Quiz Yourself: Period Pop Quiz

False! Not in the toilet, please!! This can clog a drain, leading to overflow. Wrap up your used tampon or pad in a small amount of toilet paper and dispose of it in the trash can. Why wrap? Because the blood on the tampon or pad can get onto the trash bin or even onto the person emptying the trash - wrapping it up is a thoughtful and safe extra step.

True or false: There’s nothing you can do about period cramps.

False! There are lots of ways to manage period cramps, making that time of the month a little more bearable. Heating pads, hot baths, and exercise are all great ways to ease period cramps. Pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can also help - just make sure an adult knows you are taking them first and follow the dosing recommendations on the bottle.

True or false: Tampons are worn inside of the body.

True! Tampons are inserted into the vagina, where they soak up menstrual blood before it has the chance to drip out.

True or false: Having an irregular period is normal.

True! When girls first start getting their period, some have regular cycles every 3 - 5 weeks right away, but most have very irregular patterns for months (if not years). Seriously, you might get your period one week, then not again for 3 months, but then again 2 weeks later, and this is totally normal. 

True or false: It’s completely fine to sleep in a tampon.

False... well sort of. Tampons are foreign bodies - that means they are not natural parts of the human body. Any foreign body carries a risk for infection, and that risk increases the longer the foreign body is in there. This is why tampons come labeled with warnings that they shouldn’t be worn for more than 4 - 8 hours. This time limit ensures that tampon use will be safe. Since most teenagers sleep longer than 8 hours - and many don’t want to be stressed about leaving a tampon in too long - it’s a much better bet to use a pad and/or period underwear overnight.