tampon

1. (hygienic) tampon
   Kupi mi, molim te, tampone u apoteci. — Please buy me some tampons at the pharmacy.
2. (in medicine) swab; gauze pad
   Sestra mu je stavila tampon na ranu. — The nurse put a gauze pad on his wound.
3. (in tampon-zona) buffer
   Između dve vojske napravljena je tampon-zona. — A buffer zone was set up between the two armies.

In the sense of "buffer", it occurs as an invariable first element in combinations: tampon-zona, tampon-država. As a standalone noun, it declines.