AIBU to still worry after a missing tampon was not found?

Im 52, what does that say about me I wonder?

The nurse tells you what symptoms to watch out for because of the small chance that they are wrong.

much more likely that it fell out

From experience I can tell you this happened me. I was sure I had left one in. But couldn’t find it. 3 different people at A&E looked for it. Couldn’t be found. I felt crazy.
you will start to smell it and eventually I just squatted down in the shower and it made itself known… it had clung to the side so was missed with a standard finger and spatula check by professionals. I will caveat this by saying it was end of period so ‘dry’ . If your flow is heavier it’ll make itself known even sooner

I'm confused. Did you not unravel the string before insertion, OP? I've never lost a tampon because the string had always been evident outside.

Hey there, this once happened to me. I went to the clinic and they gave me a mirror and showed me my cervix.
It's a cul de sac inside there, there is no way a tampon can go up into your cervix and if they examined your vagina then I think you are good to go.
Wherever the tampon is, it's not inside you.
X

Don't panic! This has happened to me twice when I had periods and had forgotten that I hadn't removed the tampon.

You will notice a smell if it is still there. A professional has looked for it already so the chances of one still being inside you are small. It is possible that the tampon came out when you used the toilet and you didn't notice. It can happen.

If the nurse can’t see it then it isn’t there

(as with a PP, I have also had an incident with one I forgot about, after about five days something was smelling really bad and it fell out 😳. I think my body basically ejected it!)

In fairness it’s totally possible to not undo the string properly, I’ve been guilt of that

I’ve then had a bit of a problem locating the damn thing but with clean hands and a bit of patience I’ve always got them out

This, and if you do do this @Msidontknow could be the reason your loo is blocking?

I inadvertently left a bit of one in. I had a smelly discharge and nurse found it. (Years ago so probably are better made now) Don’t worry -inside of vagina is moist it will become soggy and slip down

This also happened to me years ago. I started to detect a slight "whiff" and over a few days it started to get stronger. I was worried about what it could be and thought I better have a "root round" I pulled out what I realised was a forgotten tampon, it looked awful, slimy brownish and smelt foul, I was horrified 🤢
Luckily my fadge did its job and cleaned itself up. No more rotten smell 😊

I’m sure the nurse is right. I ‘lost’ tampons quite frequently and they definitely were not stuck inside me because on the odd occasion when I have inadvertently put one in without removing the previous one, the old one has started to smell.

There is nowhere for it to “go” so if it’s there it’ll make itself known. I’m another who had a stinky 2 weeker pop out

OP doesn’t flush her tampons, the nurse is saying this one might’ve slipped out into the loo.

I went to my local walk-in as was convinced I’d lost one (wasn’t that long ago!). She had a rummage(!) and nothing there but it wasn’t in the bathroom bin at home and not sure how it could’ve slipped out 🤷‍♀️
Weirdly I have in that past a couple of times not taken one out and found two up there when next changing.

it really took them awhile to find it when this happened to me but I had put in another tampon over the top of the other and the first one had bent back on itself and was tucked away. They did an exam and said it’s not there and when they kept looking they found it. How long were they looking for? It took them 5 minutes to find mine. I just kept saying it’s in there

Can you feel it? I could feel mine

I suppose the positives are you haven’t (like me 🤦🏻‍♀️) done anything to really force it up there so they are more likely to have seen it

I have occasionally had tampons drop out while on the loo and not felt them

On a similar theme, I once found a little plastic gadget in the bath. I didn't know what it was, neither did anyone else in the house, so I put it in the cupboard just in case. A year later I went to have my Mirena coil replaced. No Mirena. It was lying in the bathroom cupboard.

They can occasionally get wedged up behind the cervix and be difficult to find but they start to smell very quickly so you will soon know of there’s still one there!

I'm disappointed that no one has mentioned the pouch of Douglas yet. There was a time on here when it was frequently referenced on threads like this. Anyway, OP I'm sure everything will be ok.

Ah yes, I think I've been there - is it in the Isle of Man?

(There's no (normal) way for a tampon to get into the pouch of Douglas)

Take shower head off. Insert hose and anything in there will be flushed out with the water.
Ive done this before and the tampon just flops out if its in there.
I mean it cant get past the cervix anyway so there is nowhere for it to go.

This is one of the reasons why I don’t wear tampons anymore since my 3 kids, mine would be swallowed 🤣

Isn’t this really unhygienic and risk for infection ?!

Of course not,you could have a bath too ,that would do the same thing . Easier to have a ferret round yourself in the bath if necessary. What infection do you think is a risk?