How To Choose The Right Tampon Size

Today, you have numerous menstrual products at your disposal to make your periods more hygienic and manageable. One of those products is tampons. After pads for periods, they are the most popular and commonly used period products. Women prefer them for the level of discretion and freedom that they provide. Modern-era tampon brands offer quality tampons that are convenient to use and efficient. However, if you have been considering using a tampon but haven’t yet, chances are you are confused about its size. You don’t want to pick the wrong size and end up leaking or worse, hurting yourself, right? Well, fret not. We are here to help you crack this shell and choose the ideal size to fit your flow pattern. So, let’s get started. 

Different Tampon Sizes

First of all, you must understand that a tampon’s size doesn’t depend on the size of your vagina. Rather, it simply refers to its absorbency. So, a big tampon size has a higher capacity to absorb and similarly a small size tampon has a lower capacity to absorb menstrual fluid. This means that even if you have got the best tampons that may have worked beautifully for a friend, they may not work for you if you both have different flows. 

Most tampon brands offer the following sizes or absorbances of tampons:

Light (up to 3 ml)- for very light flow

Regular (up to 5 ml)- for medium flow

Super (up to 12 ml)- for heavy flow 

Right Tampon Size for Different Period Flows 

As tampon sizes correspond to their absorbance power or the amount of menstrual blood that they can absorb, you need to pick a tampon to accommodate your flow. 

Light Flow

Typically, you experience very light bleeding when your period is about to end but some women also experience such flow throughout their cycle. In such cases, you can use light tampons which are sufficient to provide you protection with lighter absorbency. 

Medium Flow

Most women experience medium levels of period flow, especially at the beginning of their menstrual cycles. In this case, using a regular tampon is the ideal choice. However, if you find that your tampon is quickly getting fully soaked, then you can also make use of super tampons for managing your medium-flow periods. These will ensure that you can stay active and protected against leakage for longer durations. 

Heavy Flow

If you are someone who usually experiences heavy menstrual bleeding then super tampons are your ideal solution. They offer optimum protection from leakage and help you to stay active and worry-free even with a substantial flow. They are perfect for an initial couple of days of your monthly cycle when your flow is the heaviest; after which you can switch to regular tampons when your bleeding becomes a bit lighter. 

Choosing Tampon Size for Beginner 

Although quite intimidating and sometimes uncomfortable for many, a tampon is undoubtedly more efficient than even the best period pads, making them a wonderful menstrual product. Hence, if you are a beginner looking forward to reaping its benefits, it is essential that you know the correct way to select and use a tampon.

Firstly, understand that a tampon neither breaks the hymen on use nor should it hurt while inserting. To ensure this, always choose the smallest size of tampons when using them for the first time. Many tampon brands offer tampons with cardboard applicators to guide them inside the vagina. You can use one of those for easy application. Once you get comfortable using a lighter flow tampon, you can move on to use a tampon size that better suits your flow. 

Removing Tampons

Tampons are nothing like the best period pads which only need to be looked at to know when they need to be changed. It is a bit tricky to correctly guess when your tampon is fully soaked and will only be able to do so after a few trials.

Use a small-size tampon and check it after a few hours. You can remove it by gently tugging at the tiny string attached to its rear end. If it is fully soaked within 2-4 hours, you may need a bigger size and if it still has white patches left on it after 6 hours then you may need to move down a size.

As a thumb rule, you must always use the smallest size of tampon that can work for your flow and never leave it inside for more than 6-8 hours. This way you can actively prevent the risk of TSS or Toxic Shock Syndrome which is a rare but potentially fatal condition. 

Takeaway

Everyone is different and so what may work for their menstrual hygiene may not necessarily work for you. While some may find pads for periods to be the ideal solution for their needs, tampons may become your perfect intimate hygiene solution. So, though it may take some trial and error, keep at it to find the best tampons and their ideal size for yourself.