3 shocking things that happen when you don’t change your tampons every 6 hours

Believe it or not, most of us are really not in the habit of changing our tampons or sanitary napkins, after every few hours. We literally wait for them to be drenched in period blood, before we chuck them away. In fact, many of us love our tampons, but conveniently forget to throw them away. We don’t even realize the consequences of leaving behind a tampon in our vagina. Do we?

FYI, it can be dangerous as hell. 

Ladies, not only does it compromise your vaginal health, but in the long run, it can also wreak havoc on other organs of our body. But that’s not all ladies, there is more to it – trust us, you’re going to get the biggest shock of your life. 

Here’s why you must STOP wearing a tampon over its prescribed limit

1. It can lead to growth of bacteria and other pathogens

According to Dr Rajeswari Pawar, consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at Motherhood Hospital, Pune, keeping the tampon for more than 24 hours can lead to growth of bacteria in the vagina. Also, these pathogens get the perfect biomes there and multiply even faster.

The problem is they destroy the healthy bacteria in the vagina, and disrupt the whole ecosystem. Because of this, your vagina becomes more vulnerable to vaginal infections like bacteria vaginosis, yeast infection, UTI, etc.

“If the flow is heavy, make sure to change the tampon multiple times a day. You should at least change your tampon 2-3 times a day,” recommends Dr Pawar.

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2. You can get toxic shock syndrome

Now, this is the worst of all. To an extent, it can also lead to multiple organ failure. “Here, the infection blows out of proportion and spreads throughout the body. It starts affecting multiple organs at once. In more severe cases, the patient is admitted in ICU for observation, because there are higher chances of multiple organ failure and death,” says Dr Pawar.

The main reason is the poison produced by staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which spreads in your body and makes the situation life-threatening.

3. Disruption in pH balance of your vagina

This growth of foreign organisms can disturb the pH balance of your vagina, and problems like vaginal dryness, discharge of vaginal mucus, itching, etc can also be seen, due to prolonged usage of tampons.

“If you are using tampons, you have to ensure you don’t leave it behind, inside your vagina. If things get out of hand, see your doctor immediately. They will offer oral pills and pills that you might have to keep inside your vagina. If you have fever, the doctor might keep you under observation for a couple of days and treat you accordingly. All in all, I would like to say prevention is better than cure, especially when it comes to your vaginal health, so be a little vigilant,” concludes Dr Pawar.

So ladies, compromising on your vaginal health is no excuse, and now you know exactly why.