A tampon should work okay just for swimming. It would be horrible if she would have to skip swimming.
I would give her a tampon. They have the Juniors and slims. Boy things are different from when I started my period!!!
I would also make sure that she changes them frequently - like every couple of hours.
She may need some lube to help her get started with the tampons. A good anatomical resource and a hand mirror may also help her understand what everything is “down there”. As a midwife I can tell you that you would be amazed at the number of grown women that have little to no understanding of their own female anatomy, I have encountered more than one woman that thought urine and menstrual flow all came from the same place. If you are really worried about TSS only have her use the tampons during swim time and switch back to pads for other times. But honestly the super light absorbancy with the junior tampons would make that risk miniscule. I was a little older, but used tampons from the very beginning, I was 12. The rate of TSS is estimated at 1-2 in 100,000, and over half of those cases are not associated with periods/tampons. The ones that are usually involve the use of super-high absorbancy tampons and tampons left in place for a long period of time. It is recommended to change every 4-8 hours, which is why some people use pads at night. I never did that, I just put in a new one before bed and changed again first thing in the morning.
You can not necessarily comment on individual responses, you can click on the member’s name and can send them a private message. You can also respond/comment in the area you did (“So what happened”) but that will only be seen by people that read your question after your update. I wish people that replied could be notified of an update by the original poster, but that does not happen – yet anyway.
Get her tampons and get her in the pool. It is archaic to think girls can’t swim when they are menstruating. I got my period the first time when I was on vacation. My mom gave me tampons, told me how to use them, showed me the diagram in the Tampax box and voila. The trick newbies don’t know is to insert as far as possible and then deploy.
Wow, can she use tampons? I go swimming with my period with no problems.
I am new to this website and am in awe of all the quick responses I received. Thanks so much. BTW, I can’t figure out how to respond to the replies, so I am typing this on the link for “So tell what happened next”.
I went and bought the slender sized tampons for her right after her first period. She hates the pads (calls them surfboards) and is eager to start wearing the tampons, but so far her efforts have not been successful. With tampons, I must admit, I do worry that she may not remember to remove them overnight or I might forget to remind her too and then we have the risk of TSS.
Someone please tell me how do I respond to the replies.
My reply to the replies: Thanks everyone. we have already gone through the mirror holding, reading body hygiene books that show how to insert a tampon, putting her finger in as far in as possible to feel the inside and everything else that has been suggested here (except lubing, which has not really been necessary as we have tried inserting on days when the flow is more).
I do like the suggestion of using a tampon only for swim time. This website " you-are-loved.org/ " really gives me a pause when thinking of tampons.