What are my choices other than tampons and maxi pads and where can I get them?

Question

I would like to try using something else other than tampons for my period. I don't like using pads either because it feels like a daiper and they are visible through my pants even when I use thin pads. Pantiliners don't show, but they don't absorb enough. Pads also leak a lot, even the ones with wings. Basically I just don't want to wear pads anymore. I am trying to avoid tampons because I have had vaginal irritation for a couple of years now. Infections, soaps, detergents, lotions, condoms, sex, non-cotton underwear material, etc. are ruled out, but the cause of the irritation is still a mystery, so I thought I'd experiment and avoid tampons for a while to see if they are the culprit. But the thought of using pads during the day while I'm active and working doesn't sound fun or comfortable. I"ve heard of a "moon cup" or some kind of cup for menstruation, but don't know anything about it. Where can I find these other options (in the U.S.)?

Please don't answer unless you are truly answering my question.
I have no wish to have a histerectomy (thanks for the sarcasm), and don't like using birth control other than condoms. I'm not looking to get rid of my period.

Answer 1

Menstrual cups come in a few different types; rubber bell-shaped menstrual cups, silicone bell-shaped menstrual cups, softcups, diaphragms used as menstrual cups and even homemade menstrual cups in theory – given how cheap menstrual cups are not many people have attempted to make their own menstrual cups.

I'm a Mooncup user myself, this is a silicone bell-shaped menstrual cup, have been a user for four years now and would never use tampons again. I prefer silicone because they don't leave a rubber smell/taste in your vagina, they make it easier to see what is coming out of your body to measure your flow, you can boil them, and I dislike Keepers customer service – big hubbub when they refused to tell customers if their product was suitable for vegans (something to do with the curing of the rubber), also a lot of legal problems between Keeper, Divacup and Mooncup due to Keeper not liking the competition it seems.

All reusable menstrual cups are environmentally friendly and last for 10 years; softcups are disposable but still more environmentally friendly than tampons and can be worn a few times in a row before you have to throw them away.

I've also used softcups but found them difficult for me to keep in place, they are very different from the bell-shaped cups, but they are handy in that you can have penetrative sex with them in, same as if you were to use a diaphragm as a menstrual cup during sex although diaphragms are not good for menstrual cup use if you have a heavy flow. Some people also prefer the softcups because they are disposable rather than reusable like bell-shaped menstrual cups.

Mooncup is U.K. based, re-usable Silicone bell-shaped menstrual cup.
http://www.mooncup.co.uk or available from http://www.keeper.com
We can get them from Boot's stores, a few health stores and more environmentally conscious stores, but of course online, via phone or through post is possible as well.
Cost - $35.00 and $2.00 P&P
Money back guarantee - 3 months.

There is also then Lunette – http://www.lunette.fi – who are a finish brand similar to the Divacup, but probably costly to get to you.

Divacup is Canadian based, fast becoming the most popular brand, they are also re-usable silicone bell-shaped but with a different shape to the Keeper or Mooncup.
http://www.divacup.com
You can get online, but you could probably also get them at health stores and environmentally conscious stores; there is a store locator on the web site going by either city or zip code.
Cost - $32.50 and $3.25 P&P
Money back guarantee - 12 months.

Keeper is U.S. based, and one of the first menstrual cups in this new design.
http://www.keeper.com
You can buy online, but as Divacup are becoming more popular they are becoming harder to get at stores now I believe, although here in the U.K. they are being advertised on the television now.
Cost - $35.00 and $2.00 P&P
Money back guarantee - 3 months.

Instead is U.S. based, a diaphragm shaped disposable soft plastic cup.
http://www.softcup.com
You can buy online or from a number of stores, they list their retail partners on their site; Walgreen's, Rite Aid, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Target, Supervalu, Longs, CVS, Longs, Safeway, Save Mart, Raley's, Ralph's, Fred Meyer, Winco, Drugstore.com.
Cost - $8.99 for box of 24
No guarantees but if you pay $2.99 you can get a starter kit from their web site for free including three cups.

As said many health stores will sell menstrual cups, the fact is reusable menstrual cups don't bring much in the way of profit due to how long they last, however because menstrual cups are becoming so popular a lot more stores are willing to stock them. You can also buy from eBay oddly enough.

If you need more information on menstrual cups I'd recommend the following web sites;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup - Wikipedia entry on menstrual cups.
http://www.mum.org/MenCups.htm - History of menstrual cups.

http://menstrualcups.org – Menstrual cup community, there are posts of particular interest such as comparisons between the different menstrual cup types, FAQ's answered, different folding methods, etc. you can find these under 'Search Discussions' or look through the memories of the community here; http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=menstrual_cups



Different types of tampons may be something you want to consider, although tampons will increase risk of infections due to their preventing vaginal cleaning and encouraging bacterial growth there is still a lot of difference between commercial tampons such as Tampax and Organic tampons, Sponge tampons, sponge tampons, and Homemade tampons.

Organic tampons are essentially just like commercial tampons only they are made from 100% organic cotton and do not contain chemicals or bleach. I know here in the U.K. they can be bought from Boots, but in the U.S. it seems mostly to be health stores that sell them – they are about the same as commercial tampons price wise in the U.K. but probably more expensive in the U.S.
Natracare -http://www.natracare.com - also make organic pads.

