Swimming when your on your period?

Question

I'm 22. I'm on birth control and my periods are really light, people have said that when you swim your flow stops. Tampons are extremly uncomfortable for me, but I have a thing this weekend and I'll need to be in the water. I've heard some people say its not a good idea, and others say it doesnt matter at all. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

At the risk of also being called a jerk, I've decided to answer this.

You didn't say what type of water you will be in. If it's a natural setting, ie lake, pond, ocean, etc, you should be okay. You and others with you will be taking enough of risk with possible pollutants that are already in that type of water. Pools are a different matter.

If it's a public pool, good luck. From the number of times this question has been asked in this forum, there seems to be an epidemic of girls who are afraid of tampons or are "not allowed" to wear them. So, chances are, you won't be the only one free flowing.

If it's a private pool, you may want to do a favor for the owner and bring some chlorine tablets with you. As a pool owner myself, I know how expensive the chemicals are for just the routine maintenance, not to mention the extra contaminates. (FYI: Your period is made up of blood and tissues that your body no longer requires and is excreted. It is called human body waste. It is a bio-hazard and a contaminate.) If you don't want the owner to know that you're on your period, just tell them that you brought the chemicals in case someone pees or throws up in the pool. Yeah, pass the blame to someone else.

Menstrual cups may be an option for you. Since it's such short notice, you won't have time to order one like the divacup. But the Instead softcup is available in pharmacies and places like Super Wal-Mart. Check them out at www.softcup.com.

Answer 2

Please don't swim while your period is "flowing".  That's just goss.  I don't know about the other swimmers, but I wouldn't want to accidently drink some of that water.  Even with chlorene in it to hopefully kill everything.

Answer 3

actually it depends on what day if the first it may stop but i tried it and it didn't stop.

Answer 4

It does not stop, but swimming while wearing a pad is unsanitary at the very least.  If tampons are uncomfortable, you're probably not inserting them correctly. You should NOT be able to feel them at all once inserted. If you don't push them all the way in, you WILL feel them.

If you're on birth control, it CAN'T be because you're a virgin, so there's no reason that tampons should be uncomfortable. Tampons are a LOT better than wearing pads, and you can swim to your heart's content.