Is It Normal to Feel Like Your Tampon Is Falling Out?
Find out what causes this unpleasant situation (and how to deal with it).
You already went through the awkward and frustrating experience of learning how to insert a tampon once. You thought you had mastered the art of tampon insertion, yet it feels like your tampon is always one sneeze away from just falling out. Is that normal?
Why does my tampon feel like it's falling out or slipping?
Tampons may became more slippery as it absorbs with blood. As a result, it might slip out of place or feel like it's falling out. It's not necessarily a problem, but it is a hint that it's probably time to change your tampon.
That makes sense, but what if your tampon feels like it’s about to escape and it hasn’t even been in that long? That may be normal, too: Your body, and especially your vagina, may go through drastic changes in adulthood. These changes might affect how your tampon fits and feels.
How might childbirth change your vagina?
A vaginal delivery can have a big impact on the size and shape of your vagina. It may feel like it has a different angle, or the vagina may seem larger. Many people find that their tampons seem to fit differently after childbirth.
One way childbirth may alter the vagina is known as pelvic organ prolapse, according to the American Urogynecologic Society. As the fetus develops in your uterus during pregnancy, it tends to stretch the pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor muscles are like a hammock that holds up all your pelvic organs, including the:
- Vagina
- Cervix
- Uterus
- Bladder
- Intestines
The pressure placed on all those internal organs during pregnancy and childbirth can cause a drop, or prolapse, of the organs. First of all, this may affect your tampon fit and positioning, so it might feel like it's falling out. It can also lead to stress incontinence (a leaky bladder) or feeling like you can’t fully empty your bladder when you go.
What are tips for using tampons after childbirth?
After childbirth, it might help to:
- Place the tampon deeper into the vagina
- Angle the tampon differently
- Use a different size of tampon
For mild vaginal changes after childbirth, you can strengthen up your pelvic floor again with some good, old-fashioned Kegel exercises. Learn more about the right way to do a Kegel and lifestyle tweaks for incontinence here.
Dr. Wu is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist practicing in New York City.
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So as the tampon fills with blood,
it will expand, become more slippery and
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then maybe slipping out.
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This is your sign that you do need
to change your tampon at that time.
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After childbirth,
the vagina does change somewhat and
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patients will often say that
their tampon feels different.
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That it feels like it angles in
differently, or feels like it's
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coming out a little bit more because
the opening to the vagina may be larger.
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They may also have what we call a dropped
bladder from the childbirth experience,
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and that may make
the tampon fit differently.
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After childbirth a woman may
need to place the tampon deeper,
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they may need to angle it in differently.
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They may need to use a different size.
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Sometimes the applicator for the tampon
makes it easier for patients to place it
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far back enough, and then they don't
have the tampon falling out so much.
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How are pelvic floor disorders commonly treated? Rockville, MD: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (Accessed on January 10, 2021 at https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pelvicfloor/conditioninfo/treatment.)
Pelvic organ prolapse. Silver Spring, MD: American urogynecologic Society. (Accessed on January 10, 2021 at https://www.voicesforpfd.org/pelvic-organ-prolapse/.)
Pelvic support problems. Washington, DC: U.S. National Library of Medicine. (Accessed on January 10, 2021 at https://medlineplus.gov/pelvicsupportproblems.html.)