About a year and a half ago I saw a YouTube video by one of my favorite vloggers talking about this weird thing. This vlogger, Laci Green, had taught me all sorts of thing about health and body issues so even though I had never heard of this "Mooncup" thing, I watched the video. As it turned out, there was actually this whole huge online community dedicated to menstrual cups like the Mooncup that I got sucked in to, and I'm glad I did.
Menstrual cups are little cups made out of medical grade silicone, rubber, or TPE. They are meant to be used instead of pads or tampons. They are reusable for up to ten years with proper care in some brands and five years in most brands. To use them you just fold them, insert like you would a tampon without an applicator, run a finger around the rim to make sure it's open, and go about your day. When it's time to remove you just break the seal by pushing the side of the cup, pull it out, dump it in the toilet, rinse (or wipe it off with toilet paper if you're in a public restroom) and reinsert. It's so comfortable that you can't even feel it once it's in and a lot of people actually forget they're even on their periods. Two times a month (before you use it the first time that month and after the last time) you boil it for ten minutes to clean it so it's sanitary to use. I don't have a dedicated pot just for boiling mine, so I take a bowl that I use only for my cup, boil two pots of water, and pour the water into the bowl over the sink for ten minutes. It's a lot less trouble than it sounds like.
One downside to cups (that's really sort of an upside) is that there are SO MANY brands to choose from. The brands themselves usually have two sizes, one for people who have given birth and/or are over 30 and another for those who haven't given birth and are under 30. They say that this should accommodate everyone, but in reality that's just not how vaginas work. Different people need all sorts of different sizes depending on where their cervix sits on their period and different softnesses of cup depending on how sensitive they are or how active they are. There are a few rules of thumb to determine which cup would be best for you. This page: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/cup-size-comparison-charts/ Has a chart of cup brands by "squishyness" or how soft they are. If tampons irritate your junk, you should go for a softer cup. If you're an athletic type you should go for a firmer cup because your pelvic muscles could flatten the cup and cause leaking. This page: http://menstrualcup.co/compare-menstrual-cups/ shows cups based on length. If your cervix is higher on your period go for a longer cup, or if it's lower go shorter. Finding your cervical position does mean not being afraid to stick a finger up there to check, but if that wigs you out, you probably aren't mature enough to handle using cups anyway. If you find your cervix right away when looking (at the first or second knuckle of your finger) it's probably low. Beyond that it's probably higher.
Should you get a cup? Here are some things to consider.
Pros:
No risk of TSS- There have been no reported cases of Toxic Shock Syndrome from using menstrual cup
Some people may get shortened periods (I did)
Some people may get less cramping
Less changing- Cups only need to be changed once every 12 hours
Extremely diminished environmental impact
Way cheaper in the long run (they pay for themselves in like 3 cycles)
They come with a little cloth bag so you can keep it in your purse and never be caught unprepared again
Cons:
Takes a little getting used to
More maintenance than disposables
You'll want to talk about it to people because it's so cool but periods are kind of taboo to talk about in society today so if you aren't really close with the person you want to talk to about it their reaction could range anywhere from really interested to really grossed out
List of people who might benefit most from using cups:
Campers (No bloody trash to haul out of the camp site)
College students (Cheaper)
Transgender individuals (No dealing with body dysphoria due to public restroom and leak troubles)
Eco-conscious individuals (Less waste for landfills)
Lazy people (Only changing twice a day)
Some things to consider!
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