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Using Pads and Tampons
SO the period blood will be dripping down and exiting the body through the vaginal opening. In order to make sure that blood doesn't stain anyone's clothing or bedsheets, people learn about how to use pads and tampons. So, let me explain. First, let's start with pads. The way pads work is first of all there is usually some sticky back and that back gets stuck onto people's underwear. Then this side has some kind of cotton absorbing side and this rests against the vulva. So, it collects any fluid coming out of the vulva. Now, a person would put this in their underwear and they would check it every few hours to see if it was full. There would be blood on here and they would notice and take it out, fold it up, maybe through some tissue around it and put it in the trash. Now, pads come in all different sizes. This one would be for a day when the flow is very low. This one is not much bigger. This one is for nighttime. If a person is going to be sleeping for 8 to 10 hours they need to collect all the fluid that comes out of them. Pads come in all shapes and sizes to fit every woman's body. Some of them are for night, some are for day, some are for heavy flow, some are for light flow. So, a woman might start a collection of different ones that she might use, so when she has her period she has them. So, that's one way that people deal with periods, with pads. Another way is called tampons and there are two different kinds of tampons. I will explain them both. This one has an applicator and this one doesn't. I will explain the one with the applicator first. They come in a package and you tear up the package and you take it out like this. And the way it works is, a person would find the opening of their vagina by using a mirror or just knowing that the only opening in a female vagina that is stretchy enough to fit a tampon is the vaginal opening, right? Babies can come out of this opening, this is a lot smaller than a baby. So, tampons. You find the vaginal opening, you place the tampon in the vaginal opening. And a person pushes this tampon into the vaginal. Then, with the other hand, they push on the applicator and they push until the tampon comes out. Then they remove the applicator, through that into the trash. And then this tampon is actually collecting the fluid at the cervix, the opening of the vagina. And the string is actually hanging outside of the body. Now a tampon can only stay inside the body for 2 to 6 hours. After that, a person would want to take it out. A person would then put the string, pull the tampon out. It would have some blood on it and fluid, you can wrap that up and throw it in the trash. So that's a tampon with an applicator. The other kind of tampon doesn't have an applicator. So, the way these work is, you open the package. And this one, the string is all bunched up at the end. You have to pull the string away. Stretch out the string. Some people make the end of a tampon bigger by moving the string. They work pretty much the same way. A person finds the opening of the vagina and places the tampon there. Now, this is a little different, instead of an applicator, a person pushes the tampon into the body with their finger. And they take their hands out and usually they wash their hands. And it works the same way. It collects the fluid up near the cervix. And when the tampon is full, they would pull the string out. And throw that away. Some people just use pads, some use tampons, some mix it up or maybe use a pad just as back up in case the tampon gets full. A couple of important things to know though: pads - you cannot use a pad when you are going swimming. It would get wet, full of water, blood would get in the pool, that wouldn't be good. But! You could use a tampon. Tampons, being that they're outside the body, can collect fluid, even if the person is in water. Its important to know that the vagina is not like a hollow tube, these drawings are wrong. The vagina is actually a muscle and the walls of it are always closed. If a tampon is inside there, the walls are gently holding it there. That's why while a person is swimming, water doesn't go inside their bodies. So, pads and tampons - a personal choice. Talk to a trusted adult, have them help you make the decision.
