I Used a Tampon and I like It

I am a male. But I used a tampon, and I like it.

What?! How?! Why?! Here’s my story.

I was working in the hospital that weekend. It was Sunday morning and I was on my 28th hour of my 34-hour-long duty. I was starting to feel the fatigue, but there were a lot of work left to do.

There were 26 patients in the ICU that I needed to see, plus another 16 patients on the floor outside the ICU. It was quite busy, for it’s the flu season after all. On top of these, the Emergency Department kept on calling me for more admissions which required ICU care. In fact, I already evaluated 2 patients in the ER that morning who were waiting for an ICU bed to open up as there were no more available rooms.

As I was doing my ICU rounds, my work was again interrupted by a call from the Emergency Room for yet another admission. As I answered the phone call, suddenly, it happened! I had to put the phone down, excused myself, and took care of my own “emergency.”

What happened? I had a nosebleed.

No, not the “nosebleed” that we Filipinos use as a slang word when we experience difficulty in understanding English or when we are talking to someone who speaks fluent English. Maybe I have experienced that kind of “nosebleed” before, but not anymore. What happened to me was the real nose bleeding.

Nosebleeds, which the medical term is epistaxis, are not a rare occurrence for me. Especially during the winter months, when the heater is on, and the air is dry. In fact, I already had cauterization done in my nose to stop the bleeding before. Twice. And yet, it still happens quite frequently, and so I have become adept on taking care of myself when this occurs.

Most of the time, I just shove toilet paper or cotton balls in my nose to tamponade it. There was one instance not so long ago, when we were in some kind of a retreat facility, when I had a nosebleed. Somehow after some time of using tissue paper, the bleeding would not stop. So I went to the clinic where there was a nurse on-call. I asked for some gauze and I cut it into thin long strips. I then applied vaseline on the gauze strips and packed my nose with it. You can say that I abide with the old proverb: “Physician, heal thyself.”

Back to my weekend duty story:

I went quickly to the ICU restroom after noticing blood dripping out of my nose. Yet after a while of using toilet paper, the bleeding would not stop. So I went out of the restroom and went to the nurse station for assistance. One look at me, and they knew what was going on.

I asked the nurse if they can give me a Rhino Rocket. What on earth is that? Is that some kind of a firework or something that flies or explodes like a rocket? Not quite.

A Rhino Rocket is a nasal packing device used to treat nosebleeds. It’s made of special foam, which swells when it absorbs moisture. It is inserted into the nose by using a patented applicator. See drawing below (illustration is from a different product but similar device).

I was informed by a younger nurse that a Rhino Rocket was not available in the ICU, but they can request from the hospital’s Central Supply, but it may take a little time to get it. That was when a wise and experienced nurse told me that she can get something similar that would work, and she can get it right away. I told her to go ahead and get it, and in a few seconds she got it at hand.

What was it? You guess it right. It was a female sanitary item – a tampon! I did not dare ask whose tampon was it, I just agreed to use it.

Since I had no idea how to use a tampon, the wise and experienced nurse helped me to put it on. She asked me to sit, look up, and then she gently inserted that tampon up my nose. She also cut and trimmed some part of it, including the string, that was sticking out of my nose. Then she wryly said with a smile, that most people would not know that it was a tampon that was stuck in my nose.

Whether people know it or not what was adorning my face, I really don’t care. All I care was that it did the trick and it stopped my nosebleed.

I continued and completed my rounds with no further setbacks. I could have hide it by putting on a face mask, but no, I wore that tampon proudly as a badge of honor. A “little” nosebleed would not deter me of my duty.

(*PS: I pulled the tampon out after about 2 hours. I survived my call and saw a total of 48 patients that particular day.)