# Do women wear pads and tampons all the time, or only during menstruation, or what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996 "2021-07-21T19:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/101 "2021-08-10T16:01:44Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Given that students also weren’t allowed offsite during school hours under the age of 16, so you couldn’t even nip down to a shop if caught out, it seems impressively stupid in retrospect. And there were never any accidents? Mind blown. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/102 "2021-08-10T16:13:46Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I even wore two at once during heavy flow days……that used to be thing and the instructions told you how to do it. I think they stopped showing you how after the tampon/toxic shock scares. I hesitate to ask this, but what did the instructions say? I’m curious how you’d even get two in there. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/103 "2021-08-10T16:17:47Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Given that students also weren’t allowed offsite during school hours under the age of 16, so you couldn’t even nip down to a shop if caught out, it seems impressively stupid in retrospect. > [@DesertDog](#): > > And there were never any accidents? Mind blown. By a certain age, you started carrying pads or tampons with you. After all, this was a regular event and would be just about every month for the next 50-60 years. If “Aunt Flo” caught you unawares or you forgot to restock your purse, you could always ask another girl or a female teacher. That brings up another problem-- how to get to the bathroom to use the goods. I was one for tucking the tampon up my long sleeve. > **[8 Ways to Sneak a Pad or Tampon to the Bathroom at School](https://www.wikihow.com/Sneak-a-Pad-or-Tampon-to-the-Bathroom-at-School)** > > Your period is nothing to be ashamed of, but it's totally normal to feel self-conscious about it. Sometimes being open with these matters is difficult. If you don't want everyone at school to know that you're on your period, don't worry.... Some girls want to be _Out There_ with the whole thing: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/d5/bd/97d5bdb187c5025e82c560318a121d4e.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/d5/bd/97d5bdb187c5025e82c560318a121d4e.jpg) [![](https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.621512974.7465/pr,150x100,750x1000-bg,f8f8f8.u7.jpg) ](https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.621512974.7465/pr,150x100,750x1000-bg,f8f8f8.u7.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/104 "2021-08-10T16:41:06Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I don’t remember the title of the book that I got; but it had line drawings, not very complete but clear enough to see penis/testicles and vulva, of both boys and girls. I did some poking around online but can’t find it. I don’t know the publication date, but I started menstruating in late 1962 or early '63 (I remember my age but not the time of year) and was definitely not taken by surprise, so it must have been published before that. I was just thinking, it is not the vulva that is so important to illustrate, as much as the uterus and endometrium. And how everything fits together, like a coronal and/or sagittal section. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/105 "2021-08-10T16:41:12Z")
Of course there were… If you couldn’t borrow anything off anyone else, because you were crushingly unpopular or no-one had a spare- or there was just no-one else in the bathroom to borrow from- the good ol’ standby of creating a makeshift pad out of bogroll was probably one of the skills most of us discovered at some point there. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/106 "2021-08-10T16:44:00Z")
I just noticed: “discreet” is spelled wrong on that bag. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/107 "2021-08-10T16:56:33Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Some girls want to be _Out There_ with the whole thing: I remember reading of kids coming into their middleschool classroom and finding a wrapped tampon on the floor that had fallen out of someone’s purse. The boys were scandalized and the girls started teasing them about it, tossing it to each other and holding it close to the boys’ faces. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/108 "2021-08-10T17:06:45Z")
I was hoping I could find a picture of the old instruction sheet, but I couldn’t. As I remember it - you insert the first one as usual, maybe a little deeper than usual. Then you use the applicator of the second one to nudge the first one aside a little bit, so that when both are inserted they are staggered, almost but not quite side by side. Don’t try this, it does carry a heightened risk of toxic shock as well as lesser infections - largely, I suspect, because of the risk of forgetting about the second one. And (TMI) if it’s completely saturated and pushed in deep it can remain unnoticed for a long time. At the time I did this I was working a blue collar type outdoor summer job where we had limited breaks, plus our purses where locked up in a locker room that frequently wasn’t anywhere near where we are working. The only time when you could get to bathroom with your purse without making a big production of it was lunchtime, and that wasn’t often enough for security. Even with Supers, I believe it was Supers I was doubling up. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/109 "2021-08-10T17:16:03Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I’m curious how you’d even get two in there. Two tampons are still smaller than most penises. Vaginas stretch. I also remember that; until they figured out about toxic shock. Then they started telling us not to use more than one at a time. Before that, I sometimes used two at night, or if as Ann\_Hedonia says I expected to be somewhere where changing it would be difficult. > [@DPRK](#): > > I was just thinking, it is not the vulva that is so important to illustrate, as much as the uterus and endometrium. Considered as information about menstruation and/or reproduction, true. Considered as sex education, significantly lacking. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/110 "2021-08-10T17:18:57Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And there were never any accidents? Mind blown. I mean like…most women who ARE allowed to nip down to the shop whenever they need to still don’t need to rely on last minute purchases or vending machines to stop accidents. You can come prepared, or rely on the kindness of others, or when all else fails you situate a whole bunch of toilet paper in your panties. Not like we’re all sitting around and then _goosh_ gee, gotta find a vending machine. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/111 "2021-08-10T17:22:58Z")
