For centuries women found all sorts of ways of dealing with their menstrual flow. Then the pad was invented, which quickly became the stick on pad. Then to the great relief of many women, along came the modern tampon. So in centuries of womanhood there hasn’t really been a great deal of innovation for something so commonplace. Maybe that’s why the interest in menstrual cups is slowly growing. Time to examine why you might like to give them a try.
One of the best reasons to use menstrual cups is that they last SO much longer than any other kind of sanitary product. Whereas tampon users can get through nearly a box a month, the average menstrual cup, if properly maintained, can last for up to ten years.
Because of this long life span, it is really easy to see how switching to using a menstrual cup can be so cost effective. It has been calculated that a woman can spend up to $1000 on maxi pads or tampons over a ten-year period; this is in comparison to the $25 to $40 that you would spend purchasing a single menstrual cup to last you just as long.
Using a menstrual cup allows longer periods of time between having to visit the bathroom and ‘freshen up.’ Whilst it is recommended that you should wear a tampon for not longer than eight hours, depending on your personal flow, you can wear a menstrual cup for up to twelve hours without having to worry about the dreaded legend of TSS.
Even if you do have a heavier flow than the average, a menstrual cup will still be more effective for you in terms of the amount of menstrual fluid that it can hold. Compared to a regular sized tampon, a menstrual cup can hold up to five times the amount of fluid, which again is great for reducing your trips to change.
Don’t be ashamed, it has happened to all us at one time or another! The good thing is that a menstrual cup works by forming a light suction vacuum, which means that if it is inserted correctly there is no chance of leakage like there is when a tampon becomes oversaturated and ceases to absorb.
Sometimes when a tampon has not needed to absorb a lot of fluid, the cotton material causes an uncomfortable scraping dryness upon insertion and removal. This dryness can lead to certain health problems with the vaginal wall, but using a menstrual cup does not pose this risk at all.
It is more common than some woman might expect, but there have been many reported cases of maxi pad users experiencing uncomfortable chafing and rashes from using the product. Due to the internal nature of the menstrual cup, this will never be an issue.
Given the fact that a menstrual cup can be worn for up to twelve hours before a change is needed, you will be able to have a much better and carefree night’s sleep than, for example, having to set an alarm to get up and change a tampon through the night or worrying about sleeping through and increasing your risk of toxic shock, or your pads slipping if you’re a wriggly sleeper.
We’ve all experienced that time of the month when our purses and bags become overcrowded with feminine products of different sizes and varieties. Reclaim your space and get rid of all of these. With a menstrual cup, all you need are a few wet wipes and perhaps some instant dry hand wash, and you are good to go in whichever bathroom you find!
I think it would be really helpful if ladies who are already using the menstrual cup share their opinions with us. It will help the undecided and unsure. What experiences have you had with the menstrual cup? Recommend or not?