- Have you ever been caught short without a spare tampon or sanitary pad when you needed one?
- Do you hate that time of the month when everyone in the office knows it’s your period because you take your handbag to the toilet?
- Do you suffer from dryness or irritation from tampons or dislike the odours that sometimes accompany pads?
- Is your period very light so that you are frustrated by the hygiene requirement to change your sanitary products so frequently?
- Are you tired of spending so much money on sanitary products?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions then the mooncup is for you. In fact, having used a mooncup for two years now, I would never go back to anything else and I would (and often do) recommend it to anyone.
What is a mooncup?
The mooncup is a silicone menstrual cup that you insert into the vagina, as you would for a tampon. The cup creates a seal with the sides of the vagina and menstrual blood then collects in the cup. The mooncup then has a “tail” so that you can easily get a grip on it to remove it when it needs emptying.
Because the cup is made of silicone rather than fibres you can insert it when you aren’t bleeding and can leave it in as long as you like – perhaps even until it is full (it holds 14ml). The lack of fibres means the risk of infection is reduced. Bacteria don’t have anything to latch onto.
Why haven’t I heard of the mooncup before?
According to the mooncup website, menstrual cups were developed at the same time as tampons, in the 1930s. But the tampon companies had bigger marketing campaigns. As a result everyone quickly heard about tampons but few people heard of the mooncup.
Advantages of the mooncup
Keeping it in for long periods of time: My periods are very light these days. As a result I can leave my mooncup in unchecked for 24 hours at a time. In fact, it’s unusual for me to clean it out anytime other than my morning shower now.
No more ‘bag signal’: When my periods were heavier, I found it was easy enough to empty the mooncup into the toilet at work, wipe it out with some toilet paper and reinsert it – no need to take a bag with a clean tampon to the toilet with me. This is also a big advantage if you are active outdoors person. I no longer have to carry used tampons about in my rucksack.
Putting it in when you aren’t bleeding: My contraceptive pill means I can predict when my period will start. I insert my mooncup half a day beforehand to avoid any unexpected leakages. I also leave it in for an extra day at the end to be sure I’ve stopped.
Reduced pain: My friend found that her period pains reduced when she started using a mooncup. We had two theories: (i) her tampons had caused irritation; (ii) the mooncup collects blood higher up so remnants don’t stay in your vagina going old and brown.
Improved sex: I used to suffer from painful sex straight after my period. I would be very dry and my partner used to say that it felt like I had scar tissue on the vagina wall. Since I started using the mooncup both of these problems have diminished so they were probably caused by tampons.
Durability: The website says that a mooncup should last at least 20 years. I’ve only been using mine for a couple of years so I can’t comment, but it certainly still looks as good as new.
Cost savings: Think how much you spend in a year on sanitary products. I think I was spending £60-80 a year, and my periods were quite light. With a mooncup you just buy it once – after the initial outlay you pay no more.
Problems with the mooncup
The need to persevere: For the first 6 or 7 months I found I still needed a liner. I couldn’t be sure I would get the mooncup positioned correctly and avoid leakages. I also found it awkward and sometimes even a little painful to insert. However, practice really does make perfect with this product so keep at it – for the last year or so I’ve never needed a liner and found I can slip it in quite easily.
The ick factor: It can get unpleasant emptying out a mooncup. Especially if you do it in a toilet cubicle. Even more so if you get a strand of womb lining that needs pulling out. I get round this by only emptying mine in the shower, but if your periods are heavier and you have to empty it several times a day you might find this difficult to get used to.
The initial cost: The mooncup is not cheap, but given the savings from no longer buying other sanitary products it should pay for itself within a few months and you’ll get years of use out of it.
If you do nothing else, get yourself a mooncup!
I think the mooncup is fantastic and worth every penny I paid for it. I really do recommend it to everyone. Are you convinced?
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Great links for the weekend! // May 7, 2010 at 21:05
[...] outdoor life is how to deal with periods and peeing outdoors. I’ve previously written about the Mooncup to help deal with periods, but Sara, also known as Rock Climber Girl, did an excellent post [...]