Why Menstrual Cups Are A Great Option You Should Consider During Your Periods

Menstrual cup use in India is fairly new; here’s all you need to know on why you should consider this super environment-friendly product.

Menstrual cups are a modern form of sanitary protection and a great alternative to sanitary pads or even tampons. Menstrual cups were first invented in 1937 by American actress Leona Chalmers. She filed the copyright of the product and designed menstrual cups made of latex rubber.

Menstrual cups are worn inside the vagina during menstruation to collect menstrual blood. They are different from tampons and pads since they collect blood while pads and tampons absorb it.

Why use menstrual cups?

Menstrual cups are a wonderful product, though little known until now. Priyanka Jain, the Founder of Hygiene & You, a start-up which provides such innovative feminine hygiene products says, “Cups can make you forget that you are on your periods. They are comfortable, convenient and discreet. With a cup, you can run, swim or do anything that you want to. They bring back your freedom”.

Here I sum up the reasons as to why women should consider using it during periods.

• Pads and tampons cause massive damage to our environment by increasing the amount of solid waste products – because of the simple reason that after being used these have to be disposed. Menstrual cups are reusable and can last anywhere between 3-10 years as it is made of medical grade silicone (which is also used to make artificial body parts for patients). Hence, there is no question of disposing it and make our surroundings filthy.
• Menstrual cups come in multiple sizes, and you can pick one depending on factors such as whether you’ve had a vaginal delivery. your fitness levels, build and menstrual flow quantity. It is easier now to find a size that suits you.
• Menstrual cups are convenient to carry. It easily goes into a small pouch bag and doesn’t consume as much space as a packet of sanitary napkins does.
• Sanitary napkins and tampons are not reusable and hence require repeated purchase. Since, menstrual cups are reusable it saves money even if the one-time cost seems to be higher.
• Some women experience severe cramps during periods. Menstrual cups have the potential to reduce severity of such cramps.
• Menstrual cups are leak proof. After being unfolded in the vagina, the cup creates a mild suction and this suction prevents leakage.
• Since, menstrual cups are leak proof; it provides a permanent solution to work hindrance. Women can follow their regular routine and even participate in activities like swimming.
• Usually menstrual cups take 3-10 hours to fill up (depending on the nature of flow); hence women do not have to empty the cup often. With sanitary napkins and tampons this was a huge problem because women had to change them often so as to prevent leakage.
• If there are medical issues, women can keep track of their total amount of menses through menstrual cups because some menstrual cups have measuring marks on them.
• Menstrual cups are not associated with Toxic Shock Syndrome or TSS. For women using tampons, a small percentage are prone to TSS. Women can urinate with the menstrual cup on because it covers only the vaginal opening and not the urethra through which we urinate.

New to menstrual cup use? Help at hand!

Menstrual cups are user friendly. Wearing a menstrual cup is a three step procedure. Firstly, the user has to fold the flexible cup. Secondly, she has to gently insert the folded cup in her vagina, tilting back towards the base of the spine. The cup should sit comfortably just inside the vagina. Thirdly, with the help of fingers the cup should be unfolded in the vagina.

After using a menstrual cup it should be sterilised and stored by wrapping it in a cotton cloth.

While a few women might find themselves uncomfortable with the cups, a lot of this is also due to our unfamiliarity with the product and reluctance to use a product that goes inside the body.

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If you like the idea of using a product that is a one-time buy, benefits the environment and has no side effects, headover to Hygiene & You to check out some excellent menstrual cup options. For more information, you can watch informational videos here.

hands holding a menstrual cup image via Shutterstock

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Shwetashri Sarkar

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