Cup & I.
Ch. 3 Everything I Have Learned and Can Tell You About The Menstrual Cup
Thanks for reading Cup & I, where I have journaled my shift from sanitary pads to buying a menstrual cup. In Chapter 1 & Chapter 2, I have written rather extensively about the environmental, emotional, physical and social factors that led me to make this change — about sanitary waste, a body undergoing quarter-life changes and the women who led by example.
This is the final chapter of Cup & I where I will share my experience as a menstrual cup user in the form of an FAQ page. This is only one of thousands of cup review and forums and a 100% based on my personal experience so it has limited information. These are the questions I imagine a cup-curious individual or first time cup user asking, because these are the exact questions that I had when I started. Have any others? Feel free to ask me on malvika.tewari91@gmail.com.
Q1. What is a menstrual cup?
The menstrual cup is a menstrual hygiene device, made of medical grade silicone. You can replace sanitary pads & tampons by using the menstrual cup, thus reducing your dependency on one-time-use cotton & plastic products. It can be inserted into the vagina where it creates a vacuum and collects the menstrual blood for 6-8 hours, depending on your flow. It can then be removed, drained and rinsed before the next use. Menstrual cups can serve you for as long as 5 years if sterilized and rinsed regularly.
Q2. Is it safe & painless? Can using a cup make me prone to inflammation, infections or Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS)?
Yes, menstrual cups are safe to use as long as they are cleaned often (with water and very mild soap or rubbing alcohol) and sterilized in a boiling water — vinegar solution. 9 parts water to 1 part vinegar. If you make sure that all residue of menstrual matter is washed off and the cup is air dried after every cycle, you have nothing to worry about. TSS is known to be caused by pads and tampons that are not changed due to negligence over a long period of time causing bacterial growth. If you practice menstrual hygiene and empty the cup every 6–8 hours, you are safe from TSS. Moreover, the cup collects blood but does not expose it to air, making it a less of a bed for bacterial growth.
Is it painless? If you suffer from severe cramping or discomfort, using a cup may sound very daunting. It does take some getting used to when inserting and removing the cup initially. Though the body is very soft and flexible, the rim is made of a thicker layer of silicone. But when inside, the cup can barely be felt. It doesn’t cause chafing or discomfort like pads. Buy cups that are made of 100% medical grade silicone as it doesn’t react with the body or cause any infections. Any other plastics can cause rashes. However, if you feel any soreness or inflammation due to the material or in the case that you have injured yourself while inserting or removing the cup, please remove it immediately and seek medical help.
The only time I feel the presence of my cup is when it presses against my abdomen when I am flatulent or when my bladder is full. True story.
Q3. What is a good brand of menstrual cups available in India? Where can I buy it?
India has a growing market of menstrual cups. Some of the leading brands available in the country are — Boondh Cup (that’s the one I use), Diva Cup, She Cup and Lunette Cup. Mostly available online, cups can be ordered on amazon.in or on websites that offer discreet packaging (so you can pretend it’s drugs or something). Boondh cup is available in various colours here. The only brand I’ve spotted being sold on a store shelf is called Stonesoup so there’s a chance that buying cups will become easier offline.
Q4. Is it easy to insert and remove a menstrual cup?
Inserting and removing a menstrual cup can take upto a few tries to get used to. Just try to be as relaxed as possible so as not to stress or clench your cervical muscles as this will only make it harder to push the cup in. So give yourself a few days of trial and error or even just contemplation. Do it on a brave day, and I wish many of those for you! Don’t do it through the rush and dizziness of Day 1 of your period, give yourself time so you won’t be disappointed or discouraged. But don’t do it when the vagina is dry as you will face a lot of chafing and friction.
To insert, the cup needs to be folded and pushed up the vagina. To remove it, one needs to break the vacuum and pull it steadily downwards and finally pop it out. There are plenty of tutorials online but here are a few experiences I can share. A lot of tutorials and handbooks suggest the C-Fold method to insert the cup. Please save yourself the trouble and pain and know that the Punch-Down Fold is much less painful as it folds the cup’s opening to it’s smallest size possible. Here’s a tutorial for that. If the 7-Fold or C-Fold work better for you, that works too! The important thing is to find a way that is painless and holds the cup firmly in place in its vacuum.
