There was once a time when I was constantly checking my tampon. Like, obsessively. You see, I have a tilted uterus (which means my cervix hangs out in a catty-whompus position). So tampons and me weren’t friends. Although, I always agreed with the “cool kids” about how “horrible” pads were. This was before I knew I was shoving bleached, pesticide ridden cotton up my vagina and that my life could be changed by one thing: a menstrual cup!
So, What’s a Menstrual Cup?
A menstrual cup is just as it sounds, it’s a cup that sits next to the cervix (the opening into your uterus) and collects menstrual flow instead of absorbing it. As I mentioned above, my uterus and cervix is a variation of normal that uses a cup perfectly well! I won’t lie, there have been messy times. But not of the “oops my tampon is slippin’ out” variety, but the “yup, there’s some blood from my vagina on my fingers” type.
Cups are usually made from medical grade silicone and can be used until they feel chalky, sticky, or show signs of cracking (when you go to buy one make sure it’s a FDA approved one). I’ve read different things on how many years they’ll last, but it seems to vary! They can safely be worn up to 12 hours, but may need to be dumped out sooner if you’re on a heavy flow day.
How Do I Get It…Up There?
It may take some time. Although creepy to some, I’d recommend you checking out where your cervix is in your vagina when going to use a cup. This way, you know about where to aim the cup to go. I have to make the stem of my cup pretty much parallel to the ground because that’s around-about where my cervical os (opening) hangs out. If you’re not comfortable with that, just try it in different areas until you don’t have any leaks. Also, if haven’t had it in long and notice leaks or spotting, just pinch it, take it out, and try again.
You may also need to use a different fold with your menstrual cup to get it in – no worries! Everyone finds something different that works.
Why Use a Menstrual Cup?
Some of these are my self reports on things, but I have read other women report the same things!
- Less cramping.
- I’m not sure if it’s related to not having to mess with a tampon as much or what, but I definitely experience way less cramping.
- No shoving harmful substances up your vagina
- Your vagina is a mucous membrane. This means that it absorbs things into your blood stream pretty quickly. If you’re using bleached cotton, not only are you essentially putting bleach up there, but also the pesticides sprayed on cotton. If you’ve ever been around cotton (Hey MO Bootheelers!) you’ve seen how much it gets sprayed.
- No smells
- I’m not talking fishy smells (see someone about that!), but that period-blood smell. That’s from your menses coming into contact with air while you’re using tampons or pads. With a menstrual cup, air doesn’t meet any fluid so you’re good!
- Sustainability
- Isn’t it ridiculous how much tampons and pads cost? Well, when you use a menstrual cup, you’re helping to not support that BS & you’re savin’ yourself some moo-lah. You’re also not throwing out a ton of plastic and trash with individually wrapped pads, tampons, and applicators (oh and no worries that a friend’s dog will pull out a used one from the trash!)
- Get to know your body
- I’m a huge advocate of getting to know your body. It’ll tell you what you need to hear if you listen! When you use a cup, you’re able to see how much you actually menstruate each month. It’s probably less than you thought! If you check out your cervical position, you got get to know where it hangs out and how this little doorway feels so you can better envision it.
Last Thoughts
When you first start using a cup, don’t feel ashamed to use a pantyliner as back up. Don’t feel upset that you don’t enjoy it right away either! My first cycle I was wearing my cup wrong (remember, tilted uterus), so it felt weird and starting slipping out. I then learned that as on my heavy days, I needed to dump sooner or my cup started sliding down.
You should also try and clean your cup about every 10-12 hours (whenever you take it out). If you’re at home, just get some gentle soap and scrub it around then rinse off in hot water. If you’re in public (hey nurses!) then you might benefit from buying menstrual cup wipes that you can throwaway after wiping your magical cup down.
To learn more about menstrual cups and figure out which maybe right for you, go to Put A Cup In It They have a pretty awesome quiz!
Interested in more healthy living tips and tricks? Check out all my blog posts on it here.
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