Women, have you ever heard of Mooncups for dealing with monthly cycles?

[KittyWampus]

Hopefully this will serve to inform women on DU and won't cause silly comments from the guys.

I am 43 years old and have only just heard about this option for dealing with one's monthly cycle.

Tampons and pads were all that existed, as far as I knew.

Just yesterday, I learned there's a clean, effective and CHEAPER way to deal with this issue. Mooncups or Divacups. And they've been around since the 1930's!

But of course it makes sense they aren't widely known about. You need only buy ONE every 10 years while women's sanitary supplies must be bought every damned month.

Here's a link to Mooncups. There are other makes available.

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/menstrual_cup_soapbox.html

[Shell Beau]

1. Seems messy to me

:shrug:

[KittyWampus]

2. I just found out... and was told by all that it isn't at all messy.

[Shell Beau]

3. But, you would have to be careful with cleaning it so that

you don't get any bacteria, germs, or infections, right?

[AllegroRondo]

6. Seriously, I heard you put them in the dishwasher

the super hot water sterilzes them.

[Shell Beau]

7. Be sure not to put the silverware in there with it!

I am just having a hard time getting used to this idea, Even though it is an old one, I am comfortable with what I use. Although, I have had to make an emergency trip to the doc. b/c I was forgetful!! x(

[AllegroRondo]

4. My B-I-L works for a company that makes them

plastics molding company. He told me about them, I thought it was a joke.

but I had no idea they were around this long.

[RebelOne]

5. I have heard of them before.

In 1999, on a survivialist forum for Y-2K, women were buying them at that time. Some people were heading for the hills and didn't want to have to worry about sanitary pads or tampons.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. I have heard of them ........

Though I am past needing them now...

I think it's a very good idea......:thumbsup:

[Warpy]

9. Blood is a great medium for bacterial growth

so I'd suggest cleaning it out more often than one would change a tampon. The tampons that were pushed as being more absorbent and needing fewer changes invariably ended up being pulled off the market for causing toxic shock when bugs started growing in the menstrual fluid. At body temperature, those bugs grow fast.

I can't imagine rinsing one of those things out in a line of sinks in a crowded public bathroom in the workplace, but I can see they'd be an economical alternative for women with access to private facilities for frequent cleaning.

[KittyWampus]

12. Women have explained you take it out over toilet-empty-flush

then use bottle water to rinse and re-insert.


Because they are shaped like a funnel- no blood gets on the outside.

Needless to say, this seems like something that requires a bit of practise.

[China_cat]

10. Highly implicated in toxic shock syndrome.

[KittyWampus]

11. No, it's exactly the opposite. Tampons are highly implicated in TSS

and it's due largely to their absorbant nature.

[Warpy]

13. Bugs will grow rapidly in the fluid

so that frequent cleaning is ESSENTIAL. Bugs aren't polite and they won't stay put down in the well, they'll travel, especially if the woman is sitting or sleeping or even changing position frequently.

Don't believe that "needs changing less often than a tampon," unless you want TSS.

[KittyWampus]

14. Thank you for your input. I am still very surprised this is even an option

:)

But then, it doesn't involve money going into corporations pockets every month.

[Warpy]

16. yeah, I wish I'd discovered them back in the day

The sponge was as far as I got, and squeezing it out on my house plants. The plants loved it, but the sponge was not terribly effective at stopping spotting.

I think they're a great alternative as long as they're cleaned every 4-6 hours or so, before the bugs get a chance to grow.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

15. I use Instead.

I've used them for about 6 years now. I love them. I re-use them after sterilizing them between & just use one a cycle. They look just like a diaphram. A little messy, but after I got into the swing of things it's just fine.

Here's a link about the divacups.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=325x471

[havocmom]

17. Back in early 70s, somebody tried to market a disposable version

called Tossaways or Tassaways, something like that. My cousin tried them for a bit, but she had many female problems anyway and they didn't work well for her. I never tried them as they were sorta bulkier than my usual products and being in school at the time, I figured hard to keep in a little purse.

[electron_blue]

18. I've heard of them

And I'm your age. I remejmber seeing similar things in ads in women's magazines about 30 years ago and thinking "wth" because neither my mom nor aunts told me about them.

Fwiw, they are much more widely known amongst the younger crowd, which may mean they're making a comeback.