There is a magical alternative to using tampons or pads called a MENSTRUAL CUP! If you have already heard of it great, you can stop reading now. But if you were like me and you have never heard of it before please carry on reading because this could change your life.
A menstrual cup is a safer, more hygienic, more practical, and (for me) just a much better way of dealing with periods. They look like this
and there are a whole bunch of different brands/sizes/colours. They are usually made of medical grade silicone and you insert them into your vagina during your period. The blood collects in the cup which you then empty into the toilet and rinse out your cup.
I will now list the benefits of this little miracle worker:
1) They are hygienic, there is no risk of TSS since they are made of medical grade silicone.
2) They also hold a lot more fluid than tampons do. This, as well as the fact that they are hygienic, means that you can leave them in for up to 12 hours!! (depending on how heavy your flow is)
3) They also don’t contain any of the harsh chemicals that pads and tampons have in them, so they are kinder to you body. Some people claim that wearing a menstrual cup actually makes their period a lot shorter because the body isn’t absorbing any chemicals and makes them have less painful cramps.
3) You only need one, for the rest of life! This means they are cheaper and you never run out, like you would with tampons or pads, because it is reusable. The only time you would need to replace it is if it started to break/tear (or if you bought a bio-degradable one which you need to replace every 10 years)
4) They are better for the environment as they are reusable, so you don’t throw away as much. And you can even get bio-degradable ones which will break down in the environment, unlike tampon or pads which come in plastic wrappers.
You may think these little guys look a bit intimidating, I know I sure did when I first heard about them. I thought, how the heck am I going to get that up my vagina? But do not worry my friends because once you get the hang of them it is very easy to insert and remove them.
This video is really helpful and shows a bunch of different folds. I personally use the origami fold as it seems to work best for me. Inserting it and removing it does take a few tries to get right and you can try the different folds, but it is really worth persevering!
I would also recommend this girl’s youtube channel, called PRECIOUS STARS PADS as she sells reusable pads as well as menstrual cups and is very knowledgeable about alternative sanitary products.
Sorry for taking up such a large space on your dash board, but I think it is important that people are aware of all the possible options for their bodies, and since I had never heard of it I thought I would try to spread the knowledge as much as I could, even if it is only seen by a few people.
Toad's Cave 