Can I wear a tampon to bed? No one wants to change their sheets because of good ol’ gravity and the bleeding you have from your period, right? Is it safe though to wear a tampon to bed, overnight? Wearing a tampon to overnight is not recommended for one specific reason, toxic shock syndrome, or TSS. Your tampon absorbs you're bleeding, but also dried up the “cleaning” system of the vagina, the vaginal mucous. Without the mucous in place constantly cleaning the vaginal area (that’s why you get an occasional vaginal discharge) bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus grow and release a poison into the vagina. Toxic shock syndrome is rare though it does affect an estimated 1 in 700 women. How long is too long? The recommendation to change the tampon is every 4-6 hours. This helps the …show more content…
Tampons are ideal in the everyday world of a heavier flow. If you are spotting, the recommendation is using a panty liner or pad. The insertion of the tampon can damage the internal vaginal walls, creating that Staphylococcus aureus poison, bacteria, leading to your bloodstream. Use tampons opposite of pads. Most girls change to pads at nighttime. Changing the tampons often during the day is not a problem, whereas at night, no one wants to wake up every 4 hours to change it.
It has nothing to do with sleep, it has everything to do with the length of time the tampon is in place. What tampons make me at a higher risk for TSS? TSS is seen mostly in women who use the super absorbency tampons, with light bleeding. TSS was at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s when women were using a specific super absorbency tampons, that have now been removed from the market.
Other risk factors are
Open wounds (cuts or burns on your skin)
Recent surgery
Contraceptive sponge or diaphragm (feminine items that stay in the vagina for a long time)
If you have a viral infection like chickenpox or flu What happens with