Go to The Lost Tampon Video for practical tips, inside information, and real-life demonstrations – as well as a few chuckles.
Women’s Health News has an interesting topic and comments about what women go through when a tampon gets “lost.” So can a tampon head north for spring break? How far? Isn’t there a border check somewhere?
More importantly, what should you do if it happens to you? Assuming you don’t have male-plumbing, here’s the Doc Gurley take on the Lost Tampon situation:
I can promise you, your tampon did not go anywhere. As a physician who has removed more than a few lost tampons, I can say that any doc that makes you feel embarrassed (like using the air freshener while you’re still in the room) or discusses the issue with implications of blame (as in saying something about not seeing “a case in years since they took super absorbency tampons off the market”) needs a big Wet Noodle Slap upside the head. Women who lose a tampon, or can’t figure out what’s happening to them, are feeling plenty awkward enough. In this situation, the official Doc job is to be kind and uber-tactful. Lost tampons are a fortunately rare fact of life. It happens.
How? Vaginas are not all alike, but most have folds and indents. “Losing” a tampon happens when one gets truly forgotten, or when one gets tucked up into a fold (making the tampon sometimes hard-to-reach, even with a light and speculum–hey, they have the string for a reason, folks). You can even have a tampon tucked up sideways behind the curve of a cervix. When a tampon stays there for days or weeks, your body goes to work, doing its best to protect you–it coats the tampon with white blood cells (pus) and starts an heroic (heroine-ic?) effort to breakdown and budge this (from a cell’s perspective) enormous object. The vagina’s soft mucosal wall, that the tampon is flattened against, gets irritated and raw. Germs overgrow. But women tolerate this remarkably well–TSS (toxic shock syndrome) is generally unheard-of in this setting, and once the tampon is removed, healing occurs quickly. The smell also tends to go away rapidly – it’s probably mostly from the decayed blood in the tampon (however, a peanut stuck up a kid’s nose for days also has that same foul smell). A “lost” tampon tends to fall to pieces on removal. A decent doc will use a curved tool to gently scoop out pieces, all the while chatting over the wall of white knee-to-knee paper. Patient self-care afterwards includes: 1) don’t douche–your body will flush whatever it needs to out and douching is not going to help your healing or restore normal bacteria at all; 2) consider helping your vagina’s normal germs re-populate by eating yogurt with live bacteria; and 3) use sanitary napkins for discharge/periods for the next few days. Obviously see your healthcare person right away for continuing discharge, fever or crampy pains. Also make sure the tampon issue doesn’t distract you or your provider from checking you out for other infections/STDs if it’s warranted.
Still worried or confused? Go to The Lost Tampon Video for practical tips, inside information, and real-life demonstrations – as well as a few chuckles.
Have an episode of “Lost” you’d like to share with us? Use the comments section below.
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Doc Gurley is a Board-certified Internist physician and the only Harvard Medical School graduate to have been awarded a Shoney’s Ten-Step Pin for documented excellence in waitressing. 
I don’t know if I left my tampon in or not….but I don’t remember taking the last one out (my period was practically done). I had my ex try fishing it out but he couldn’t find anything with his fingers. I couldn’t find anything myself. No odor, but I have a headache and I just don’t feel all the way right. I guess I will try to contact my dr tomorrow.
Well I am STUNNED. I am a 38yo mother of two, and a few weeks ago I had a very foul odour and discharge on two diff occasions. Yesterday was day 3 of my period which stinks to high heaven, so I went to the doctor. He asked me if it was possible that I’d left a tampon in there. I laughed and said no way, absolutely not. Then this morning I went to put in a tampon and remembered how yesterday it had been a little hard to push it in. I considered the doctor’s question and went ‘fishing’… I went in and up as far as my middle finger could reach (I could feel my cervix) and lo and behold – there it was. It was incredibly difficult to get; I had to really relax my muscles so I could put both my thumb and middle finger in to pull it out. It felt like it was suctioned into a curved space. While I’m glad to have found the source of the problem, and it explains why I’ve been sick this week (I’m on antiobiotics), I am at a loss as to how I could have forgotten to take it out. The only explanation I can think of it that the string wandered up as well, making me think I didn’t have one in. This tampon has been in for a month. So believe me it can happen. Be very aware of what you’re using, if you even so much as THINK – “Didn’t I already have a tampon in?” – then you MUST have a thorough check. Even if you’re bleeding, go looking just in case. Don’t worry about the ‘ickiness’ of it, the ‘ickiness’ later is far worse!
Doctor – you have an amazing gift for motivating women to do something about their (suspected) problem with your wit and non-judgmental prose. You are the best.
First of all Thanks Doc. for your advice. I too left a tampon stuck in for many months. I went to take out the tampon one day and didnt feel the string and couldnt remember if I’d taken it out. many months went buy and the odor and discharge began to increase. I was constantly on my period, and had cramps everyday. I would bleed heavily at times, I don’t know how I got threw at times without calling in to work. Until recent when I had a bowl movement it’s when I felt a tampon underneat when I hadn’t even put one in. My memory came back and I had flash backs of the day I couldnt find the string. After hours I was able to remove it, I then realized that I could be in big physical trouble, so I’ve made an immediate appointment with my OBGYN. I will keep you posted.
Best of health and healing to you – my thoughts go with you,
Doc Gurley
Please help. I am so worried. I was at my welcome home party and I ended up having sex. I don’t know if we took my tampon out. I was intoxicated at the time. My partner doesn’t remember either. I am freaking out because I have squatted and felt for the tampon and not found it. I believe I have even felt behind my cervix. My mother said that if I’m squatting and searching for the tampon and absolutly do not feel it that more than likely it’s not there, however, she does not know I was having sex. I absolutly cannot find the tampon though. I felt all over. I was wondering if it possible came out when I was using the bathroom or if I took it out and don’t remember. I really don’t know what to do now. Am i okay to just let it be since I can’t feel the tampon when I am squatting and feeling for it? I did a circular motion like you mentioned in your video. Please help. I have no where else to turn. I live in a very small community where even the health department ladies are very judgemental and I cannot take the idea of how they will act when I go in and explain my story.
