Women using tampons before marriage

Question

Is there any issue with women using tampons before marriage? I would appreciate sourced answers discussing this either saying it's ok or not ok.

My thought is that since the use of a tampon requires inserting something through/past the hymen, the hymen could be stretched (or removed entirely, so to speak) and perhaps there as an issue with doing so before marriage. The only possible issues that I know of are:

1. She may become a mukat eitz which affect the value of her kesuba
2. There being no sign of the woman's virginity, which might have its own halachic implications.

(Even though the question could be boiled down to these 2 points in principle, I'm looking for a specific discussion about the use of tampons.)

Answer 1

Rabbi Ribner and Dr. Rosenfeld recommend using tampons pre-marriage in A Newlywed's Guide to Physical Intimacy‌​. The authors are affiliated with Yeshiva University.

Answer 2

It is a common myth that tampons can affect the hymen or take a woman's virginity. If you just google "tampons and hymens," you'll find a host of different sources confirming that the opening for menstrual flow is plenty large enough to fit a tampon and your finger/applicator.

Since a tampon does not affect the hymen, I don't know why it would affect a woman's virginal status.

Answer 3

I'm not sure exactly from where this derives, but there is absolutely no halachic problem with using tampons, and some actually encourage it, as it helps a woman learn about her body and will make her more comfortable with bedikos in the future.