Uh Oh? My Period!?

Question

I am 12 years old and just started my period yesterday. I want to lurne how to use tampons but right now I am using pads. Is it hard using tampons and dose it hert (i dont know really were the viginna is)? My mom will help me learne how to do it but i really just need some answers. Also, how long does a period last? How many times a day should I change my pad and when I do have tampons when should i change those? If you have anything alse to say please say and help! Thanks!

Also, what are some good foods to eat while on a period? Also what good workouts can i do to have less cramps! Thanks!

Sorry another note. Also I am nervouse about this stuff in front of my mom becuase she uses the baby words like "pannies" and "potty" i dont know but i know she is used to saying that becuase when I was long. Also i need to lurne how to use tampons by sring, i am going swimming in florida, *nervouse face*!

Sorry another one! I read someones and it said about tampons and some info, but i was just wondering, if i am having my period (witch is right now) while i am bleading, would i use a tampon, or make sure like when my period is over and i get the hang of the calender thing that i put it in before i start?

Answer 1

CONGRATULATIONS!

Have you done anything to celebrate? - perfect time to convince your parents to buy you something nice or let you have something you've been wanting for a while to celebrate becoming a woman ;o)

Periods are only as good or as bad as you make them - don't allow other girls or women's negative opinions affect you, same goes for menstrual product adverts that try to make you think periods are bad.

Keep record of your period, although it is not guaranteed that your period will become regular this early it will give you an indication of when to expect your next period, learn what happens at what time of your cycle. This site explains the menstrual cycle well - http://www.natracare.com/help_for_schools/matrix.htm and this site will explain your genitals to you - http://www.scarleteen.com/body/female_anatomy.html

Menstrual cramps, bloating, and PMS are not a necessity of menstruation, you can avoid these things by taking good care of yourself, or if you do get these then a simple cup of the right herbal tea can sort it out much better than pain killers can – you just need a little know-how.

Learn all you can, here are some good links;

http://www.scarleteen.com
http://www.the-clitoris.com
http://www.spotsite.org
http://www.myvag.net
http://www.vaginaverite.com
http://www.menstruation.com.au
http://www.debuinc.com
http://www.mum.org
http://www.sisterzeus.com/teensection.html

An average menstrual cycle is 28 days, that means the time between the first day of your last period to the first day of your next period, but everyone is different so you may not have a 28 day cycle, as you're young your periods will take a while before they are regular so you may want to carry spare pads with you to school or be ready to use toilet paper if you need to. Your period will normally last between 5 to 7 days, again everyone is different so your period may be different.

It is shocking your mom hasn't already taught you this, but it just means you need to be really mature and learn yourself - ALL girls and women need to learn all they can about their bodies to help take care of them, no one else whether doctors or someone else should be trusted to know everything about how to care for you. You may however want to ask your mom about her periods as they can be an indication of what your periods are going to be like, if you are worried about asking her straight out you may want to leave her a little note asking her about it to make it easier.

You need to be able to make an educated choice on what menstrual options you use, commercial tampons are the most harmful out over twenty different options, so please before deciding you want to use a tampon learn about tampons, your body and different options open to you – if you do you will not be so keen to want to use tampons I assure you! Most girls only want to use tampons because they think it makes them seem mature, which is not the case at all, many girls also simply don't realise that there are more options than just tampons and pads.

I would HIGHLY recommend you use pads or free-flow methods; in particular you may want to look at cloth pads, organic pads or padded panties as they are more comfortable, cheaper, greener and healthier than commercial pads. Change pads every 4-6 hours, if you need to change more often then use a pad with higher absorbency.
When you are older and better educated about your body and options you might want to look into menstrual cups or softcups, as these are internal like tampons but can be left in for 12 hours, worn for swimming, overnight and before your period is due, they are a lot safer, cleaner, cheaper, greener and more convenient than tampons or sponges.

***Menstrual options***

Commercial tampons – e.g. Tampax
Organic tampons – e.g. Natracare
Sponge tampons – e.g. Jade & Pearl
Soft tampons – e.g. Gynotex
Homemade tampons
Padettes
Commercial pads – e.g. Always
Organic pads – e.g. Organic Essentials
Cloth pads – e.g. Gladrags
Pad belts – e.g. Ready's
Homemade pads
Padded panties – e.g. Lunapanties
Period blankets
Silicone bell-shaped menstrual cups – e.g. Divacup
Rubber bell-shaped menstrual cups – e.g. Keeper
Softcups – e.g. Instead
Diaphragms used as menstrual cups
Homemade menstrual cups
Free-flow
Free-flow layering
Free-flow instinctive
Extraction

***Tampon dangers***

Risks from tampons are increased when you are young because your body does not have the same antibodies to deal with infections or TSS if they are brought on by tampon use. Your mucosa ('skin' within the vagina) is not as resilient as with adult women as you're still developing, that means it will be more prone to irritation and vaginal splitting. Tampons can increase menstrual flow due to their negative affect on your vaginal health.

