Menstrual Products

Q&A: I know it says you can't leave a tampon in for more than 8 hours, but can you leave one tampon in for, say, 6 hours, and another in for 6 hours consecutively?

The time recommendations for tampons are for each individual tampon, not tampon wear.  Many girls and women wear tampons exclusively without any problems, so that is a totally acceptable approach for your period protection!

As a mom, I advise my girls to listen closely to the advice of health experts like our Real Answers panelist Sandy Knauf. Recently, she answered a question very similar to yours. She advised that longer wear is associated with problems like irritation, tearing, and infections; including toxic shock syndrome (TSS). Plan on changing your tampon every four to eight hours for the safest and most reliable protection. But it’s totally fine to wear tampons all day, every day during your period as long as you change them as recommended!

Um, this is an awesome question. High five for asking it. So, as long as you don’t have one single tampon in for any longer than 8 hours, you’re set and good to go. There isn’t a time limit on how long you can use tampons in general, simply a time limit on how long you should use one single tampon before changing it out.