Tampon Removal Question?

so I used a tampon (Playtex Gentle Glide) for the first time last month and everything with it went great (no pain or anything).

I was just wondering if it is normal to have to pull kinda hard to get it out. It was definitely saturated enough (it was a regular and had been in about 5 hours on my heaviest day and when it was in the toilet after it was pretty full...sorry TMI lol).

Thanks girls!

2009-03-27T20:13:58Z

alright, I feel better now lol

and Eric H, maybe I have a weird sense of humor (or maybe I'm just overexhausted) but your inappropriate comment actually made me laugh...

2009-03-27T20:17:10Z

i was using my muscles to help push it out (when purely relaxing wasn't doing to much that I was aware of lol)

and SummerLovin, you can wear a tampon (depending on your flow and the size of the tampon) for up to 8 hours safely. It says so right on the paper that comes with the tampons and I'm not naive enough to not know about TSS and how tampons play a part.

Odile2009-03-27T20:16:57Z

Favorite Answer

That's not unusual. Maybe you were a little tense when pulling it out.....take some big breaths and tug. Tampons need to be changed every 4 - 6 hours. They are definitely easier to pull out when they are saturated. Good luck, it will get easier.

NurseBelle2009-03-27T20:13:35Z

Yes this is normal.

When a tampon is inserted it expands when it comes into contact with fluid. So it swells up, bigger than when you inserted it. So long as it doesnt hurt it is ok that it feels slightly difficult to remove.

Make sure you relax as best you can before you remove it and this will help. x

Anonymous2009-03-27T20:13:11Z

That's totally normal. I have endometriosis so I have really bad periods and I still have to pull pretty hard to get it out. If it gets really hard to get out and isn't saturated use a smaller size.

Connie2009-03-27T20:22:18Z

If you're having to tug too much, you may want to switch down to a smaller size (i.e. light one) so that you're not leaving behind pieces of the tampon cotton, which can still become infected.

elapsedecho720002009-03-27T20:14:04Z

If it's really saturated then it shouldn't need to be tugged on too much to come out. But everybody's body is different. I don't think it's anything that you need to worry about at all!

Show more answers (16)