Last night I came across a product called a Menstrual Cup...?

Question

It is a silicon cup that you insert into the vagina and it acts basically as a dam. You only take it out 3 to 4 times a day. Has anyone had any experience with these?

Answer 1

I've used a Mooncup for 5 years now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine, I suffer from menorrhagia (excessively heavy periods) without a menstrual cup not be able to leave the house because I'm so heavy. When I used to use tampons and pads it cost me a fortune (not to mention the environmental cost of all that waste and bad manufacturing processes) and I would have constant vaginal infections as tampons aren't good for vaginal health and commercial brands contain chemicals that add to the problems, where as with a menstrual cup it only cost me £17 for something that will last me 10 years with no waste at all and I haven't had a single infection in all the time I have used a menstrual cup.

I know thousands of women who use them, they have money back guarantee's so you can send them back for a full refund if you don't like them, but I have yet to find a single woman who has sent her menstrual cup back.

Menstrual cups are far more body positive than most other options, environmentally friendly, cheap, very convenient, hygienic, and most importantly they are safe - menstrual cups have not been linked to any health problems.

You only really need to empty menstrual cups every 12 hours (I just empty mine in the shower making it super-easy to use and clean), you can wear them to bed, they don't contribute to menstrual cramps, you can wear them before your period is due, you can wear them during sports, nothing shows on the outside, they are reusable so you don't have to carry spares, nothing shows on the outside so they are good for things like swimming.

They can take a little while to get used to, just like anything else, but there are various ways of inserting and removing them, once you have the hang of them they are really easy to use. You just remove and empty every 12 hours - you don't need to clean every time, at a push just wipe them off of rinse them - then wash at the end of every cycle, they don't need much of a clean but if you want they can be sterilized too.

It's not like a dam, they are cups, so they collect your blood rather than absorb it, which is one of the reasons they are so much more hygienic and safer than tampons or pads, as they don't absorb your vagina's natural fluids meaning the mucus membrane of your vagina stays moist and it can carry on cleaning itself out as it would normally, it also means no comfortable place for bacteria to multiply.

http://www.divacup.com
http://www.mooncup.co.uk
http://www.thekeeper.com
http://www.softcup.com
http://menstrualcups.org

Answer 2

ive heard of these, but i dont think id ever use one, id be to scared of it spilling and stuff, or not being able to get it out but i supose, you shouldnt 'knock it, before you try it'!