Dear Doc Gurley,
I realise that this post is quite old now, but if you have the time I would really like to ask this question: Can a tampon pass the cervix of a woman who has not had a child? I am a 21 year old who sometimes has some discomfort during sex, due to having quite a short vagina. A couple of nights ago, I went to the bathroom during the night while half-asleep and do not remember removing a tampon. The next morning however, it was gone and although i feel i have conducted a thorough self-examination, I cannot feel a tampon inside me.
For this reason I am concerned about whether or not my tampon may have passed through the cervix. It must be noted that I am not experiencing any significant amount of discomfort and any present I believe may be dismissed as paranoia.
I would be very grateful for any guidance you could give me, as I have never had a GYN appointment and want to make one but would be so embarrassed if a tampon were discovered during my first.
Thank you for your time,
Lynsey
So glad that I found more women go through this! This happened to me about 3 months ago. It was so embarrassing. I did a photo shoot with a bikini on and I was told its better to kind of tuck the string just in case. It was toward the end of my period I forgot and left it up there. I wasn’t really having sexual intercourse because my boyfriend lived a few states over. When my next period came I guess I put another tampon in pushing the other one further up. Sometimes I would walk and I would smell this foul smell, I am a pretty clean person but, I was running around a lot and figured I was just slacking on taking proper care of my hygiene. Well Valentine’s Day came around and I flew in to see him. I thought it was going to be romantic but it smelled to HIGH heaven in there. It was so embarrassing I didn’t want to finish. I searched online for an explanation…nothing that seemed near my situation. I also couldn’t get an appointment until I left back home. We tried it again same smell. Then I happen to be riding in the car listening to the XM Radio station and they start talking about embarrassment from leaving a tampon in, then going on to describe my same symptoms. Painful, horrible smelling sex..and weird periods. I pushed my vaginal muscles and felt something. It had to be in the for 2 1/2+ months!!!! it is very possible. I was so excited I called my boyfriend…he wasn’t as excited. More confused and grossed out I think lol! I was just glad it was over!!!
I have been through this….I got a tampon stuck about a couple of months back like around February. I was on my period with my boyfriend and i came back home to remove the tampon and take a shower, but it wasn’t there. So I thought maybe I just had forgotten about it because i wasn’t feeling well. So a week went pass and i started to get a foul ordor but then it went away in a couple of days….but i still was feeling weird so i went to the doctor and they didn’t find the tampon. So i just went back to my normal life, but every since then my periods have been weird. The blood is reddish brownish so im still thinkin that the tampon could possibly be stuck. I don’t want to go to the doctor again because i don’t have health insurance or money to pay. Im really scared and I don’t know what to do.
Yes, it just happened to me too. Must have been there about 2-3 weeks, but I got it out yesterday.
Called my GYN and asked if I needed to do any follow up care and was told to do a Betadine douche, but after watching your video, I don’t know if I should do it. I am not in any discomfort and the bad smell is gone. Is it necessary or can I skip the douche?
About an hour ago, an unknown lost tampon, pushed it’s way out while using the bathroom. No string left, just yucky pooh looking log. SO gross. I almost passed out. I had to chant an “I AM OK, I WILL BE JUST FINE” mantra while I took a shower. This is the second time that this has happened to me in the past 5 years. The last time I didn’t use tampons for at least a year. But eventually I went pack to tampons and thought I was “making sure” it wouldn’t happen again. Well, it did. I am totally freaked out, but have been on this website for the past hour and it has helped me feel a lot better. I am so thankful to the other ladies for putting their stories of similar horror on here. I am hoping to not have to make a trip to the OB/GYN. If I do, it will be the second time I have to talk to her a lost tampon. She was very kind the first time, but still.
im 18 years old and i just lost my tampon earlier today, i KNOW for a fact that i didnt take it out. ive been suffering from bad MRSA outbreaks the past 4 years and i get these infections extremely easy. Should i be worried?
So I’m not the first one! Thank you that you are alive, probably I will be as well, but I’m really stresses up!
I have pregnancy – 5th week, I went to doc and she found forgotten tampon into me! I was shocked and I’m still shocked! I use vaginal pills now against infection and really hope that everything will be fine with me and my baby! I had fever, gad pain in down stomach…, but really thought that everything is because of pregnancy that was planned long time! It’s scary to have tampon into me almost 2 month!
OMG! Help because I am not sure if Im in trouble or not and Icant find out anything without talking to someone and I don’t feel comfortable with that unless I have too. My HS reunion was last saturday and I got really drunk and my husband and I had sex but I didn’t remember it too well and went looking for the tampon the next morning. Of course I couldn’t find it but i did find a bloody towel so I figured I must of flushed it first. Well the past couple days I have had cramps but just figured it was from drunken rougher than usual sex and figured I MUST of flushed it because this has never happened to me before. I have also felt kinda crappy but again figured it was from the extended hang over or because my period was winding down. But this morning (Wednesday) while I was going to the bathroom it came out. Now mind you I have been putting others in on top of it and I did search for it Sunday morning to be safe but didn’t find it at that point. Now I am still crampy especially on the right side and am not on my period anymore. Is this an infection, TSS, could I have left some of it up in there – because I didn’t think to check to see if it was whole, oh my just help because I am uncomfortable and really don’t want to be overreacting but I am scared. Thanks for you time and I will check back or whatever…….maybe get an email?