Today, we increasingly often speak frankly on topics that seemed absolutely impossible and indecent to discuss openly ten years ago. One of them is menstruation. A set of bashful allegories and euphemisms passed down from generation to generation is being replaced by the ability to calmly and in an adult way discuss this important part of women’s life and, most importantly, share important experiences that make it possible to better understand both oneself and others.
41 950 158October 21 2020
Well-being, comfort and safety are the key issues that worry women these days. And if the pain and mood are influenced by a huge number of subtle individual settings, then the problem of hygiene devices has a limited number of solutions. And one of them is relatively new – these are menstrual cups, they are also mouthguards – reusable containers that collect menstrual blood inside the body without absorbing it. They are discussed everywhere, including our forum, and, by tradition, opinions are invariably divided.
Prototypes of this useful invention appeared in the United States at the end of the century before last, but the first bowls, similar to modern ones, appeared only 70 years ago. The bowls were widely sold at the beginning of the 20s, and today British women can be called “veterans” of their use – among them there are those who have been using mouth guards for XNUMX years! Russian women have more modest experience, but Healthy Food Near Me found women who have not just tested, but have been using menstrual cups as the main hygiene product for several years and are not going to give them up. We also asked about the opinion of an obstetrician-gynecologist and learned a couple of interesting nuances.
Ksenia, 25 years old
I have been using bowls for about 6 years. It seems to me that I have the largest collection of bowls in Russia – as many as 12 pieces. At some point, I started buying them simply because of their beauty. Now I use three as a result. For myself, I call them: “red”, “green” and “thick”. They are from different manufacturers and even slightly differ in shape, but all turned out to be suitable for me.
I like the aesthetics of the bowls and the fact that now they are turning from medical devices into some kind of fashion item. I, of course, do not take out the cup to gracefully wave it in front of the boyfriend’s nose, but we discuss them with my friends, send each other links to cool models.
Now I’ll say terrible, but in my collection I even have a bowl with a well-known Chinese site, such as a replica of a well-known brand, and now it is not inferior to the “branded” ones, although maybe I was just lucky. This is my green bowl, by the way. Do not do as I do, doctors do not recommend using uncertified bowls! Although there was a certificate attached to this, but in Chinese.
At one time I even tried to blog about menstrual cups, but I realized that there was enough information already. Girls can easily find answers to all questions, and for this they do not need to search all over the Internet. So it’s just such a sweet little hobby of mine that I think about once a month.
The bowl is not felt at all, zero irritating factors. However, I have a fad – I can’t wash it in a public place and install it again, it’s unpleasant for me. Therefore, I carry with me a sterilized spare, or even both.
I converted many friends to my faith. I am always glad to give advice, share my impressions. It seems to me that the bowl is the most modern and convenient way of feminine hygiene. It may seem like a strange option to someone now, but everything is changing, people are choosing cool solutions.
Inna, 40 years
I have been using the bowl for 12 years. I first bought it out of curiosity on a well-known site that sells vitamins. It was stock and very cheap. I thought it would be nonsense, if anything, I will throw it away. At first it was not possible to establish, but I was already interested, so I practiced again and again. As a result, I found a superposition, and after that the number of questions dropped sharply.
When I calmly walked with her for 6 hours straight, it was just a new universe. What I liked right away was that before that I often had “accidents” at night, and this problem was solved more and more. Then I realized the other benefits: it is much easier with her than with any other hygiene product, especially in summer. You can swim, wear any clothes. You absolutely forget that you have “these days” in general – especially when your stomach stops hurting.
I cannot but say that there were misfires several times. At the very beginning of the cycle, I insure myself with gaskets. But the rest of the time – just a bowl. I threw out my first one not without regrets – it looked absolutely like new, only the material darkened a little. But the manufacturer wrote that it cannot be used for more than 10 years. New bowl from another manufacturer. Since then they began to be made in color, I chose a beautiful purple and harder. For the first use, the hard ones are not recommended, but I consider myself already an advanced user. The hard bowl is a little more difficult to install, but it opens up better. Some say that they feel a hard cup, but I am even more comfortable with this one than with the previous one, and I plan to continue using it.
Anastasia, 30 years old
My experience is 5 years. I became interested in bowls for environmental reasons – I started sorting garbage and learned how harmful cellulose production is for nature – that is, the same pads and tampons.
