Menstural cups?

ztoical · 10-01-2008 7:06am #1

Hi all,

I posted this question in the PI forum recently as I wasn't sure were else to post it and didn't know there was a womens forum. I hope its ok to ask this here.

I've been debating for ages about switching from tampons to either using a menstural cup or Cloth Menstrual Pads as they are both better for the enviroment and was wondering if anyone on the fourm has an experience with either?

KTRIC · 10-01-2008 8:10am

I'm sure the ladies won't mind. Coming from a man's point of view, I just read the articals and I had no idea that such things existed. The cup idea looks great, why don't more women use it ?

ztoical · 10-01-2008 8:22am

KTRIC wrote: »

I'm sure the ladies won't mind. Coming from a man's point of view, I just read the articals and I had no idea that such things existed. The cup idea looks great, why don't more women use it ?

Mainly I think because they were hard to come by but Boots has started selling them. The other issue with them is that some women have difficulty using them which is actually the main reason I wanted to post and see if anyone had used one. It took a while to get use to tampons and the cups look alot tricker.

I am leaning more towards the cloth pads, mainly cus you can buy them off esty pretty easily and they come in loads of different fabrics and cotton is meant to be very nice against your delicate bits but again I would like to ask if anyone has used them and found any issues with them [do they absorb as much? Do they wash ok? etc etc]

Crumble Froo · 10-01-2008 8:24am

if you use cups, you can put the reduce, reuse, recycle thing to an extra use, and use the blood for painting!

>Snipped<

ztoical · 10-01-2008 8:35am

narco wrote: »

if you use cups, you can put the reduce, reuse, recycle thing to an extra use, and use the blood for painting!

my first year painting teacher used her own pee to paint with so I've had my fill of artistic expression using bodily fluids. And if your going to use blood think big [8 pints of blood]

kizzyr · 10-01-2008 11:15am

They are called Mooncups as far as I know. Here is the link to a thread discussing it on another forum. Enjoy!!

http://project.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=280607&highlight=Mooncups

http://project.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=287383&highlight=Mooncups

WindSock · 10-01-2008 12:10pm

I was looking into these myself. They seem like a very good idea. Has anyone ever used them? what are the cons?

Nevyn · 10-01-2008 1:14pm

I know someone who has one and swears by it.

Cons:
You have to get used to inserting it properly so that it is sitting right.
Some womens may be just too tight for it.
You have to get used to removing it with out spilling.
You have to care and clean it properly

Pros:
No more dealitng with tampons or pads
more cost effective
Can be left in for a lot longer then a tampon
It warms to your body temp and is made of soft silicon so you forget it is there.
once you learn to insert and remove it properly you dont' have worry about needing
period pants or ruining your underwear.

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/menstrual_cup_faq.htm

Lux23 · 10-01-2008 1:15pm

I could see it spilling very easily and I just don't like the idea of it.

ztoical · 10-01-2008 3:45pm

Lux23 wrote: »

I could see it spilling very easily and I just don't like the idea of it.

What about the Cloth Menstrual Pads?

Quality · 10-01-2008 3:48pm

I dont find either of those very appealing at all.

The idea of having a cup of blood sloshing around inside me...UGGGHHHH!!!

and as for menstrual cloths. No thank you. I will stick to the aul tampax..

Beruthiel · 10-01-2008 3:57pm

Thaedydal wrote: »

You have to get used to inserting it properly so that it is sitting right.

After some practice, this is very easy, especially if inserted warm after washing it in hot water.

You have to get used to removing it with out spilling.

Also very easy, especially if done over the toilet.

You have to care and clean it properly

Soapy water while in use, boil in water for 5 mins after period. Easy peazy.

It can be left in all day so you never have to think about it.
No more worries about Toxic Shock Syndrome. Much cheaper in the long run.

Quality wrote:

The idea of having a cup of blood sloshing around inside me

It was in there already, I'm not seeing the difference.

