Usually, I wipe away all the slooshy blood that’s hanging around my cooter with some toilet paper. Then I insert the tampon (and honestly, I cannot get a comfortable placement with an applicator; the tampon feels like it’s pinching me when I move around). If I have any blood on my hand, I take a couple squares ot TP and clean it off so I can finish and go to the sink and wash my hands. There, I’m done and I’m clean (and slightly comfortable). 
I’m another late tampon convert. I used to use Always with wings (still do for overnight), because I found that wingless pads would bunch up and I’d get leakage at the sides. I’d tried Tampax intermittently over the year, but never had much success. I just can’t get the tampon into the right place using an applicator, so it was uncomfortable as hell. Now I use aplicatorless o.b. and love it, especially the Silk Ease ones for the end of my period - they’re so easy to get out, even if they’re pretty dry.
Tremorviolet, I don’t find the blood to be too much of a problem, there’s normally just a bit of blood on my index finger that can be wiped off with toilet paper. The exception is the first one, or if I’ve left one in a bit too long while my flow’s heavy, when my hands can wind up looking like I’ve just butchered a pig or something. That problem can be minimized though if I just wipe before inserting the tampon.
I have found this thread to be good and informational. I bet some guys who were brave enough to look are thanking thier lucky stars they are male.
I use Tampax compax because I can carry them in a little case. I tried the Pearl ones but can’t get a really good grip.
Kotex has Bodyfit pads now. Those things kick butt! They taper at the end so that there is now pad getting caught in your butt. The site was giving samples.
I get the Always plus size pads for night. Those things look like they were made for Bigfoot! They are completely impractical except for night.
I’m a pad woman. Tampons just don’t work for me; they always leak, so I have to wear a pad anyway, and I can always feel them no matter what. Sadly, I developed a sensitivity to Always’ dri-weave, so I use the ‘cottony’ Stayfree pads with wings. Wings are so cool.
I tried those little cup things, what are they called? Instead. Hated them.
Too late. They only make the non-applicator kind now (in the U.S. anyway, not sure about other places). I wrote to them and complained but I doubt if it’ll do any good. I still see some “regular” sized ones with applicators so I’m not sure if they still make those or if the stock hasn’t run out at some stores yet. I know for sure other sizes aren’t available with the applicator. If I’d known they were going to discontinue them I could have at least stocked up. I’ve scoured the internet and even looked on eBay for them.
I’ve been using the non-applicator ones now and have gotten the hang of getting them in there. At work I’ll get half a paper towel wet and take it in with me in case things get messy. I’ve used Instead before but found that they can get out of position if you cough.
I still miss Rely tampons. Those were great.
Oh darn, I was hoping that OB still made tampons with applicators, but the post directly in front of mine dashed those hopes. I bought a package of Silk-Ease OB method tampons to try anyways. One tip I have is to buy those boxes of individually wrapped towellettes from Massengill. Those are very useful during tampon insertion and removal. This is a great thread, even though the subject is making me queasy.
Male checking in. This thread was quite educational. I’ve never been more glad I have a penis.
Are you sure you didn’t marry a werewolf?
Plain TP does the job well enough for me, and is cheaper. It also helps when the applicator gets wet and slippery, which happens to me annoyingly often.
One reason I don’t use tampons during the day is because I don’t want to deal with getting my fingers all bloody and having to pull my pants up and all BEFORE I wash my hands. At home, I can shuffle to the sink no problem.
I am disappointed to hear that I was right in my suspicion that the OBs with applicators have been discontinued. Fortunately, I have three boxes right now, which ought to last me a couple of years at the rate I use them.
I’ve recently started using the Gladrags reusable pads, and I really like them. The washing isn’t nearly as icky as I expected- since I live alone, I just soak them in the bathroom sink for a while and then toss them in the laundry. They’re a lot more comfortable than disposable pads, and I’m not getting the skin irritation I always used to have. And the nighttime pads are a wonderful size and shape, big enough to stop just about all leakage. They are kind of expensive, but they sell them at my local Wild Oats grocery- I’ve been buying one a month while I phase out the disposable pads.
I have very bad cramps and my cervix tends to be sensitive and crampy when it’s dialating, so I rarely use tampons except the last few days of my period.
I’m also allergic to the gel powder in many forms “ultra thin” pads, so I bounce around from Kotex, which is utter crap on absorbtion, to Always, which irritates my cooter.