Sponge tampons are natural sponge used as tampons, they are reusable for around 3-4 cycles, there have been some rumours about safety but really they are myth more than anything else. Again either online or via health stores.
Jade and Pearl -http://www.jadeandpearl.com

Soft tampons I'll be honest and say I know nothing about, they seem to be an invention to allow for penetrative sex during menstruation, but they do seem to be safer than commercial tampons – going on what I know about commercial tampon manufacturing, which is a lot.
Gynotex - http://www.gynotex.com

Homemade tampons, essentially you get a length of cotton fabric and roll, you customise the length and width, you can either sew them or just roll and stick it in, have a string attached or not and either reuse them or not – not for everyone.



I would say not to discount pads altogether, I'm a stead fast menstrual cup user myself but I had samples from Lunapads a few years ago and love wearing them from time to time because they are so comfortable because of the soft cotton fleece and because they don't gather as much as commercial pads I've found they don't leak as much.

If you've used commercial pads in the past, for example Always, then these are uncomfortable as hell, it has to do with the plastics and synthetic materials preventing aeration to your vulva, not to mention the plastic backing from the wings scratching at the tops of your inner thighs, even organic pads would be more comfortable.

http://www.lunapads.com – These are the best known of the cloth pads web sites, they also sell the Divacup menstrual cups, Lunapanties, Lunablankets, and sponges, they are lovely people and their pads are fantastic, a little pricier than some places but very well made - . You can also get Lunapads from Amazon.com or form some health stores and parent/baby stores. Gladrags is another well known cloth pad company, they also sell the Keeper menstrual cups, Divacup menstrual cups and sponges, although I found their customer service a little poor - http://www.gladrags.com

Some other good cloth pad companies/web sites; http://urban-armor.org/urban-armor - Urban Armor, http://www.hagrag.bigstep.com – Hagrag, http://www.prettypads.com – Pretty pads, and http://www.reddyspads.com – Reddy's who sell g-style/belts that seem to be fashionable right now. Essentially these ones are good for the 'hip' factor.

You could also try making your own cloth menstrual pads, there are a few web sites that offer different patterns but the best is WEN's Sanpro campaign guide as they also give lists of different types of cloth pads - http://www.wen.org.uk/sanpro/reports/makeyourown_web.pdf

If you need more information on cloth pads I'd recommend the following web sites;

http://www.scarleteen.com/pink/washable.html - Great article from Scarleteen dispelling the myths about washable menstrual pads.
http://www.menstruation.com.au/menu24.html - Lots of information on cloth pads.
http://www.oxyboost.com/cleaning_pages/cloth_menstrual_pads.html - Lots of general information on menstrual options and cloth pads.

There is always free-flow, another option not for everyone, essentially you are using nothing, and there are three methods;
Free-flow – just bleeding using nothing at all, normally people who use this wear darker clothing, something tells me that white trousers would not be the best choice with this menstrual option. Free-flow layering – layering clothing so to go without using menstrual products but not allowing blood to soak through clothing.
Free-flow instinctive – this is impressive. There is someone out there who teaches this method, but it seems in theory something you could self-teach easily if you wanted to become really 'at one' with your period, this is learning when you are going to bleed and going to the bathroom when you feel the blood leaving your uterus. May sound a little far-fetched but I know people who use this successfully, after some practice.

Answer 2

While pads and tampons are convenient, they do have their drawbacks. Using tampons does increase your risk of TSS. Although pads do not have the same chemical concerns associated with them as tampons, many women are put off pads because of the amount of waste they produce. Since pads are not biodegradable, the only place for them to go is the landfill. Moreover, the long-term cost of using pads or tampons has lead an increasing number of women to seek out menstrual products that are more environmentally responsible and cost-effective. Some of these natural menstruation products include a menstrual cup and reusable menstrual pads. pads are better dont ever use tampons hope this helped (:

Answer 3

Cotton Maxi Pads

Answer 4

You could always go to your doctor and get the shot which means that you wouldn't get your period for 3 months. As for the moon cup I have no idea. I use tampons but I always use unsecented tampons because they don't cause as much irritation as the scented ones.

Answer 5

There are these little cups that you get and insert in the vagina, it collects the menses, and you just dump it out at certain times.
I've never used one, but a friend of mine uses it because shes big on environmentalism. This little cup is expensive, but you wash and reusable (not sure how many uses). But there is less waste than pads and tampons.
one brand is Diva, I think there are others as well.

http://www.divacup.com
http://www.keeper.com
http://www.lunette.com
http://www.mooncup.co.uk
http://www.softcup.com
http://menstrualcups.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/menstrual_c...
http://www.lunapads.com/howto/divacup.ht...
http://www.lunapads.com/productfaq/divac...

Answer 6

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Answer 7

There's definitely a menstrual cup available...It's like a diaphragm...But I'm not sure if it's over the counter or by prescription

Answer 8

I .. ummm.. sorry .. I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Wrong department store. Try cotton dockers rolled up tight ? Good Luck! :)

Answer 9

there are these things called instead and you can get them at any pharmacy but they totally suck................they spill everywhere when you take them out and they have to be in just right to work in the first place.................tampons with a pantyliner are by far easier to deal with

Answer 10

there the cup.. like u mentionned... theres not much to do... try using the tampons 4 the first 2 days of ur period with a pad... then pads 4 the lighter days... wear the light ones... theres a lesser chasnce of infections that way... goodluck

Answer 11

There is always the rolled up sock method.