The INSIDER Summary:All IUDs have strings that are used for removal.If you have an IUD, make a habit of checking the strings on your own once a month.Feeling the strings indicates that your IUD is still in its proper place.If you're the proud new owner of an intrauterine device (IUD), congrats! You're about to have three to 10 years of seriouslyeffective contraception.There's just one thing you need to get used to: Reaching up into your vagina once a month to feel your IUD's strings.At the end of every IUD there are two thin strings that the doctor will eventually use to pull the deviceout of your body, either when it'sexpired or when you decide you don't want it anymore. When the IUD is in place, the strings will hang down from your cervix into the very topof your vagina, like so:"Women are guided to check the strings of their IUD on their own every month to make sure they still feel them," gynecologist Alyssa Dweck, MD, told INSIDER. "This is limited because a lot of women kind of have a creep factor when it comes to that, and they don't want to feel them."But feeling the strings on your own is crucial, and it'll pay to get over that "creep factor" if you still have it. In rare cases, IUDs can be expelled from the uterus or even break through the uterine wall, and regularly checking up on the strings is the best way to verify that yourIUD hasn'twandered off.Here's how tofind your IUD strings.All you have to do is reach up into your vagina with your finger until you find yourcervix. You might need to adjust your sitting or standing positionto reach it, but you'll know when you've found it: Some womensaytouching your cervix feels just like touching your nose. (If knowing what it looks like will help, check out thesephotos a real woman took of her own cervix onevery day of her menstrual cycle.)One you reach the cervix, move your finger around until you feel the strings. They're a bit like fishing line, but softer. And if you want help learning to find the strings, ask your doctor. He or she can give you a tutorial during an exam or just after the IUD insertion.If you can't find the strings, you may need to call your doctor.Not being able to feelstrings might not be an issue, Dweck said. Some women just have trouble feeling them, and sometimes the strings are so short that they're difficult to discern. But missing strings could indicate that your IUD has moved out of place."If you've always felt the strings and all of a sudden you don't, call your doctor and come in and get checked," Dweck said. Simple as that.Have more questions about IUDs' Check out INSIDER's handy FAQ right here.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Scientists discovered a potentially life-threatening side effect when you mix these 2 common medications
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