Before that, from school, I was a convinced adherent of tampons, I was sure that there was nothing more convenient. But when I began to think about ecology, I began to look for an alternative. The choice is not particularly large, to be honest, so choosing the right bowl turned out to be the main task. I did it the third time.
I read a lot of manuals and watched a bunch of videos to understand what shape of the bowl I need with my physiology. But she missed, it was inconvenient and not always effective. The next time I chose a bowl of the correct shape, but with a ring in place of the tail – it turned out that this does not suit me either, I feel the ring, and it interferes. The third time everything worked out. I chose all the cups ultra-soft because I read from the very beginning that it is recommended for women with sensitive bladders. As a result, I do not feel any discomfort and do not feel the cup at all.
It is unlikely that I will ever return to traditional means, I do not see the point. I confess that I used tampons several times when the cups were not at hand, then I felt discomfort, and in general it was uncomfortable. There are no after effects with the bowl.
Yana, 27 years old
I started using the cup after the first birth 7 years ago, when the cycle recovered, it turned out that now everything is more violent than before pregnancy. Everything had to be changed almost once an hour, and the gynecologist advised me to try a capacious bowl. Size XL is suitable for those who have given birth. The fact that the cup suited me is the merit of the doctor, she helped me find out how everything is arranged there for me, and named a specific model of a specific manufacturer. I quickly got used to the cup, and this is a real salvation with my active lifestyle.
After the second birth, I was afraid that the old cup would no longer fit me, but this did not happen, I can still use it.
For several years I was sitting at home with the children, so I had no difficulties with cleaning and installing the bowl, but I was worried about how everything would be at work. However, a bottle of water and napkins greatly help to cope in any place, and from the third day I already leave the cup for the whole working day. When I am out of the office, I use my more usual means to insure myself.
Irina, 32 years old
My experience of using the bowl is relatively short, only three years. All the while, I’m counting how much money I’ve saved on pads and tampons, and I’m happy.
I really wanted to use the bowl, but I didn’t succeed right away. The gynecologist I was seeing was categorically against it. She assured me that the bowl provokes the growth of the endometrium. And I had a predisposition to endometriosis, and it somehow greatly intimidated me. At some point, I looked differently at her recommendations, which she gave me on a different occasion, and found out that they are far from always correct. We had a conflict, I changed the doctor, and we discussed everything very quickly with the new gynecologist. She dispelled the myths about bowls and endometriosis for me, and now I have been with a bowl for several years.
I have no deterioration. I don’t even know what to say about the bowl – now for me it is the same everyday and necessary thing as, for example, a toothbrush.
It seems to me that this is an ideal hygiene product and all women should know how convenient it is. I do not understand those who categorically do not want to try or think that this is some kind of dirty thing.
This is our body, we must somehow treat it without horror. Of course, there are more pleasant things and less pleasant things, but we cannot cancel the cycle.
The bowl does not dry out, like the same tampons, and it is, without a doubt, the most comfortable of the existing feminine hygiene products. I even had a funny case when I forgot about her. It is recommended not to leave the cup for more than half a day, but it stayed with me for 15 hours. Nothing terrible happened, everything is fine, but more I try not to do that, of course. I was very scared then, because the first thought was – oh horror, how long has she been there ?!
Candidate of Medical Sciences
As a specialist, I can say with full responsibility that a menstrual cup is an excellent alternative to disposable hygiene products. A high-quality cup made of hypoallergenic medical silicone or thermoplastic elastomer does not threaten the health of its owner and, according to research data, is safer against infectious diseases (including toxic shock syndrome, TSS) than tampons and disposable pads.
However, there are general rules for using the bowl, and you should not break them. At the beginning of menstruation, it should be sterilized by boiling or in a sterilizer, it can be treated with a special solution, it is sold. Before inserting it into the vagina, you need to wash your hands thoroughly. And the last rule is not to leave the cup without cleaning for more than 12 hours. There is no need to sterilize it each time before administration within the framework of one menstrual cycle, it is enough to rinse it with running water and neutral soap.
Contraindications to the use of cups are the same: an individual allergic reaction to the material from which they are made, infectious diseases of the genitals and the postpartum period.
As for the use by virgins, small bowls can usually be used, but there is still a risk of damaging the hymen, so the decision must be weighed in each case.
It is also permissible to use the cup if an intrauterine contraceptive was previously installed (in this case, the risk of its rejection does not increase) and when doing any sports, including water sports.
And the reusable cup can also be useful for accurately measuring the volume of menstrual flow in certain gynecological diseases, since its volume is always known.