Why won't my tampon go in?

January 12 2023

So your beach vacation is 3 days away, your packing is almost done, and all of a sudden, your period comes! Great timing! You’ve finally mustered up the courage to try a tampon but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t figure out how to get it in and it seems like nothing is working. Here are the top three reasons why you might not be able to get a tampon in:

You’re inserting your tampon at the wrong angle

It’s really important to get into a comfortable position when inserting a tampon. You can have one leg propped up, sitting on the toilet, or have your back slightly bent over. Check out this video for a tutorial! These positions help you relax your vaginal muscles and get comfortable. When it comes to the angle, we recommend pointing the tampon towards your lower back on a slight angle upwards instead of trying to put it in pointing straight up to the sky. You can use a mirror to explore your vaginal opening and get familiar with your body.

You experience vaginal dryness

If you're sensing some uncomfortable friction upon insertion, dryness may be the culprit. Because menstruation is so stigmatised, we never talk about vaginal dryness but the reality is that 1 in 5 women experience vaginal dryness. A cause of this can be due to hormonal imbalances likely when taking forms of birth control, menopause or approaching menopause. We wrote a whole blog about the causes of vaginal dryness here if you want to read more. You may also experience dryness due to a light flow, either throughout your period or at the beginning or end of your cycle. If either of these are the case, we recommend using a lubricant which can make it much smoother, easier and faster to insert a tampon! We designed our tampon and lubricant to be used exactly for that! Our lubricant is travel friendly and easy for on-the-go use, so you can ensure you never have to insert a dry tampon again.

You experience vaginal tightness 

It’s important to try to relax your muscles as much as possible when inserting a tampon. You can encourage this through breathing practices - try taking deep breaths and slowly inserting the tampon as you breath out. However, sometimes even with breathing practices, you may still experience anxiety or have a negative association with penetration. This can cause your pelvic muscles to tighten up as a reaction to any type of penetrating object which can make inserting a tampon very difficult. This can be a sign of a condition called vaginismus. Most commonly, this condition develops after an injury or traumatic experience that may or may not involve the vagina. If inserting a tampon is painful, it is best to speak to your gynaecologist or a pelvic physiotherapist to learn more. Using lubricant to insert a tampon can be a great option once you're in active treatment for vaginismus and you and your doctor have decided that you're ready to try out tampons!

Wrap-up

There are many reasons why inserting a tampon may be uncomfortable if not painful. However, it's no reason to feel embarrassment or shame - this is a common problem for billions of menstruators worldwide! Keep in mind, if you experience any extreme pain or discomfort, it is best to seek medical advice. Here's to comfortable using period products!