Jules · 10-01-2008 4:00pm

Been reading about these a few weeks ago, other pros include not connected with TSS, also if you have your periods well timed you can insert them before so as to not be caught unawares. And i do like the long term cost affectiveness of them. Only thing i am put off by is the inserting. But i guess a lot of women were like that when tampons first came out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup

Quality · 10-01-2008 4:07pm

So if you are using a public toilet how are you supposed to use the cup?
I dont think people would be too impressed you washing your cup out in the sink beside them??

cuckoo · 10-01-2008 4:11pm

I've been using the mooncup for nearly a year now and am v happy with it.

It did take a little while to get used to, it sits a little 'lower' than a tampon, but once in place a don't feel it at all. The liquid doesn't 'sloosh' lol, it sort of sits there, as it's not really a thin liquid, kwim?

The major positives for me are:

-less waste going to landfill
-no more once a month 'wtf didn't i buy tampons last week' annoyance
-unlike a tampon it doesn't dry out everything down there, it just catches liquid rather than sucking it in.
-paid for itself many times over already!

Feel free to ask away any questions.

(can't believe my debut post on the ladies lounge it this....:D)

Lux23 · 10-01-2008 4:20pm

ztoical wrote: »

What about the Cloth Menstrual Pads?

Thats would be like terry cloth nappies. Im sorry but i just couldn't reuse stuff like that, im not Elizabeth I.

Beruthiel · 10-01-2008 4:31pm

Quality wrote: »

So if you are using a public toilet how are you supposed to use the cup?
I dont think people would be too impressed you washing your cup out in the sink beside them??

Why would you need to?
As I said above you can leave it in all day.

Maple · 10-01-2008 4:36pm

ztoical wrote: »

What about the Cloth Menstrual Pads?

No way. I couldn't. i hate using ordinary towels, like wearing a nappy.

xzanti · 10-01-2008 4:54pm

Quality wrote: »

I dont find either of those very appealing at all.

The idea of having a cup of blood sloshing around inside me...UGGGHHHH!!!

and as for menstrual cloths. No thank you. I will stick to the aul tampax..

2nded... Don't fancy it at all, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with a tampon..

Pigletlover · 10-01-2008 6:14pm

maple wrote: »

No way. I couldn't. i hate using ordinary towels, like wearing a nappy.

LOL, me too. I don't think I'll be trying the Mooncup anytime soon either. It seems like a good idea but I'd be nervous of trying it out, knowing me I'd put it in wrong and leak everywhere

ztoical · 10-01-2008 6:37pm

Quality wrote: »

I dont find either of those very appealing at all.

The idea of having a cup of blood sloshing around inside me...UGGGHHHH!!!

and as for menstrual cloths. No thank you. I will stick to the aul tampax..

Interesting to hear the different comments. Have to say I didn't like the idea of a tampon when it was first explained to me - shoving what looked like a really fat pipe cleaner in you but got over that. The idea of the cup collecting menstrual blood doesn't sound bad at all I mean come ladies were not boys we know you don't just start gushing blood once month.

When they brought baby formula in people thought it was all the rage and you were icky for breast feeding and now we trying to get people back to breast feeding. Using cloth menstrual pads sounds like going back to basics to me.

ztoical · 10-01-2008 6:40pm

cuckoo wrote: »

I've been using the mooncup for nearly a year now and am v happy with it.

It did take a little while to get used to, it sits a little 'lower' than a tampon, but once in place a don't feel it at all. The liquid doesn't 'sloosh' lol, it sort of sits there, as it's not really a thin liquid, kwim?

The major positives for me are:

-less waste going to landfill
-no more once a month 'wtf didn't i buy tampons last week' annoyance
-unlike a tampon it doesn't dry out everything down there, it just catches liquid rather than sucking it in.
-paid for itself many times over already!

Feel free to ask away any questions.

(can't believe my debut post on the ladies lounge it this....:D)

Cheers for sharing cuckoo -can I ask where do you get yours? was it boots, someone told me they are stocking them now?

