Tampons and First Menses: Can Tampons Be Used from the First Period?

With the teen years fast approaching, menses will be on its way for many young girls. When your little girl starts menses, the first questions you may ask are, Can my young daughter use tampons? and Are tampons safe for young girls?

The first thing that parents should understand is, a girl who has started menses is old enough to use tampons. There is no real age requirement to be met in regards to tampon usage. Parents should only intervene if they feel their daughter is not old enough to understand the possible health risks associated with tampon usage or responsible enough to remember to change the tampon. With menses beginning in girls earlier and earlier every generation, it is not uncommon for a 10 year old to begin menses and not really understand the health issues associated with using tampons.

Parents should talk with their daughters about the health factors surrounding tampon usage. The most well known risk is Toxic Shock Syndrome. Toxic Shock Syndrome is a bacterial infection that occurs as a result of using a tampon that is overly absorbent and leaving it in the vagina for too long. Tampons should be changed, at least, every 6-8 hours with every 4 hours being safer, healthier and more hygienic.

Once you and your daughter have decided to choose tampons for menses protection, you will need to decide which tampons to use. When buying a tampon for a first time user, it is important to purchase the tampon that is the most comfortable and the easiest to use. Many tampon companies offer a slender tampon especially made for teens. These slender versions will be perfect, at first, for your daughter. A rounded tip and plastic applicator will generally be more comfortable than square tips and cardboard. Over time, rest assured, your daughter will learn which tampons are comfortable and which are not.

The final topic to discuss with a daughter just starting menses is personal hygiene. Many young girls are so used to not having menses, that when in the middle of a play date or school activity, they could run to the bathroom and run back out with no regard to hand washing or personal hygiene. While this is not appropriate at any time, after the beginning of menses it is even less so. Young girls must wash their hands before using the bathroom and after changing a tampon. Parents should discuss tampon storage and disposal with their young daughters as well.

No mother or father wants to look at their little girl and realize they are becoming a woman. Menses will inevitably happen, and with advances in comfort and design, tampon usage is just fine from the first days of menses. While there will be bumps in the road while learning about your daughters cycles and womanly needs, menses is not the end of the world and you all will make it through with ease.