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 Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:31 pm
I'm not sure if this question has been asked a lot >_<
I have heard of menstrual cups, but hadn't bothered to get to researching on them until today after a freak out of falling asleep with a tampon in and sleeping a little over 8 hours with it in. I thought, "There's got to be a better way to avoid these occasional freak outs. Is there something I can insert inside to sleep in? To avoid a possible mess that could happen with a pad?" I also don't appreciate the dryness and irritation near the end of my period that occurs when I've been using tampons through my period.
I've noticed that a lot of the re-useable menstrual cups (the ones I'm interested in) don't have a risk of TSS, which is a plus, and they are medical-grade silicone unlike tampons, which can have some nasty chemicals. I am also thinking I may be able to save some money with the re-usable once since every year, that's a little over $100 a year on tampons alone, if I get pads - it'll be a bit more. So this seems like a cheaper option as long as I take proper care of the menstrual cup.
I'll also be moving next year, and it'll be a long drive. If I'm on my period then, I hate making the driver pull over every 4 - 5 hours to change a tampon. I've heard that you can leave the menstrual cup in for 12 hours max (especially on a lighter flow), and needs to be emptied more often for a heavier flow, but still a better time frame than a tampon allows.
So, I have a few questions for those who currently use or have used menstrual cups:
1. Pro's and Con's of menstrual cups?
2. Is the maintenance to dump it out and wipe it out a pain, or fairly simple?
3. Which brand of reusable menstrual cup do you think is best? DivaCup, LadyCup, etc.?
4. Is there any important information that I must know about menstrual cups before purchasing them?
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 3:10 pm
I bought a Diva Cup last September, and I'm glad I did! Tampons made me so dry and could be really uncomfortable, plus I was always paranoid about leaking.
Probably the only cons are that putting it in can be hard at first- you just have to figure out what works best for you, but it does take some getting used to. You have to fold it up, and sometimes it unfolds as you put it in and it makes it a little harder, but luckily silicone bends really easily. Also, dumping it out is kind of gross, and you have to be able to wash it out before putting it back in. In my bathroom at home, it's no big deal, I can just go over to the sink with my pants off, but it would be hard in a public restroom. (And by washing it out, I mean just rinsing out what I can, I usually don't use soap on it until after I'm done with it for the month.) (And only use soap that's safe for it!) You should also know that it does get discolored as you use it, since you can't wash everything out of it, but that's no big deal.
Fortunately, you can put it in in the morning and not need to take it out until you're getting ready for bed! I usually dump mine out more often when I'm at home, but I've definitely left mine in for ~12 hours with no problems. I also like that I don't have to worry about what to do with my tampon or pad, since the blood just goes down the toilet.
Since I've gotten it, I've only bought tampons once; I was going on a road trip and knew I wouldn't have anywhere to wash it out. I still keep them in case I need them, but I definitely prefer the cup!
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:28 am
Undecidability I bought a Diva Cup last September, and I'm glad I did! Tampons made me so dry and could be really uncomfortable, plus I was always paranoid about leaking. Probably the only cons are that putting it in can be hard at first- you just have to figure out what works best for you, but it does take some getting used to. You have to fold it up, and sometimes it unfolds as you put it in and it makes it a little harder, but luckily silicone bends really easily. Also, dumping it out is kind of gross, and you have to be able to wash it out before putting it back in. In my bathroom at home, it's no big deal, I can just go over to the sink with my pants off, but it would be hard in a public restroom. (And by washing it out, I mean just rinsing out what I can, I usually don't use soap on it until after I'm done with it for the month.) (And only use soap that's safe for it!) You should also know that it does get discolored as you use it, since you can't wash everything out of it, but that's no big deal. Fortunately, you can put it in in the morning and not need to take it out until you're getting ready for bed! I usually dump mine out more often when I'm at home, but I've definitely left mine in for ~12 hours with no problems. I also like that I don't have to worry about what to do with my tampon or pad, since the blood just goes down the toilet. Since I've gotten it, I've only bought tampons once; I was going on a road trip and knew I wouldn't have anywhere to wash it out. I still keep them in case I need them, but I definitely prefer the cup! Yeah, I looked how to insert them and it does look like it takes some practice, but once it's all figured out - it's easy. So it's good to know that this con can be overcome within time. I can imagine it might seem a bit different dumping it out in the toilet and then rinsing it out. I've heard of some sites selling washes to help rinse it out if it needs to be emptied in a public stall, or some women getting a damp paper towel to wipe it out for the time being - although, I'm sure it's best if soap is able to be used. Yeah! I heard on some sites use a "natural" soap - I'm guessing that means no perfumes, dyes, etc. but what soap would you recommend? It would be nice to keep an eye out for a certain brand of soap since there are so many soaps that are scented and fairly "unnatural". That makes sense that it gets discolored - I can believe that 3nodding and it's good to know it doesn't mess with the quality of the product. I appreciate your response! I understand that this may not be something a lot of women just go around talking about and I'm not sure how many people use them since generally pads or tampons is generally what most people mention if they talk about feminine products.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:12 am
I watched some videos on youtube to know what that is ... The con that I saw is if you go in a public washroom there is no sink next to the toilet. So, you cannot clean it....Unless you go out of the toilet, and wash it in front of everyone xp
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:06 pm
XxAriaxX I watched some videos on youtube to know what that is ... The con that I saw is if you go in a public washroom there is no sink next to the toilet. So, you cannot clean it....Unless you go out of the toilet, and wash it in front of everyone xp Well, I've been reading that the chances are slim you'll actually have to use a public restroom because the menstrual cups can be left in for a max of 12 hours and only needs to be changed about 2-6 times a day on a heavy day. If one is ever in the public restroom, some have suggested getting some wipes to clean it out that are safe to use, bring a water bottle, or wipe it out with toilet paper for the time being until you get home to wash it. It's a good idea to wash your hands before taking it out even in a public restroom, though 3nodding
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:43 pm
I have a diva cup, and I use softcups for the most part (which you can buy at walmart but they are not intended for the same length of use as a diva cup, hence why they're cheap).
I prefer the softcup, as it just feels better to me. There's a little stem on the diva cup that just is uncomfortable to me and it feels like it rests too low. I like cups in general much better than tampons, since my flow is so heavy. The real downside to it is when I work I can't really rinse out the cup and it can get kinda messy, but other than that, no complaints.
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THE_FAIRY_EMPRESS Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:14 am
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Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:15 pm
Tarrien I have a diva cup, and I use softcups for the most part (which you can buy at walmart but they are not intended for the same length of use as a diva cup, hence why they're cheap). I prefer the softcup, as it just feels better to me. There's a little stem on the diva cup that just is uncomfortable to me and it feels like it rests too low. I like cups in general much better than tampons, since my flow is so heavy. The real downside to it is when I work I can't really rinse out the cup and it can get kinda messy, but other than that, no complaints. I got softcup a while back to try and I like it better on my lighter days. I found that on my heavier days, it was just plain messy and I didn't like it. I found out that it's a lot different than a menstrual cup because instead of going straight up, it's put in horizontally and works a bit different. I didn't find softcup any cheaper than buying a box of tampons and plus, I'm trying to rid of disposable methods to go a bit green and not have to spend money every month on disposables and I suppose that's one thing that's important to me. You know you can trim off entire stem if you wanted to with the divacup? I actually ordered a divacup finally and got it yesterday in the mail. Although, I'll have to wait until next cycle to see how it works for me and hopefully it'll be awesome biggrin I'm just glad that you found methods that work best for you. I would honestly rather someone put a softcup in their body as opposed to a tampon.
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