Nightwish · 10-01-2008 7:24pm

Wouldnt be into it myself. I dont really like the "back to basics" idea. If I were to get knocked up I wouldnt breastfeed. I dont like the idea of a reusable cup. I just prefer to get rid of anything that has been used for the purpose of blood absorption. I dont think it would suit me anyway as I cannot use tampons due the suffering I endure monthly.

Peared · 10-01-2008 8:14pm

Cons: Ick

That is all.

echosound · 10-01-2008 8:46pm

Nightwish wrote: »

I dont think it would suit me anyway as I cannot use tampons due the suffering I endure monthly.

snap, cannot use tampons so defo not going to contemplate a rubber cup.

Just wondering, how can you leave it in all day, would you not *have* to empty it once or twice during the day if you have very heavy periods? Is there absolutely no chance of leakage? (another reason I don't use tampons).

The first thing I thought of when I first heard about mooncups a few years back was "urgh, so in a public toilet you waddle out of the cubicle with your keks round your knees, tip out the blood in the sink, wash it out, smile at the other women recoiling from you, and waddle back in to re-insert it" - shudder.

jellie · 10-01-2008 10:25pm

ztoical wrote: »

I mean come ladies were not boys we know you don't just start gushing blood once month.

LOL, its funny cause its true, my bf seemed to think that when i get my period theres suddenly gonna be a huge gushing of blood.

personally i dont think i could try the cup. even the thought of it just makes me shudder. ugh.

Quality · 10-01-2008 10:35pm

ztoical wrote: »

When they brought baby formula in people thought it was all the rage and you were icky for breast feeding quote]

I dont think you can compare breast feeding to inserting a cup into you to collect your menstrual flow or using pads.

WindSock · 10-01-2008 10:36pm

echosound wrote: »

"urgh, so in a public toilet you waddle out of the cubicle with your keks round your knees, tip out the blood in the sink, wash it out, smile at the other women recoiling from you, and waddle back in to re-insert it" - shudder.

It was stated previously that it will do you for a whole day, but if it doesn't, surely you would just tip it into the toilet and not the sink?

ztoical · 10-01-2008 10:55pm

Quality wrote: »

ztoical wrote: »

When they brought baby formula in people thought it was all the rage and you were icky for breast feeding quote]

I dont think you can compare breast feeding to inserting a cup into you to collect your menstrual flow or using pads.

why not? they are both natural bodily functions.

Breast feeding has taken an awful bad rap in the past few years to the point were laws had to be changed so women wouldn't be chucked out of shops/cafes/etc for breast feeding their children. I know alot of people both men and women who go ewwww thats disgusting when you mention both breast feeding and breast feeding in public.

I'm not going pyshco femnaiz, I don't think you should be drinking or drawing or dancing around with menstural blood but at the end of the day it is only blood. I can understand the people who don't use tampons being a little icky about the cups but I can't see the difference really between the cup and a cotton plug covered in chemicals, including pesticides used on the cotton and chlorine used to bleach them.

Quality · 10-01-2008 11:10pm

Yes they are natural bodily functions

Lactating is natural
Menstruating is natural

Breast feeding is the most natural thing in the world from my experience.

However inserting a cup in the vagina is not the most natural thing in the world....

I suppose if it was recommended by a friend I may consider it. But I dont think I will be a pioneering woman for Mooncups...

ztoical · 10-01-2008 11:17pm

Quality wrote: »

Yes they are natural bodily functions

Lactating is natural
Menstruating is natural

Breast feeding is the most natural thing in the world from my experience.

However inserting a cup in the vagina is not the most natural thing in the world....

I suppose if it was recommended by a friend I may consider it. But I dont think I will be a pioneering woman for Mooncups...

attaching a breast pump isn't very natural either [or comfortable]

I'm going to give both a try, the cup and cloth pads - shall see how I get on

Menstural cups?

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