Don't Be Too Squeamish You have been trying hard to use all the right tricks to insert a tampon. You have become famiilar with your anatomy. You are using the best position. You are becoming aware of what your muscles are doing to "close up" your vagina and to "allow it to open". But [...]
Contract and RELAX Your Pelvic Floor OK, you're getting there! You've had a good look with a mirror and you're starting to get to know the landscape down there. You're confident you've chosen the right position to insert the tampon. But for some reason, when you try to put it in, it just feels [...]
We hear it over and over again: exercise that's safe for your pelvic floor is walking, cycling, and swimming. And actually, cycling here probably means boring, easy cycling on flat (as we know that standing cycling puts enormous pressures on the pelvic floor). Or stationary cycling. Stationary cycling so predictable and unchanging that you [...]
Lubricate the Tampon Like Crazy By nature, tampons are not the easiest things to get in the vagina. This is because they are usually made of cotton or a similar material - in order to be absorbent - which creates friction. So here's a simple way to make it easier. Get rid of the [...]
Pick the Best Time of Month to Practise Last post I mentioned that using lots of lubricant on the tampon helps when it feels like the tampon just won't go in. This may seem obvious, but most women I speak to haven't tried it. So here is a second tip that may seem obvious, but [...]
Use the Information on the Packet (But Don't Take It Too Seriously) You've had trouble inserting tampons. You didn't really know where you were going. Like the excellent TV ad, you didn't know if you were going for the "wrong hole". But now you've had a look. You used a mirror, you maybe looked [...]
The Pill has its upsides and downsides. Most of us women have been on the Pill at one time or another – 82%, to be precise. But many women have not been satisfied with it. In fact, between 2006 and 2008, one-third of women who had ever used the Pill discontinued it because they [...]
Look and You Will Find When you have trouble inserting a tampon, you need a plan of action. This is the first tip in a ten part series on making tampons easier to use. I hate to state the obvious. But sometimes the simple things can be overlooked. You need to know where this [...]
A Bitter Pill to Swallow? There’s been research on the link between the birth control Pill or Oral Contraceptive Pill (OCP) and vulvodynia going on for a little while. So what’s the story? Let me take you through a brief history. A study in 2008 found a 30% risk of vulvodynia in OCP-takers (a [...]
Understand what you have been using and how it works When considering whether the pros and cons of continuing with or stopping your current method of chemical contraception, it’s helpful first of all to understand how it works. We’ll consider firstly how they work as contraceptives, then consider the other reasons people might choose [...]
