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.
Have an episode of “Lost” you’d like to share with us? Use the comments section below.
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. 
6 responses so far ↓
Rachel // Apr 1, 2008 at 6:30 am
Good post. I have to think from these stories that we’re failing to really teach even the basic anatomy in sex ed classes.
mendy // Jun 13, 2008 at 1:04 pm
i was on my period and forgot i had a tampon inserted and then i had sexual intercourse and thats when the tampon got lost. it is currently in there but i have no idea what to do about it.?
Doc Gurley // Jun 13, 2008 at 11:14 pm
No one can give competent, personal medical advice over the Internet. One fact, however, that applies to all women, is that it usually takes someone else (preferably a trained medical professional) to help a woman find and remove a “lost” tampon. You just can’t find those suckers by yourself - otherwise, it wouldn’t actually be “lost.” Which means that if you can’t find your tampon by squatting (it does help), with one foot up on a stool and fishing with your finger as far as you can reach, it’s time to call a clinic and go in for some help. Another fact is that “lost” tampons do not improve over time. Waiting won’t make things better - and can make it worse. A medical professional will have a goose-neck lamp, a speculum, some round-edged tools, and, hopefully, some tact, kindness and understanding. Good luck.
Aprl // Jul 20, 2008 at 8:52 am
This recently happened to me. What a relief to get that thing out of me. The odor was horrible. I went to see my ob/gyn about it and she didn’t even see the tampon. She said there was a smell and gave me antibiotics. I thought it was my birth control, mirena, I was considering getting it removed. I am just so thankful I found that tampon.
Lizabeth // Jul 31, 2008 at 7:55 am
Help! i inserted a tampon yesterday at my aunts pool party and i comtemplated about taking it out several times but by the end of the night i went to take it out and it wasnt there! There was a little swelling like it did not look very normal like always. I can kinda feel the tampon a little up there but i cant find it at all!! It still seems a little swelled inside but thats what also makes it hard to find!! Help Please………
Doc Gurley // Jul 31, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Sadly, I’m unable to give medical advice that is useful to your situation. Many things could be happening - but the one thing that is clear for every woman is that waiting doesn’t make the situation better when it comes to lost tampons. Whether it’s going to Planned Parenthood, or seeing your doctor, the best thing for almost all women is to get evaluated earlier rather than later. When you’re talking about the cervix and upper vagina - that’s just a part of our personal geography that’s not so easy to self-navigate! If you’re feeling awkward, keep in mind that this situation happens (as this post shows) to women off and on all the time - and a good provider is kind and compassionate (as well as informed and helpful). Good luck, and I send you my deeply felt best wishes.
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