I fear Glad rags and their ilk though.
A couple of interesting links
And a more serious article about male hegemony over menstruation
Pad girl here…42 years old…it’s like Niagara Falls, and little clots, etc, and sometimes big clots…no way tampons would hold out and I’ve always found them uncomfortable and spent most time wondering if they were leaking…
what’s a gladrag?
Always with wings my brand - the big honkers - that way I know there is definitely no leaks.
The name gladrags has become victim to genericide. There are probably ten companies that make cloth pads, but lots of people call them all “Gladrags.”
If you are a pad girl, you should check them out.
Yay! Another Female Crimson Tide Restraining Thread.
These things are as addictive as chocolate chips.
Back in the last millenium, I started what is possibly my most successful thread:
The Menstrual Cup
I have been using my Keeper since 2000 and I.LOVE.IT. I also use Luna pads, quite happily so. Very easy to maintain and rinse out before tossing in the wash. I’ve never had to soak mine as they are black flannel, instead of a lighter color. So it doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve never had UTI or other female problems at all ever. Not with tampons, pads or the Keeper. Just a FYI.
Not only am I screwing the Tampon industry Evil Empire with relish and mustard, and saving the enviroment in a microscopically small way, the Keeper is a most excellent way to liven up a party.
No. Really.
Whenever a bunch of friends or females get together. I take my clean, sanitized Keeper out and toss it to someone and have them play, " Guess what this is?"
Most amusing.
Then after the guesses run dry, I tell them. Guys instantly clear the room and the women are all totally fascinated. You’d think I’d invented the thing. I wish.
I swear I could sell these things for a living. I end up giving a ten minute history of the product and my personal testimonial of How It Changed My Life. ( I’m richer, taller, skinnier, smarter, jump higher and date Brad Pitt… )
Reading the above comments on those that have tried the Keeper and have been grossed out ( and I’m not making fun or anything) but this blows my mind. Why would anyone be grossed out by a natural body function?
It’s not like it is poop, which is disgusting and everything stinky, yet necessary for a happy day. Your uterus is essentially like a self cleaning oven that cleans itself once a month. That just fascinates me.
Remember Ladies: Aunt Flo is your friend and if she isn’t her usual self that could be an indication that something isn’t quite right down there. [cue to cats following a woman around.]
[/infomercial]
I despise maxi pads(aka couch cushions). They never stay stuck where they are supposed to for me. In the nevada heat the last thing I want to smell like when it is 120 degrees is a dirty pad.
I use tampons all of the time unless I have no choice. I have tried different brands of tampons (playtex, kotex, tampax) but I find that ob work better for me than any of the others. ob is the only one that expands in diameter instead of length. Yay ob!
Okay, I’ve ordered my Keeper. I’ve heard so many people go nuts over the thing, I decided I’d give it a go. At least I can return it if I want. Wish me luck!
I use cardboard-applicator tampons. I like the flushability, the biodegradableness, and something I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned, I’m a latecomer and didn’t feel like reading the full 5 pages, I tend to slip and pinch myself with the plastic applicators. Not a place where I like to be pinched.
If I am completely pad- and tampon-less, I have found that wadded up toilet paper will suffice.
And tremorviolet, mine also stops for a day, before it comes back with a vengeance. Only in the last year or so, though, but I’m glad it happens to someone else too.
I just ran out of tampons today, and hearing eveyone gush (pardon the pun) about OB tampons has made me wonder if I shouldn’t try them. I also have problems with the tampons feeling out of place, and a few times I have noticed that the tampon is actually in the applicator backwards.
I have tried the ob Silk Ease, and I don’t like the fishnet covering at all. Maybe it has some type of plastic that’s irritating to some women; I get a mild allergic reaction to latex (bummer).
Based on the Instead love in this here thread, I went out and got a box. After years of trying to use tampons, I had high hopes. What a huge disappointment. I feel like some kind of deformed freak. Why can’t I use this stuff like everyone else?
I’m so very tired of messy, smelly pads. 
It’s a long thread, so I may have missed this, but do people remember that Tampax used to advise inserting two tampons alongside each other if necessary? Since the TSS scare they have dropped that suggestion. I still do it sometimes. It only works for tampons that expand lengthwise, though.
Anyone tried natural sponges?
I am intrigued by ‘Instead’. I hadn’t heard of it before reading this thread. In terms of difficulty: how does it compare with inserting/removing a diaphragm?