Yes, it's just 1 menstrual cup against the hundreds of tampons/pads one would need!
Growing up in a small Indian town my mother gave us the privilege of using pads but they were pricey and at times we would swap with home made cloth pads but they can leak and were messy to clean. It was still always embarrassing keeping and carrying the giant pads in public places, the shops would sell them by wrapping in a newspaper and then keeping in a opaque bag. There were other challenges of pads slipping from position, you needed tight fitting underwear, can have rashes and a foul smell too.
Running a medical store myself at the age of 15 I learned about the tampons because one posh auntie requested for them. In 1996 they were costly and I dared not use anything which I had to insert in my body...nobody promoted them then and the associated benefits. All we got was sanitary pad samples at school.
I remember bunking swimming when mensurating and running my 1st few marathons wearing a sanitary pad.
It was only in 2011 when on a cycling expedition with other 108 girls/women in the Himalayas which lasted for nearly a month I got to learn about the benefits of tampons...how they can fit in your fist, you can change them by just squatting, dispose so easily and they are made of just cotton(no plastic)..you can swim, run and you get no rashes or nasty smell! I was earning my own money now and could afford a tampon and found it a blessing!
Then in 2014 I read about the Menstrual Cup on a girls blog who was going green...I was amazed had never heard of such a thing... although they had been around for more than a century !!!
I did my research( I always do), read about the benefits and what's not good about them...how to insert them/ pull them out, what size I should go for, available brands etc.
The more I read about them the more excited I was about them... although half of my bleeding years had gone I could still try one out. I wondered why didn't I hear about them before ..maybe not many use them or talk about them or promote them?
I was prepared to try them out ordered my 1st mooncup in Nov 2014 for £15. It took me 2-3 cycles to adjust the tail size( I've completely removed the tail), techniques of inserting or pulling out and their presence inside me, getting used to seeing my own blood, which doesn't smell at all!
I can do whatever I want with it in me...yes...swim, run, dance, intercourse, sleep, I even have an IUD for more than a year so it can coexist with the menstrual cup.
It's like liberation for me from the whole effort of shopping, disposing, planning activities.
My cup in its 5th year now..I've not purchased a single pad/tampon since...
I've heard stories about how some don't get how to insert ...there is just one rule..squat(as if sitting on a toilet seat)...fold it up and insert as you release it adjust itself just turn it a bit it will do it's job( create suction)
or how one lady panicked when she could not pull it out...just pinch it with your fingers and break the suction and then pull out...if you can't reach it ..means you are not squatting. I know when it's full and needs emptying you can feel it....I've had spotting at times when I've been lazy to empty it.
Like anything else it'll take you sometime to get used to it...but only if you want to..but please I recommend do your research about it!
Why I write the post today...I always thought I never heard about the Menstrual Cup sooner as I come from a small town of India and it's still not popular there but here in UK it is. Today when talking to an English work colleague, my age, she had not heard about it...so if we don't talk about it how will people know about it?
Please spread the word and share your experiences, it'll not only reduce the landfills it will save you some money, reduce period anxiety and liberate!
I have a 10 year old daughter and I plan to introduce her to a her own menstrual cup when she starts her cycle.
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