I pretty much always used tampons. I did gymnastics and cheerleading so pretty much needed to. Wear the smallest practical one I guess and change often.

I can’t imagine not wearing a tampon during athletics. Why don’t you want use one? You say not confident, I don’t know what that means? You think you will bleed through? It wasn’t comfortable when you tried it once?

If it’s not comfortable and you can feel it when you have one in, that means you didn’t insert it deep enough. The entire applicator tip (the part with the “cotton” should be inserted, not the part that pushes the “cotton” into the vagina) should be inside before you push the actual tampon/cotton into you. Look at the directions. Wear a slender tampon if you need to and a pantyliner if you are afraid of a little breaking through. Make sure it’s a pantyliner and not a thin pad. I never break through if I put in a tampon after showering and making sure my vulva is clear of blood.

Playtex is very good at preventing leakage, and comfortable to insert compared to Tampax (I don’t recommend Tampax at all) but some young people have trouble removing it if they have very light periods or are have thick somewhat intact hymens, buts it’s rare to have a problem. Kotex has a comfortable plastic applicator too, but the tramping itself is different than Playtex.

My recommendation is use tampons and 400mg ibuprofen if you’re a little crampy. That is assuming you have taken ibuprofen before and know you can take it without any problems. Always best to take it with plenty of water and a little food to protect your tummy. It takes about 50 minutes to start feeling better once you take it.

I agree with @cazzie and @JLeslie

Dance, field sports, and swimming—I don’t know what I would do without tampons. If the tampon is uncomfortable, you may have inserted it incorrectly, or you may want to try a different brand. Because tampons and pads can vary so much, I think they are things to buy on-brand.

I don’t recommend Tampax either. For whatever reason, their tampons seem expand into two directions only. They don’t work very well for me, and are painful no matter how I place them.

I absolutely love Playtex. (They have a “360 degree” style tampon). I prefer Playtex Sport, though I admit that’s the only version I’ve actually ever gotten. My sister likes Kotex. She thinks their design works better (Playtex works better for me.) I’ve used Playtex since I was… 14 or 15, I think. It was the first tampon brand I used. The directions helped, and it was definitely weird/a bit difficult at first, but it gets easier fairly quickly.

Pads: Always Infinity. They are so thin and absorbent, and they contour. They’re as close to “it’s like I’m not wearing a pad” pads as I’ve been able to get. I’ve seen advertisements for what I thought were Always Infinity “Sport” because the main “character” in the commercial was a dancer—but it may have just been normal Infinity pads… I can’t find the commercial right now to check.

Looks like I’m the only one but I actually prefer big pads during my runs. Tampons get a bit uncomfortable and I had an embarrassing experience with the string hanging out of my shorts…. Uhhhh

I’ve noticed that running on my period actually relieves my period symptoms such as cramps and PMS. So it’s not always a bad thing:)

Also if you are self conscious just wear baggy shorts, not spandex.

Running helps my symptoms too!

Weirdly when I’m on my period my legs feel stronger? Achy but stronger. Like I’ve got some period-power… though I’ve never timed myself, so I don’t know if it’s true or just perception.

Another thought I had—I’m not sure if it’s common practice/knowledge or not so I thought I’d add it—if you are wanting to try tampons, you can wear a tampon with a pad. It might feel redundant, but it’s how I got sure that they wouldn’t leak. I still double-up on my heavy day. If not, I imagine a pad is fine for running—you’re not in water and you’re not rolling around in a dance studio.

@travelbabe24 You are not wearing the tampon correctly. It’s usually undetectable when it’s inside. That’s why people forget about it sometimes and freak out they had one in a long time. You likely aren’t putting it deep enough.

Use a menstrual cup (I’m avidly anti-tampon).

@Cupcake Where do you buy them?

Local grocery or natural foods store, or Amazon.

I like the moon cup slightly better than diva. It stinks that they are all a little different in ways we don’t know what would work best… and they aren’t cheap. They also come with quite a learning curve. I recommend a small (cloth) backup pad and frequent changes.