Your vagina is self-cleaning, this means that your vagina produces discharge to help wash out dirt and excess bacteria, tampons plug the vagina so prevent cleaning. Tampons absorb discharge, as well as self-cleaning functions vaginal fluids also help protect the delicate mucosa (like skin, but without protective top layer) of the vaginal walls, without these fluids the vaginal walls split. Tampons are the perfect environment for bacteria to multiply within the vagina, without the natural self-cleaning of the vagina this bacteria stays within the vagina, thus why leaving a tampon in for a long time will increase risks. Tampons also then leave fibres within the vagina allowing bacteria to remain to multiply further even when the tampon has been removed. Commercial tampons are made from synthetic materials that increase bacterial growth and contain unnecessarily chemicals that are harmful to general health and can affect normal vaginal pH, this in turn affects can lead to vaginal infections.

Remember you should choose the lightest absorbency tampons you can get for any given time of your period, remembering too your menstrual flow changes throughout your period. Use organic or sponge tampons rather than commercial tampons to minimise risk. Change every 4-6 hours, if you find the tampon is still white after 4 hours then you need to use a lighter absorbency tampon or switch to another option if you are already using the lowest absorbency available. Do not wear tampons unless you are bleeding and do not wear tampons when you go to bed.

***Reasons why tampons can hurt***

Tampons can hurt if they are put in incorrectly as too low down or put into the wrong hole it can be painful, pains similar to very bad menstrual cramps, if this happens remove the tampon and try again at a later time.

Often nerves affect tampon insertion, your vagina naturally stretches and expands there is also lubrication in the discharge and menstrual flow to help insertion, but if you are nervous this will make the muscles in your vagina tense up making penetration difficult. You may want to look at the following article, it is about painful penetrative sex, but much of the information and advice is also valid here as it is primarily about painful vaginal penetration and how to resolve the problem so explain why this can cause pain - http://www.scarleteen.com/sexuality/owtowow.html

If your hymen is in tact this may also make tampon insertion difficult, the hymen breaking can be painful for some girls, where as for some girls there is no pain at all or the hymen breaking can even be pleasurable. If your hymen is in tact this may be what it causing you pain so you may want to wait until you are older to use tampons. If you don't know if your hymen is in tact you can look by sitting comfortably and using a mirror to look at your vulva (external part of your genitals) to see the vaginal opening. The hymen is different from girl/woman to girl/woman but usually if in tact it will look like a ring of flesh around the opening to your vagina; where as if broken it will look like flaps of skin around the vaginal opening. There is a good site that shows images, not photos, of the hymen so you know what to look for here - http://www.healthystrokes.com/hymengallery.html

Tampons can also be felt even when put into the vagina correctly as tampons are dry wads of material it means that they can cause friction burns and drying of the vaginal walls, chemicals within commercial tampons can also cause irritation or allergic reactions. The string can be felt, many women find that when it moves about during the day it can become painful as the string can pull tight between the inner labia (inner lips) of their vulva (external genitals) acting like cheese string - ouch.

Tampons expand, widthways expanding tampons can contribute to bloating feeling during menstruation and length-ways expanding tampons can expand into the already sensitive cervix, tampons also pose health risks meaning that the decrease in vaginal health can contribute to menstrual health problems such as heavy menstrual flow or menstrual cramping.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me from my profile and I'll try my best to help you – good luck :o)

Answer 2

your mom should be able to answer ost of if not all your questions. yeah it's a good idea to just use pads for awhile so you can see what your body is producing and get used to your cycle. then when you know it pretty well and know what days are heavy enough to use a tampon and what days only require a pad, then go ahead and start with the junior/slim tampons, and once again, when you get to know how well they work with your flow, you can incrimentaly step up in sizes till you figure out what's right for you. only you will be able to discover that for yourself, your mom won't be able to tell you what size to use on what day. you'll still end up wearing pads on your light days and at night though. periods usually last 3-5 days and you should change pads 3-4 tmes a day and tampons every 4-6 hours, but in no case longer than 8 hours. you should just eat the same food you normally do, which should be a good diet, and a mulit-vitamin. Any excercise that works those muscles will help relieve the cramps, but a lot of women say that having an orgasm really helps relieve cramps, because they cause muscle contractions in the muscles surrounding the uterus specifically, and also release endorphins, so if they get bad youcould always try masturbation. I'm not just trying to be gross either if you research it you'll find the same thing, read the article below and keep note of that site, it will have a lot of good answers for you.

