (though I love them towards the end of my period, when I'm really light). So...pads it is and I just suck it up and endure the pain for a few days.

I thought I read that you can't get TSS from a cup?? Am I making that up??

[ktgrok]

Pads are evil. And painful. And leaky. And uncomfortable. I occasionally hear of adults wearing pads and am baffled. I mean, to each their own, I guess. Everyone's body is different.

 

I have tried to use some of the cup options, but none of them have worked well for me.

 

Same here. They shift and bunch, they are crinkly, they come unstuck and then stick to my skin, they smell, and worse than that, they are wet on my skin. I don't care how "dry" they say they are, they aren't. I abhor them, and switched to tampons in junior high. After having kids I had to switch brands as the kind I used to use (tampaxpearl) are too long now. I can use the kotex U ones now, they are shorter and are totally comfortable. 

[kbutton]

Tampons have not worked since babies, and I considered them a necessary evil for some activities before that. I will be trying a new brand of cup, but I have no idea how that will go (diva was not a good model for me, but I like the idea of a cup). On a side note: Perimenopause + swimming as a favorite exercise = total frustration. :-) Yes, perimenopause is gross. Not to mention that having to wear black on the bottom half of my body for 2 week at a time is not fun in the summer (there is nothing that has curbed the accidental spills and drips of peri).

[HRAAB]

Tampons were the only thing that made my life livable during my period. Can I say how thrilled I am to not deal with that anymore?

[Tanaqui]

For those who have had trouble with one type of cup and would like to try a different one, you would do well to check out some size charts first. One size does NOT fit all.