I meant in the school where they explicitly weren’t, especially at a young age where they might not be regular yet. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/112 "2021-08-10T17:29:46Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Don’t try this, it does carry a heightened risk of toxic shock as well as lesser infections - largely, I suspect, because of the risk of forgetting about the second one. And (TMI) if it’s completely saturated and pushed in deep it can remain unnoticed for a long time. Lauren Wasser lost her legs because of TSS and is probably the most famous case of this. > **[Model Who Lost Both Legs to Toxic Shock Syndrome Finds Strength in Golden...](https://www.prevention.com/health/health-conditions/a27678327/model-lauren-wasser-toxic-shock-syndrome-leg-amputations/)** > > “I’m just lucky to be alive.” ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/113 "2021-08-10T19:41:17Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I remember reading of kids coming into their middleschool classroom and finding a wrapped tampon on the floor that had fallen out of someone’s purse. The boys were scandalized and the girls started teasing them about it, tossing it to each other and holding it close to the boys’ faces. This reminded me: I used to complain to my mom about my brother forgetting to flush the toilet after pooping. He countered with me forgetting to flush a tampon! Mom said, “That’s the grossest thing a boy can see!” I went to check, and it was just the cardboard tube. Yeah - so gross. :rolleyes: (Remember when they said we could flush tampons? Not a great idea.) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/114 "2021-08-10T20:00:38Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > y a certain age, you started carrying pads or tampons with you. After all, this was a regular event and would be just about every month for the next 50-60 years 60 years??? I hope to god there aren’t really women in their early 70s who have yet to go through menopause. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/115 "2021-08-10T20:12:19Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > As I remember it - you insert the first one as usual, maybe a little deeper than usual. Then you use the applicator of the second one to nudge the first one aside a little bit, so that when both are inserted they are staggered, almost but not quite side by side. Thanks. I guess the applicator is key - haven’t used an applicator tampon since high school. > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > At the time I did this I was working a blue collar type outdoor summer job where we had limited breaks, plus our purses where locked up in a locker room that frequently wasn’t anywhere near where we are working. The only time when you could get to bathroom with your purse without making a big production of it was lunchtime, and that wasn’t often enough for security. Even with Supers, I believe it was Supers I was doubling up. They sell Super Plus and Ultra sizes now. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/116 "2021-08-10T20:16:54Z")
They sold a super-duper “sponge” made of the same material that’s used for ultra-absorbent pads and diapers for a while when I was a teen. It was associated with a much higher risk of toxic shock syndrome than anything else on the market, and they stopped selling it. My mom kept a box for years. (She’d had her uterus removed, and just kept some supplies around because every woman does.) I asked her why – “mom, they were pulled from the market because they were dangerous.” “Yes, but they worked so well”. The two times I wore them I had what might have been an extremely mild infection. It was, at any rate, the worst menstrual cramps (with fever) i ever had. So I stopped using them after that. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/117 "2021-08-10T20:24:22Z")
[Rely tampons?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rely_(tampon)) I’m surprised you tried them if you knew they were so dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/118 "2021-08-10T20:27:28Z")
Yup. They were new when I tried them. I got sick before they hit the news, and before I’d ever heard of toxic shock syndrome. But my mom kept them for YEARS. They did work extremely well at containing the mess. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/119 "2021-08-10T20:57:38Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yup. They were new when I tried them. I got sick before they hit the news, and before I’d ever heard of toxic shock syndrome. Oh, I thought you meant you tried the ones from your mum’s stash. Sounds like you were lucky not to get more seriously ill. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > They did work extremely well at containing the mess. It’s so annoying that they were more dangerous basically _because_ they were so effective, which means it’s more or less impossible to improve on what we’ve got. Why do humans have to be so badly designed? It’s true in general and doubly true for women. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996/120 "2021-08-10T21:08:27Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I guess the applicator is key - Worked fine with no-applicator OB’s, too. There’s plenty of room in there. Even if one’s a virgin. Again: vaginas are stretchy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-wear-pads-and-tampons-all-the-time-or-only-during-menstruation-or-what/946996.md?page=7)