Disclaimer:  This is an awareness post for women which may not favor everyone. Try not to spread hatred 🙂

It has always been a taboo, to speak publicly about  menstruation in our society. However, I’m happy to notice that this mindset is slowly changin, these days. This prompted me to write this post about something that changed my worst ‘periods’ in life, to the happiest ones –  The Menstrual Cup!

Credits : Google Images

I have always used sanitary napkins ever since I had my first period, as a teenager. I have tried  different kinds of them – several brands and types, in fact. Last year, I moved to an apartment where the disposal of these pads gave me headaches every month (imagine how bad 5 days of ‘bloody’ plastic waste would be!). I kept looking for alternatives for a long time, without much success. I came to know about this thing called the menstrual cup, a long time back – and had even purchased one! But, I didn’t have the guts to actually try them on! 🙂

And, BOOM! There came my nightmare – non stop bleeding that lasted for more than 20 days –  and I had to undergo treatment for the same, to finally stop it. 5 days of sanitary napkin itself gives me makes me pull out my nerves, so imagine how 20 days of using sanitary napkins would be! It gave me skin allergies, which gave me the worst times of my life! That was when I decided that enough was enough. I took the courage to try out the menstrual cup! Initially, it was a bit difficult for me, but after a lot of practice, I got used to it. Today, I can safely say that switching to the menstrual cup was one of the best decisions I have ever taken, in life! Skin allergies and infections were now a thing of the past. I could even happily save a lot of my beautiful underwear from blood stains!

So, if you are a woman for whom periods are nightmares – I would love to share my experiences  about the menstrual cup to you. I also want to strongly recommend you to try this, if you can! (Please note: All things I discuss here are purely from my own experience,  things may vary from person to person – but I’m sure you will get used to it, eventually.)

The Moon Cup I own with stem trimmed  and with measurement levels 🙂

• The Menstrual cup is a medical grade silicone cup which is inserted directly into the vagina. It collects the menstrual fluid directly into it. The cup can be either hard or soft depending on the brand  you choose. Some cups even have a stem (a projection at its bottom to reach the cup to remove) and you need to trim them, so that the cup sits comfortably in your vagina.
• If you have used tampons, I would say that this is a much better alternative, by all means. Tampons go way inside your vagina, while the menstrual cup sits lower than the tampon.
• You can basically measure your menstrual flow – and this is one of the best things about the Menstrual Cup.
• Menstrual Cups are available in different sizes for different age groups. If you have given birth vaginally, there’s a special-sizes menstrual cup for you too.:D  Some brands provide cups for girls too, but I have no idea about them 🙁
• There are different brands of menstrual cups, available across the internet. I personally tried 4 brands and I have my reviews for each of them. Since I’m not promoting any particular brand – I’ll leave you to ask our dear friend – Google, for answers
• The Menstrual Cup is completely eco-friendly. You do not need to bother about disposing your menstrual fluid, provided you have access to a toilet bowl at your place.
• Probably the best thing about the Menstrual Cup is reusability. You don’t need to worry about disposing off your pads, at all!

I hope I have given you an idea about the advantages of the menstrual cup. Now, I shall try to give you a brief idea about insertion and removal of the cup. Always make sure your hands are clean before inserting and removing the cup 🙂 Also Relax yourself maximum for a smooth insertion and removal. 🙂

The way I fold the cup to insert it comfortably

How To Insert The Menstrual Cup

You can fold the cup into different folds , either C- fold or twist fold , many folds are  to refere , choose a one which is comfortable for you, and slowly insert into vagina and make sure the cup opens and a seal is created so that it stays firm 🙂

How To Remove The Menstrual Cup

Pinch the end of the cup to release the vaccum and move it in a zig zag motion to remove it, empty the fluid. I usually do this sitting on the tiolet seat so that I will not spill anything on the floor 🙂 Be care ful not to drop the cup into the toilet bowl (I lost one cup once )

How to clean the cup?

You can remove the cup and empty it. Once you are done, you can wash it with normal water. Also you can sterilize it with hot water. Please do not use any kind of soap other than the one which is specified to wash the cup.

How Long?

The cups claim a protection of 8-12 hours, but I would suggest you to remove the cup every 4 hours for your own good 🙂

To know more :

They are well explained here : http://www.mooncup.co.uk/how-to-use/

You can also refer youtube for video demonstration : This video helped me alot ! 🙂

Different brands I tried :

I tried these four brands :

• Moon Cup
  • This is the best one I tried so far, the cup is soft and sits firm and gives no leaks. <3
  • You can purchase it from their website.
  • It will be shipped from UK to India.
  • They also have good folding techniques all other info regarding the usage of the cup.
  • Its a bit pricey compared to others I haven but worth it 🙂
  • Comes in two sizes ( A and B)
  • For more details please visit their website : http://www.mooncup.co.uk/

The moon cup with stem trimmed , size B

• She Cup
  • Its my second favourite and bit hard compared to moon cup 🙂
  • Its available in India and can be purchased from the link provided below.
  • The best part of the cup is that it comes with Soap sheets for cleaning the cups.
  • Its cheap and reliable
  • For more details please visit their website : http://www.shycart.com/prd-menstrual-cup-shecup-793

• iCare Cup
  • Its softest one I have , easy to fold
  • Its available in stores in Kochi ( I got one from the medicine shoppe in kochi)
  • Initially it did wonders, later it started giving small leaks.
  • Its cheaper compared to other cups and does the job for the price.
  • Comes in two sizes
  • For more details please visit their website : http://www.icare-menstrual-cup.com/

• Silky Cup
  • I got these from Amazon and it did its job, but gave me leaks
  • Price wise its cheap
  • they claim it is available for girls and women.
  • Comes in sizes S,M,L.
  • For more details please visit their website : http://www.silkycup.com

I hope I’ve provided a little help in this topic! You may contact me if you have any doubt on this 🙂 Always happy to help 🙂

Have a Happy Period 🙂

Love,

Arch

xoxo