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I would not recommend wearing a pad in the pool. They can soak up a lot of water and become huge. They can be ineffective at soaking up blood when they're already full of water. And water can make them stop sticking to your bathing suit and fall right out.

Keep trying the tampons. They can be really difficult at first. It was difficult for me too. But it helps if you are completely relaxed, if you are familiar with the area (use a finger to feel around and find the hole), and if your v****a is wet (whether with menstrual fluid, store bought lube, or because you're turned on).

If you keep having trouble you can schedule a doctor's appointment. A doctor would be able to make sure everything looks ok down there, see whether you have an unusually thick hymen that may be blocking the way, make sure you don't have any infections that are making insertion more difficult, maybe give you some tips, or maybe even write you a note to get out of swimming if you have your period.

I used to to that. say I had me period so I didn't have to go swimming :p.

tampons or Diva cup (same thing inserting wise) are the only things usable in a pool.

put one of you pads in a sink full of water if you want to see what will happen if you wear on in. No seriously its funny. even better with a tampon, they go woosh=huge lol.

I have heard that your period is lighter/ stops when you are in water but I wouldn't want to test that in a public pool. razz

gl - db

I'm surprised you have to swim at school. Do they actually have a pool at the school? That's interesting. Anyway, I go swimming during my period all the time. I've never used a tampon in my life and don't really plan to, I just don't feel the need to bother using them. I don't even know how to use them. xd My friends used to say that it stops in the water but I don't really believe that since that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. However, it isn't noticeable in the water as far as I can tell. I've never seen it when I swim, and my friends go swimming during their periods too and I've never been able to tell, I only know if they're on their period if they tell me they are. I suggest maybe testing it out at home if you have a pool, or if you don't, then maybe wear a swimsuit in the bathtub or something and see if it's noticeable. Or if you're fortunate enough to have a female gym teacher tell her to excuse you from swimming. Or you could always just say that you're sick on those days and ask to sit out. Whatever you do, don't wear a pad. I know people have already mentioned that. I tried that once at the beach and it fell out. XD I was fortunate no one but my friend and I were there when it happened. It's better to just use nothing at all.