Using tampons for the first time can be scary for your teen daughter. However, she would soon become accustomed to it if you teach your daughter to use a tampon properly. Tampons are cotton plugs that help absorb menstrual blood if placed in the vagina. Since they are inserted in the vagina, it requires some practice. Your daughter also needs to be familiar with her body and stay in a comfortable position while placing the tampon. Proper guidance can help her feel relaxed and reassured. Read on to know a step-by-step process on guiding your daughter on how to use a tampon (1).
How To Use A Tampon With A Built-In Applicator?
Before you teach your daughter exactly how to use a tampon, ask her to face the mirror to make the process easy for her. Seeing herself in the mirror will give her a better idea of her anatomy and she will be able to place the tampon better. Your daughter has to insert the tampon in her vagina, which may be a little uncomfortable and scary for her at first. Make sure you help her calm down first and then help her with it. Here is a step by step guide to help on how to teach a teenage girl to use a tampon:
Make sure your daughter is standing or sitting in a comfortable position. Your daughter may find it easy to use a tampon the first time if she places a leg on the edge of the tub or the toilet seat. Another position that your daughter may find comfortable is squatting down.
Once your daughter is completely comfortable in the position, ask her to hold the tampon from the middle with her strong hand. Tell her to look for the place where the smaller inner tube enters, the larger outer tube. She should be able to spot the string and place it in a direction facing away from her body.
Ask her to use her other hand to open very gently the labia majora or folds around her vaginal opening. Once she can do so, ask her to hold the tampon in the vaginal opening.
Ask her to push the tampon gently through the opening. Using a tampon may be a little uncomfortable for your daughter initially, but tell her that getting stressed or panicking will aggravate her discomfort. While pushing the tampon in, ask your daughter to direct it towards her back.
As your daughter inserts the tampon, the applicator or outer tube will completely go inside her body. Tell her to stop once this happens.
Once the outer tube of the tampon is inside her vagina, ask your daughter to use her index finger and push the inner tube up. While doing so, the string should not go inside the vagina and should instead hang outside.
Once your daughter inserts the tampon properly, ask her to use her thumb and her index finger to take out the outer tube.
Whenever your daughter wants to remove the tampon, she can simply hold the string that is hanging out and pull it.
Make sure that your daughter washes her hands using a disinfectant before and after she uses the tampon.
How To Use A Non-Applicator Tampon?
Ask your daughter to tug at the string of the tampon to check its strength.
Once she is in a comfortable position, ask her to hold the end of the tampon, with the string pointing away from her body.
Ask her to use her other hand to open her vaginal opening and place the tampon there.
Let her gently push the tampon inside using her index finger.
The string of the tampon should hang outside, and your daughter should pull it whenever she wants to remove the tampon.
