Wednesday, May 14, 2008

CAN YOU LOSE A TAMPON INSIDE YOUR BODY IF THE STRING COMES OFF?


This is a surprisingly frequent question, and often a reason women find themselves in the emergency room. Patients often come in either because they cannot remove the tampon or because it has disappeared and they don’t seem to know where it went.


Time for another anatomy lesson. The vagina is a potential space, not a hole or cavity inside the body. The walls of the vagina are normally in contact with each other unless something is inserted between them. When something enters the vagina, the body makes room for it. At the end of this potential space is the cervix. Therefore, there is no place for the tampon to go. It cannot be lost inside that small area and you should be able to remove it, or it can be easily removed by any doctor. Often we find nothing inside, and that means you probably forgot you removed it.

 

Leaving a tampon inside too long can put you at risk for a serious infection, so don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.

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