This story starts with a cup, not one full of blood but one full of beer. Almost a decade ago I was at this party, can’t remember whose party but I do remember that while I was sipping my beer one of my girlfriends told me something that will change my life forever: “I’ve been using this cup for my period, it’s kind of gross, but there’s a cup that you can use instead of a tampon. It’s a silicone cup that you put in your vagina and collects your period blood and then you just empty it and wash it. It’s the best thing ever”; wait what? What are you talking about? A reusable feminine hygiene product? What kind of sorcery is that?
I was shocked. After my friend explained to me how the menstrual cup worked I was just stoked. As a university student I was pretty much starving 24/7, no money, no luxuries, only the basics and dog food (for my dog, not for me) were things I could afford. Every time my period came I felt like I was flushing my money down the toilet (literally). I used to try to make the best out of a tampon box (using them for as long as it was healthy, if I didn’t fit in right I wouldn’t change it even if I was uncomfortable, etc.) I just couldn’t cope with how expensive these products were and how useless and non-environmentally friendly too. So when I heard about this magic menstrual cup thing I knew I needed one.
I’m from Mexico, as you can imagine this product wasn’t even close to being sold there. I did some research and a couple of months (or periods) after, my mum was going to the United States to visit some relatives and I asked her for one thing: Could you bring me a menstrual cup? I think I almost drew a picture for her to find it. When my mum came back she brought me this little box and told me, it was hard to find and cost $70 usd but here it is. I think my aunty paid for it as a present or something (thank God), anyway $70 bucks was less than what I used to spend on tampons in a year. And that’s how my love story began. Me and my menstrual cup.
The start of the relationship
When my period came, I was so excited, like when you think you’re pregnant and then your period makes a fashionably late appearance, but you’re happy to see blood between your legs because that means that you’re not having a baby? That kind of excitement. I read the instructions and couldn’t find much info online on how to use it, but I was just thrilled to give it a go.
The first time I tried to put it in was a resemblance of the first time I tried to put a tampon in, I saw the cup and thought, how in hell am I going to get this in my vagina? I was folding it up, twisting it, trying to get it in and just running a hot mess. Finally the cup went in and I thought, how am I gonna get it out? But then I thought that’s a problem for future me, so I put my work pants on and off I went to whatever shit job I was having at the moment. I think timeshare.
Obviously I didn’t put it in the right way and by the time I got to work I was already bloody. I went to the toilet and tried to fix it, but the damage was done. The good thing is that as a semi-goth girl I was wearing black so the blood was camouflaged, the bad thing is that I was kind of disappointed. But as the stubborn person that I am I wasn’t letting this go.
I kept trying to master the art of the cup handling, like a padawan tries to master the force “The force is strong with this one, young menstrual cup handler”. Finally, two periods after, I did it right, and when I did it right, it was the best thing ever. In fact, I just remembered that I’m wearing the cup right now, that will explain me crying to a Coca-cola commercial before, because I’m on my period.
The perks
I could just rave about the awesomeness of the menstrual cup for hours, every time I can, I love to tell people how cool the cup is. I’m like a Jehova Witness of the cup, I could tell you stories on how it’s gonna change your life and how using the cup automatically makes you a better human, but I might just give you some facts, like real data to convince you to join the “Cup Awakeness” and just be better, in general, go through the effort of doing it, save some money and if at the beginning it’s a little bit hard, just imagine Yoda cheering you up saying “Tampons are the path to the dark side” or something like that.
In the meanwhile here are some facts:
- Menstrual cups can be used for years. (Mine lasted 7 years)
- Instead of spending money on tampons or sanitary napkins each month, you can save some cash.
- Most women report that they don’t even feel the cup when it’s in place.
- You can wear a menstrual cup for up to 12 hours before it needs to be emptied. Compared to the average 4 to 8 hours for a tampon, that’s a fair amount of time saved.
- Unlike tampons, menstrual cups don’t dry the vagina. This preserves the healthy bacteria that protect you from vaginal infections.
- Menstrual cups aren’t associated with toxic shock syndrome (TSS), which is a rare, life-threatening condition linked to tampon use.
- Menstrual cups don’t contain chemicals found in tampons and pads, such as bleach and dioxin. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Trusted Source, some dioxins are known to cause cancer in humans.
- Many women report having less severe cramping when using cups, although no clinical studies have been performed to support this.
- Menstrual fluid develops an odor when exposed to air. Cups eliminate this issue.
- Reusable menstrual cups are environmentally friendly. The Women’s Environmental Network reports that each year more than 400 million pounds Trusted Source of sanitary pads, tampons, and tampon applicators end up in landfills.
If you decide to give it a go, please do! I swear it’s worth the try, if you’re already using one good on you! I’m sure using the menstrual cup gives you heaven points! So keep helping to spread the goss and share this with your girls, lets reduce those 400 million pounds of sanitary pads and tampons to 0! I’m sure we can.
Thanks for reading and happy period 🙂
Data via Healthline | Images via Moxie
planetuterus.com 