Why can I still get wet when I have a tampon in?

Ooooh I love this question!  The answer (in my opinion) is so cool!

Tampons work for periods because they soak up the blood immediately as it exits the uterus through the cervix.

See how the pink tampon is right up there ready to absorb any blood that comes out of the green uterus? It soaks it up before it can drip down the vaginal canal and out of the body.  So that’s great.

But where does vaginal lubrication, the fluid that makes you feel “wet” when you’re sexually aroused, come from?  If you can still get “wet” when you have a tampon in, we can rule out the idea of it coming from the uterus.  So where does it come from, you ask?

Transudation is what happens to/in the vagina during sexual excitement.  Blood rushes to the area, making the tissue swollen, warm to the touch, and darker in color.  The pressure increase from so much blood in the vagina and vulva actually begins to squeeze fluid from the tissue through the vaginal walls. It beads up on the inner vaginal walls until there’s enough that it leaks down to lubricate even the external vulva.  

How freaking cool is that?  So even though the tampon may be soaking up some of the vaginal lubrication, it is literally coming from everywhere that is the shiny mucus membrane of the vagina.