Cycles, periods, tampons? Oh my!
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We watched a TV show on Amazon Prime recently called Paper Girls. In one of the scenes, the four main characters, all young girls, were sitting behind a convenience store because two of them had just robbed it of a pack of tampons. The irony - none of them knew how to use one, or what the sizing meant.
As the girls were reading the box and instructions, one of them asked what ‘Super’ and ‘Regular’ mean to which the character, Mac Coyle, responds “Obviously the size of your vagina.” Unfortunately, Mac couldn’t be more wrong. But who could blame her? No one taught her how to use a tampon - let alone what happens during your period.
But now Cherries and Bananas is here and we’re going to explain all of that to you. Let’s start with…
The Basics
A menstrual cycle begins on the first day of a person's menstrual flow (or period) and ends on the first day of the next flow. This time frame can range from every 20 days to 40 days.
A menstrual flow, or period, is the time during a perons’ cycle where they are bleeding from their vagina for a few days. Maybe someone has their period for 3 days while someone else may have theirs for 9 (we may or may not be speaking from personal experience…) Regardless of how long or short your period or cycle may be, you’ll need some sort of…
Sanitary Product
We’re talking about tampons, pads, and menstrual cups.
Pads come in various sizes for the different flow a person may have as well as underwear size. For example, if you wear an extra small-small underwear but have a heavy flow, you may do well with a size 3 in the Always Brand pads.
It’s much easier to pick a size for tampons: sizing is based solely on how heavy your flow is. The sizes range from light to ultra in the Tampax brand. There are various brands for both tampons and pads, so picking a brand is entirely up to you.
Menstrual cups are an alternative to pads and tampons. They collect blood rather than absorb it like tampons and pads. Cups are also reusable unlike disposable pads and tampons*.
*There are reusable pads and tampons; however, the safety of reusable tampons has not been studied and is not recommended.
How Do I Use These Products?
Pads have two types: with and without wings (or guards). The wings on a pad help with leakage control. These wings have adhesive strips, like on the bottom of the pad, that wrap around your underwear to prevent leakage and provide extra confidence while you’re out and about.
Tampons aren’t any more complicated than a pad, but are used differently. Like pads, there are a couple different versions. The most popular of these versions are the full sized and travel sized tampons.
The full sized tampons are inserted into the vagina, from the tip of the tampon applicator (the plastic) to the piece of the tampon applicator meant for grip. There is another piece, sometimes called a wand, at the back of the tampon applicator that will stick out past the grip. That wand is meant to be pushed into the tampon applicator to insert the cotton of the tampon into the vagina. Once the tampon is inserted into the vagina, you can remove the applicator - be sure that the string at the end of the tampon is hanging out of the vagina - and you’re good to go!
Travel sized tampons work just like full sized tampons, but there is an additional step at the beginning. In order to get travel sized tampons to their full size, it’s important to pull the wand of the tampon applicator out of the applicator until a *click* can be heard. At this point, the tampon applicator can be inserted into the vagina as usual.
To remove the tampon from the vagina, simply pull on the string that hangs from the tampon. Most tampons are unable to be flushed down the toilet, so it’s important to wrap the used tampon in toilet paper and dispose of it properly.
Menstrual cups* can be even easier to use than pads and tampons. To insert a cup, hold the base of the cup, flatten the opening, and fold in half. Then angle the cup towards your tailbone and insert it until the removal loop is inside. Lastly, rotate the cup in both directions, or pull down slightly. If it doesn’t move, you’re good to go!
To remove the cup, simply grab the removal loop, and softly squeeze the base to release the seal. Gently pull the loop and the cup will come out. Be sure to sit on or hover above a toilet while removing the cup!
*For insertion directions, Cherries & Bananas will reference the INTIMINA Cup by Lily Cup One.
What Happens During My Period?
We won’t sugarcoat it - sometimes it’ll look like a murder scene down there, but other times you may only experience a light flow.
Changes in your body’s hormone levels can cause physical and emotional changes. This is typically called PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Many symptoms of PMS are:
Feeling bloated
Breast tenderness
Mood swings
Feeling irritable
Spotty skin
Greasy hair
Loss of or higher interest in sex
These symptoms usually improve closer to the beginning of your period and are gone a few days afterwards. Not everyone who has a period has PMS symptoms.
Getting Pregnant
Figuring out when you can get pregnant, otherwise known as your fertile window, can be difficult sometimes. Your fertile window is usually around the time you ovulate. This is about 12-14 days before the start of your next period.
Sperm can survive in a person's body for up to 7 days before ovulation occurs. This means your fertile window can extend back earlier in your cycle.
Here’s a handful of online period trackers that have security features and measures in place to protect their users’ data:
You cannot get pregnant if you do not ovulate. Some hormonal methods of contraception, such as the contraceptive pill, contraceptive patch, and the contraceptive injection work by preventing or blocking ovulation.
Birth control can change how frequent or infrequent a persons’ cycle may be. It can also make a persons’ cycle consistent if it wasn’t already. Talk to your doctor about what starting birth control would mean for you.