How well do cloth menstrual pads and menstrual cups work?

Question

Can I still swim while wearing a menstrual cup?

Ok please don't bother answering if you don't have full detail why you don't like them or don't know what it is....

...what about organic cloth pads.....I thought they held more

Answer 1

I have never tried cloth pads, but I have heard that many women who are used to regular pads really like them.
I use a menstrual cup (Diva Cup) and love it. It is much more sanitary and makes me feel cleaner than a pad or tampon, plus -- one of the best things -- they are excellent for swimming!
Good luck!

Answer 2

Menstrual cups are fantastic, pure and simple, much safer and more hygienic than tampons but also a hell of a lot more convenient. For swimming they are far better than tampons because they can be left in for a lot longer without leaking, nothing shows on the outside of your body, they don't contribute to menstrual cramps like tampons do and unlike tampons they don't absorb the water so you don't feel bloated and squelchy coming out of the pool.

I've been using a Mooncup for four years now, I have menorrhagia (excessively heavy periods) and if it was not for menstrual cups I'd not be able to leave the house, I don't leak and I don't have to constantly go to the toilet to change a tampon anymore.

As for cloth pads, they are good mostly because they are so much more comfortable than commercial pads or organic pads, the problem is that they simply don't hold as much blood – well, it's not so much that they don't hold as much blood, but that the blood can leak through. It's the same as with using commercial pads for the first time, you just have to learn when the pad needs to be changed, once you get the hang of it they are no more trouble than commercial pads or organic pads and work fine.

I have tried cloth pads and love them, but with my flow they were no use as they just had to be changed so often, but if your flow is more normal then I'd recommend them as there is a huge difference between how comfortable they feel compared to how uncomfortable commercial pads feel.

Answer 3

Well I can't add much to Jadea's post. She pretty much covered it. I also use the Mooncup UK. I love it and could never go back to tampons and pads. As far as my experience goes, when I first got it I didn't have much difficulty getting it in. I did leak a bit at first until I got the hang of it. I have also leaked a little when I let the cup get too full (both my errors, not the cup). I used to have horrible periods when I used tampons. I had cramps so bad and ached all over. Now I hardly cramp at all and I don't dread getting my period. I now know that the tampons were definitely the culprit. It makes me sick to think of all the chemicals I was putting in my body throughout the years I used tampons.

Answer 4

I have never heard of cups, so thanks girls for the new info, I will look for them this summer.

as for the tampons, that is all I use when I swim and I have never had a leak.

pads would be ridiculous because they would absorb the water and would not absorb the menstral. Also, pads are too bulky to wear with a swimsuit, the thin ones would never work.

was that any help?

Answer 5

I don't know anything about a mestrual cup but i use tampons when swimming and such.

Answer 6

I would use a tampon. Menstrual cups are no good.

Answer 7

What on earth is a menstural cup????? Never heard of that. A tampon is best when swimming.

Answer 8

I think so! But I suggest you use a tampon. Its safe!

Answer 9

I don't know but they sound really nasty.