From the time I’ve heard of menstrual cups and read a ton of reviews from users, I have always wanted to switch to it. Few of the obvious reasons were the eco friendly, pocket friendly and rash free periods. But at the same time, the thought of inserting something into the vagina sounded extremely scary. After procrastinating for two years, a heavy period experience, untidy college washrooms and the difficulty to clean up myself every now and then when at work motivated me to switch to a menstrual cup.
A menstrual cup is a reusable feminine hygiene product. It’s a small, flexible funnel shaped cup made of rubber or silicone that you insert into your vagina to catch and collect menstrual fluid. (www.healthline.com)
How to use a menstrual cup? And some tips for first time users:
- Measuring your cervix and understanding the structure of your body is necessary and the first thing one should do before purchasing the cup.
- Finding the right size cup is necessary. The cup comes in different sizes for different age groups of people and for the ones who have given birth vaginally. By considering all these factors, purchase the one that is suitable for you.
- Finding a comfortable and suitable position for inserting the cup is necessary. For most people, the squat(complete squat) position works as it keeps the muscles relaxed. For few of them, keeping the leg on a raised platform works.
- Selecting the right kind of fold makes the insertion easier. There are different ways of folding the cup like c fold, 7 fold/ triangular fold , punch down fold and many more. For most of us triangular/ 7 fold or punch down fold works as the tip of the cup becomes small in dimension and hence it will be easier to insert.
- Keeping yourself relaxed is highly important while you insert the cup. Amidst all the fear, anxiety and ambiguity(which are very common), keeping oneself relaxed is necessary as it helps in loosening of muscles and makes insertion easier.
- While inserting the cup make sure that you have sterilized the cup( follow the instructions given in the package) and your hands are clean. Sterilizing the cup makes it softer and easier to insert.
- Make sure that you insert the cup at an angle of 45° and not straight as our body is structured in that way.
- Once when you insert the cup ensure that it’s completely inside and has popped up inside your body. The popping sound may not be evidently heard but you can make sure that it has opened up by running your fingers around the base. In case the cup has not opened, gently rotate it with the help of the stem of the cup. The cup when opened creates a suction seal inside and collects the menstrual blood. The tip should not protrude after insertion of the cup.
- One should not feel any kind of discomfort after inserting the cup. One should also not feel that there’s something inside your body after inserting the cup. This is an indication of the cup being properly inserted.
- If you are using the cup for the first time, try inserting it on the day when you have heavy flow. Menstrual blood acts as a natural lubricant and eases the process of insertion.
- While removing the cup, use the squat position and try to locate the tip. With the help of the tip, grab its base. Now gently squeeze the base to release the suction seal created and slowly remove the cup by pulling. This is quite a tricky task till you get comfortable with the cup. Make sure that your hands are clean while you do this.
- Every time when you remove the cup, wash it with running water or the solution given along with the cup.
- After completion of the cycle, clean and sterilize the cup before storing it.
Advantages of using a Menstrual cup:
- It is Eco friendly and Pocket friendly: A woman roughly uses 12-20 pads in a cycle and the average cost of one pad is roughly around 8-15 rupees which means she spends around 100-200 rupees during one cycle. The average amount in a year would be around 1200-2400 rupees. The menstrual cup is a one time investment wherein you will spend roughly about 500-800 bucks and the cup lasts for 5-10 years. Sanitary waste is one of the major sources of waste in our country. Every year about 33.6 crore women menstruate out of which 12.1 crore women use disposable sanitary napkins. That means an average of 12,30,00,000 sanitary napkins go into trash every year. Since sanitary pads are made of polymers and non biodegradable plastics, it takes 500-800 years to decompose whereas a cup lasts for about 10 years and we can definitely cut down the amount of waste being generated.
- Rash free periods and the best part is that you’ll not feel the period flow.
- No fear of leakage and stains. The cup once inserted properly doesn’t create any leaks.
- A cup can give protection up to 12 hours (depending on your flow). Therefore one need not have to worry about cleaning oneself every now and then.
- Portable and reusable. Cup is small in size, light in weight and is easier to carry.
In spite of doing a thorough research on menstrual cups, most of us still have a ton of queries and will be ambiguous regarding its usage. Initially when I bought the cup, I thought I would be able to insert the cup in a single go. But to be honest, it took me around 5 months just to figure out a way to insert the cup and two more cycles to get a proper hold on its usage!!(Well, it might not be the same with your case. Some maybe able to get a good hold of it in the beginning itself ). The fear, confusion and dilemma are completely natural and going through these are inevitable. Watching a couple of YouTube tutorials will also help you to get a proper picture of the insertion and removal of the cup. Initially few might find it tricky to remove the cup. But once you get hold on the usage of the cup, you’ll appreciate the comfort it gives during your menstrual cycle.
Sometimes all you need is a gentle push to move ahead in your life. I hope you have found this as a gentle push to push yourself to switch to a menstrual cup. For further queries, feel free to reach out to me through comments or write to me at anarghyatp@gmail.com.
Not to forget, I have been using a menstrual cup from a brand called comfy cup by Ms.Divya Gokarna. It is one such project which aims at women empowerment and supports the thought of “Atma Nirbhar Bharath”. The cups are made of medical grade silicone and are super comfortable, neither too hard, nor too soft and very easy to insert. You can check their website www.comfycup.in and reach out to them through 7349618782 for further details.
(A word of caution: If you are allergic to silicone or incase of any discomfort after wearing the cup, kindly reach out to your doctor)
anubhavalahari 