To wear tampons only?

[Rowennaravenclaw]

I lived in fear of TSS as a teen. I was religious about wearing a pad for at least 8 hours a day and never wore tampons at night.

At some point, probably in my early 20s, I stopped thinking about it and put convenience first. Now tampons is all I ever use, one after the other, as I hate the feeling of pads.

Obviously it’s a risk, but how unusual am I in this?
Has anyone ever had TSS from a tampon?

And before everyone tells me to get a mooncup, I do plan on trying one soon.

Tampons during waking hours for the first 3-4 days
Pads during waking hours on last couple of light flow days
Never use a tampon at night. Always pads

You're brave. What do you do about possible leaks?

i'm over 50 haven't used a pad since i was 17 except for 3 weeks after birth of DD I leave them in overnight I rarely sleep more than 8 hours but if i changed after a bath at say 9pm I would leave that one in until the morning, my periods are not heavy so one would last that long easily I'm sure at the end of a period I have left them in for 12+ hours as tend to need just 2 a day on days 3-4, TSS is very very rare (0.1- 0.07 /100,000 per year) or 7 -10 cases per 10 million women per year

I only use tampons, I never used pads. I have never had TSS. I have never lost one. I have never had one leak.

Pads are gross and they smell.

I hate hate hate the feeling of pads. Tampons all the time. My periods are pretty light though so there will only be 2 or 3 at the most nights where I need to use one, I can get away without one after that.

@beebeezed my friend did that too!!! Awkward and scary trip to the doctors xx

It's my understanding that they still don't know exactly what causes TSS. They know it's linked to tampon use, obviously, but they don't know what causes some people to develop it. I don't think there's actually a great deal of evidence linking it to continuous or prolonged use of tampons.

It's not like you'll definitely get TSS if you leave one in a long time, it just increases risk.

Hope you like the mooncup. I've been using one over a decade (obv not exactly the same cup!) and I now find the idea of something absorbent going up there really gross. Tampons suck up lady juices as well as menses, mooncups leave you with natural lubrication!

NHS webpage says you should alternate tampons and pads to reduce risk of TSS

The NHS states a lot of nonsense

🤷🏻‍♀️

TSS is incredibly rare, nasty, but rare I expect most women who get it have suffered from s ‘forgotten tampon’

Anecdotally I have spent many years usingbtsmpons at night, frequently fir longer than 8 hours because (TMI) I can’t change them unless they’re very full if they’re too dry they have to stay in so I frequently couldn’t change them right before I went to sleep

These days I’m using pads more because my periods are lasting a fortnight and when it’s nit full in I’d rather not be trying to insert and remove dry tampons

I should have tried a moon cup years ago, but I didn’t think I’d be able to get one in place properly (short arms, big tummmy)

not all cases of TSS relate to tampons

another risk factor is using too high an absorbency towards the end of ythe period you should swap to low or regular tampons not super as removing dry tampons is sore and can lead to micro abrasions which make TSS more likely, so if a tampon is not full in 8 hours it is too high an absorbency for that stage

Get a cup. Doesn't eliminate risk. Nothing will. But reduces it.

I use period pants now but I used nothing but tampons for years and years.

A friend of mine had drunk sex and forgot she was wearing a tampon and it got rammed pretty far up. It was a few days later when she realised and a doctor had to fish it out.

I’m 37 and can’t actually remember the last time I used a pad or anything other than a tampon, day or night

Been using tampax for 32 years, day and night..

I always use tampons in the day, I wear pads at night. Haven’t used pads in the day since I was a teenager, hate the mess.

Have only used tampons since I was 20 and I'm 49 now. I don't think that's unusual. I don't know anyone in real life who uses mooncups, seems to be a MN thing.

Considering I've had leaks when wearing a tampon AND a towel after a couple of hours, I won't be using just a towel anytime soon.

I remember when I first started my periods (almost 30 years ago!) toxic shock syndrome was still a big thing. My mum didn't let me use tampons and I didn't until my late teens when I lived alone.

My understanding of it is that it's caused by bits of tampons being left in situ. Nowadays most of them don't come apart when you take them out, which I think wasn't helping.

Most people are immune to the bacteria that cause TSS anyway, so you can probably relax provided you don't have a weakened immune system.

Since you are thinking about getting a menstural cup, please consider doing this quiz: putacupinit.com/quiz/

It's beyond helpful and I found my goldilocks cup using it. 👍

I’ve been using tampons only since I was about 14 and I’m 52 , I did try a mooncup for a while but didn’t get on with it ( recurrent UTIs ) so went back to tampons . Can’t stand pads .

TSS is incredibly rare. It's not something that starts to happen once you've worn a tampon for more than 8 hours.

I've only ever used tampons for the last 30-odd years. Occasionally I've slept in or forgotten and it's not been an issue, not that that is ideal.

I won't use pads, I hate them. Was tampons only for years until I got my mooncup

Thanks for the quiz @cornerofupanddown

Happy to see it's not just me doing this then. It seemed like such a serious risk when I was younger, and now I barely think about it. I wondered if I was getting blasé these days or maybe as a teen I was over-anxious or never really understood.

I hate wearing pads and feeling a 'gush' when I stand up. Tampons all the way.