Answer 3

Ok well it depends on the person on how long your period lasts. Mine lasts 6 days. The best way to figure that out is on the first day you start your period circle the day on your calender and circle the date that it ended. Do this every time you have a period then average it out. Or go to the period predictor on beinggirl.com. (Which isn't always right) You should change your pad about every 2 to 4 hours. With tampons probably about every 4 hours or so. No tampons don't hurt. If you have them in right you can't feel them. I hope that helps!

Answer 4

Your mom should've told you how long your period should last..lol. A tampon doesn't hurt and in my opinion, they are way more hygienic than a pad. With pads, you have to change them more frequently than you'd have to change a tampon. You can change a tampon after having it in for about 6 or 7 hours, with a pad, it depends on how heavy the flow is but i was always told every 4 to 6 hours. All of that should be explained on the box that you have with the pads. You should use pads for a while and get use to that and when your mom explains exactly where your vagina is and you're comfortable enough, then you should go ahead and switch it up and try tampons. As far as foods and whatnot, try to stay away from anything with acid in it, it will worsen your cramps. Try eating a lot of fruit and and drinking water. Every woman's body is different so I'm just going off of what I've experienced. As far as exercise, a good one would be running, it helps your blood circulation to flow more easily and a few sit ups would be ok. Hopefully I helped a lil bit...Good luck and congrats of finally becoming a woman...

Answer 5

A woman's period can last anywhere from 1 day to 10 days (with periods that aren't abnormal.) The average woman has her period for 3 to 5 days.
Using a tampon for the first time may be a little uncomfortable if you've never had anything else in your vagina before but it isn't a bad pain. (If you have a tampon inserted right you shouldn't even feel it.) You should cange your tampon every 4 to 6 hours.

Answer 6

you might want to hold off with the tampons i got my period when i was 12 but didnt start using tampons till i was 15, but no unless you put it in wrong it should not hurt, you dont even feel it at all, its like not having your period you have to change them every 4-8 hours or you could get tss which you can die from but its very vrey rare so you dont have to worry about that. and periods last for about 3-7 days.you should change your pad when ever it feels uncomfy/ every few hours

Answer 7

Welcome to womanhood! Congratulations! Anyways, since you just got your period, it is best to stay on pads for now. Periods can last up from 3 to 7 days. As for where you put the tampon, you insert it into your vaginal opening. There are three openings on the base of your body; the anus, the vaginal opening, and the urethra. In the very center of your anal opening and urethra is your vaginal opening. If you can't find it, wash your hands (very well) and search for it. There's nothing wrong with that. Another suggestion I can make is to visit www.beinggirl.com. It's a PERFECT site that talks about periods, tampons, pads, sex, boys, etc. In other words, it is a site about puberty. Visit it!

Answer 8

First- Is does not hurt at all and to get instuctions go to tampax.com I recomend playtex lsimfits for first time users
A period can last from 2-7n days
Tampons you can keep in for 4-8 hours untill it is full 9 if not ful it will be uncomfortable pullling out0
Congrats on being a woman I got my first a month ago
do a few crunches and eat lots of vegetables and fruits

Answer 9

wow i feel really sorry for you that you are so unsure of everything i was like that wen i first started but i asked my mum and she helped me with everything so ill try my best

tampons arnt hard to use and it doesnt hurt wen i first did it it hurt alittle but that was because i was scared and all tight

if your unsure where your vagina is i would sugest u look in the mirror because that will help you understand more about down there but seeings as it might look gross atm i would suggest another time in the tampon box i believe that they have pictures of how to insert and find your vagina

your period last for different times for different people usually ranging from 3 days to 7 days it all depends on your body

regarding how often you should change that again depends on a few things: how heavy your period is and how you feel.
everybody is different you will kno when you should change it just go to the toilet and if it looks like it needs to be changed change it

with tampons you should nver have it in longer then 4 hours because there is a risk of getting tss (toxic shock syndrome)

you kno when they r ready to come out because when u pull the string it comes out easily

good luck

Answer 10

You really should talk with your mother. Just tell her what's happening (she'll want to celebrate this with you, and my congratulations on joining the ranks) and tell her that since you're now biologically a woman, you want to use the proper names for body parts and functions.

I'm giving you some links about anatomy, puberty and menstruation. They should help you, but you do also need to speak to your mother.

Answer 11

please go and talk to your mom she is your best source of answers. this is nothing to be ashamed of. your the next year you need to stick to pads so you can get used to your flow. check your pad everytime you go to the bathroom if it looks full change it. and no you wont bleed on every inch on the pad. if it feels wet change it. every two-three hours is good. please go talk to your mom she has been through this and can help you better than we can