Owwie! I’m sorry you’re still feeling this discomfort. Believe it or not, a slight feeling of discomfort when you insert a tampon isn’t unusual. To alleviate the pain you describe, there are couple of things you can do…

1. Try a different angle. Most of the time, pain when putting in tampons occurs because we try to slide them in at a less-than-optimal angle. Your vagina is basically a straight passageway, so when you poke in an applicator at an angle that doesn’t follow the line, you might be hitting the walls of your birth canal, which can lead to a li’l bit of temporary pain.

2. Slow down. Easy girl! Take your time when you’re putting in an applicator, especially if it’s cardboard. Rushing can nick and pinch the sensitive skin down there.

3. Go small. The length of your vagina changes based on a lot of different factors, so the super-sized tampon that slid in easily yesterday might be a tight squeeze today. If you get the tampon in and just can’t make it feel comfy, pull it out—slowly—and try a smaller size. If all else fails, you can always revert to pads, so keep a few close by.

4. Lubricate. If you’re too dry down there, the tampon won’t slide in very easily. Put a drop of lubricant on the tip of the applicator and go slowly, and you shouldn’t have any trouble. If you don’t have any lubricant on hand, be patient and wiggle the tampon around a bit to make the best of your natural lubrication.

by Brittany Taylor | 2/1/2016