Dryness can be a reason that makes it very uncomfortable or cause you to force the cup into your cervix. This can cause injuries, rashes and even trauma. Many blogs online suggest using organic, water-based lubricants for this purpose. Again, you don’t have to necessarily use the menstrual cup on each day of your period. Even using it a couple of days will reduce your dependance on non-biodegradable sanitary products greatly.
The base of your cup is what you hold onto firmly to break the vaccum and remove it. Cups come with many kinds of bases- some end in a small bulb and some in a stem. The stem is long with several notches and the first couple of times will help you understand how long you need it to be, the rest can be cut with a scissor. As for a bulb, it has the constraint of being small and needs to be felt around for. However, it is less invasive than the stem. There are also cups that end in a ring for you to insert a finger through. Hold on to the stem / bulb/ ring and wiggle the cup down till it is just within reach. Do not pull yet! Then, grasp onto the bottom of the cup and push one finger between the walls of the cup and your cervix to break the vacuum. This is tricky as the cup is slippery but you will get a grasp of the technique. Next, carefully pull the cup out and empty it in the toilet.
What’s the best position for you to insert/remove the cup? Usually when seated on a toilet. There are times when it seems as though the cup has traveled a long way up the cervix. To bring it lower, try not to panic. It will come out. Bear down upon it as you squat. Give it a few minutes and try again. Breathing helps. Stressing does not, as your muscles will tighten. This is from personal experience. It always comes out.
Q5. Do menstrual cups come in sizes?
Certain brands offer different cups for either a) light vs. heavy flow or b) a high set vs. medium vs. low set cervix. Here’s a great video to help you figure out which kind you need. Longer / wider cups based on the cervix and cups with greater capacities based on flow are available in the market, to suit your body type and it’s good to refer to a few charts and understand your body before investing in one.
Q6. Do menstrual cups leak?
I sometimes wonder why I didn’t ask this question! I went by the popular narrative that menstrual cups are leak proof and you can go swimming or dancing or do yoga without a care. The fact is that despite the strong vacuum, there will always be some misalignment due to which the cup may leak. In the offchance that your cup tips over…it’s a messy situation.
I was part of the crew on a very hectic video shoot on the second day of my period when whoosh- I felt my cup give way. And that’s a whoosh that I don’t wish upon anyone. Luckily, I was close to home so I rushed to take care of the situation. I don’t need to tell you that there was a LOT of staining. That’s when I realised I needed pads to supplement the cup. They had to be absorbent and in the same vein as the cup — reuseable and biodegradable, or there would be really no point in using a cup.
That’s when I bought a set of washable EcoFemme panty liners. They’re extremely popular and comfortable to use along with a cup. They wings clip under the bridge of the panty with a tiny nickel free button. They come in two variations — with or without a PU (plastic lining). I went with the PU lining as it’s easier to wash, thus going back on my promise to myself to lay off any non-biodegradable products. But as the EcoFemme description reads, it’s a small trade off for long term usage. Alternatively, you could make your own pads or use 100% cotton ones. Anything that can catch the overflow and keep you stain free. My review for the Ecofemme panty liners? They shift around a lot and I would choose the longer pads the next time.
Q7. Can we break the hymen myth?
A lot of questions online ask if the menstrual cup can rupture the hymen and if it’s ok for young girls to use a cup before experiencing sexual intercourse. To answer the first half of the question, indeed, a cup might rupture the hymen. But the only reason to be wary of that is the one-time discomfort, pain and bleeding. Other than that, it is really nobody’s business to come in the way of a young woman and how she chooses to save the planet. The hymen can rupture in a million ways other than intercourse and ofcourse because of it. If we discourage girls from using menstrual cups early in their lives because of the hymen morality, it is a very sad reason that we impose on ourselves to ignore the larger picture — a whole planet in peril. Let’s not take ourselves so seriously, seriously.
If not menstrual cups, then 100% biodegradable cotton or banana fibre pads, reusable cloth pads or any of today’s innovations in menstrual hygiene are available to us just as easily as pads and tampons are and its easier to make a choice today than it ever was. We can educate ourselves, equip ourselves and really take on the period armed with products that are kind to our bodies and to the earth. It may not be a very smooth transition and it takes a couple of cycles to hack through but in the larger scheme of things, the impact of this mindset is the only thing that’ll propel us guilt and pollution free into the future. If I ever face any trouble with using a menstrual cup, be sure that I will write about it. You’ll see my cupdate.
That’s the end of my three chapter blog post — Cup & I. Thank you for reading!
