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This one's for the ladies

Home » Blog » Miyuki McGuffie » This one's for the ladies

Miyuki McGuffie explores an alternative to the tried and true tampon, takes her eco-cred to the next level and implores women to consider doing the same.

'Red tide' photo by Mr Ducke via Flickr

Even in this modern world, menstruation is still a taboo subject. The fact that we refer to tampons and pads as 'feminine hygiene products' says it all. So integrated into our lives that it no longer needs marketing, this industry wants you to fear your own body. The less blood you have to deal with, the better.

While I completely agree that tampons are one of the most amazing inventions on earth in terms of convenience, that convenience comes at a cost.

A tampon doesn’t seem like much on its own, but when you add up the amount you might use in one cycle (let’s say four a day x five days = 20) and multiply that by the number of cycles you might have in one lifetime (12 per year from age 13 to 50 = 444), you get almost 10,000 tampons (8,880 to be exact)—and that’s just for one woman that happens to fit my example parameters .

I can’t quite do the math involved to find out how many square metres that is, but you can imagine 8,880 tampons per user would take up a lot of space in landfills and sewerage systems. Not to mention the plastic wrappers, the box, and the plastic wrapper for the box.

Now with all this criticism I’d better have a solution, right?

It’s called a menstrual cup. Without getting too graphic, it’s made of silicone and collects the blood instead of absorbing it. You empty the cup as often as you feel the need (about the same intervals as tampons, if not longer). I bought one here a few cycles ago and I swear it is the best thing I have purchased all year. Never again will I:

  • Be caught short of tampons because the cup is always there.
  • Have to shop for this necessity on a regular basis because I already have it.
  • Waste a tampon at the end of my period because of an unpredictable taper of flow.
  • Have to fiddle with tiny pull tabs in the bathroom.
  • Feel guilty about a natural bodily function having a negative impact on the earth.

To take my estimations even further, if a typical pack of 16 tampons costs $5, then 10,000 tampons will set you back just over $3,000. Sure, it’s not a great deal over a menstrual life but when you compare it to the $55 cost of one cup that will last forever, that’s a lot of money down the toilet.

What initially got me onto the menstrual cup was a search for washable pads, which I also bought but have found I don’t need because the cup is so well-sealed it doesn’t leak! After only one period with the cup I was confident enough to go sans protection the next time.

I can guess that most women will want to know if the cup is messy. And it’s not! No messier than inserting a regular tampon. It does take a couple goes to get the hang of it but once you’re there it’s no trouble. Emptying a cup is super easy because you’re most likely to be on the toilet when you do it and if there’s a sink nearby, even better (I find it easier to empty and rinse at the same time).

A menstrual cup is an essential consideration for any environmentally minded lady. They’re easy on the earth and easy on the wallet. What more could you ask for?

PS: Comments please! After getting a somewhat disgusted reception from a couple of friends I am interested to hear what other women think. Click here for more information about the menstrual cup.

Comments

Lhizz
 
Thu July 23, 2009 @ 10:04 AM
I have been using washable cloth pads for many years but now that I've started fulltime work again I'm very interested in getting a menstrual cup. The only thing that is putting me off s that about ten years ago I used to use a diaphragm but found that I kept getting repeated bouts of thrush (possibly from soap residue or the cornflour used for dusting it?) I'd love to hear whether other users have had this problem.
miyuki
ecoamico.wordpress.com
 
Thu July 23, 2009 @ 11:31 AM
Hi Lhizz,

I have not had a trush problem since using the cup, and because you only have to pop it in boiling water to sterilise, there's a slim chance of anything other than the cup getting into your sensitive parts.

If you look us menstrual cup forums on google you might find some more info on how other ladies' bodies have reacted to the cup.

I hope it ends up being a suitable option for you!
Anon
 
Thu July 30, 2009 @ 09:57 AM
I'm a bit worried about using public/workplace toilets if I switch to a cup. I mean, often there is not a sink in the cubicle with you, and I'm not that keen on going to a more public area to rinse, then ducking back into the cubicle to re-insert if you know what I mean.  How have you overcome this?
Claire Rainbow
www.healthyrainbows.org
 
Sun August 02, 2009 @ 04:01 PM
I have been using the Mooncup since Nov 2003 and have always been delighted with it. I first got one for a trip to India, really couldn't stand the thought of using tampons there for a whole variety of environmental reasons. I have never looked back since. They are easy to use and maintain. I usually use the toilet flush to wash it in before re-insertion in a public toilet. Last month I did this and did not keep a tight enough hold on the thing and it was flushed away! Very upsetting and had to resort back to tampons whilst waiting for a new cup to be delivered. Using the replacement now. Very good.
Annabel McAleer
 
Thu August 06, 2009 @ 10:37 AM
I've asked people the same question as you, Anon, and been told that most women can get through a full work day without needing to empty it. So unless you have a particularly heavy flow, you probably won't need to do the rinse'n'duck too often.

My concern is that the website recommends that all women over 30 use the larger size cup, even if they haven't had kids. What I want to know is, what the heck happens to vaginas on their 30th birthday?
Miyuki
ecoamico.wordpress.com
 
Fri August 07, 2009 @ 01:00 AM

Hi Anon,

It's not neccesary to rinse your Mooncup every time. If the facilities aren't handy then you can always do it on the next empty. Although if you really wanted, you could take a drink bottle into the toilets with you and give it a little squirt.

Claire- That is so sad about flushing your cup away!! I'd be devastated if that happened to me. What a novel way of rinsing it though! I would have never thought of that.

Annabel- don't they say that youth starts catching up with your body at age 30? Maybe all that wrinkling and sagging isn't limited to the outside. Haha.

sue
 
Fri October 09, 2009 @ 01:34 AM
@Claire Rainbow I'm totally shocked that you use the dirty toilet's water to clean your cup with!  I can't believe what i just read, surely you ought to know better?  Did you not know that everytime a toilet is flushed, millions of bacteria is realeased into the air & that's why experts advise to always flush with the seat closed, anything close by gets germs on it including toothbrushes, your clothes etc.  So each time you use the dirty toilet water to apparently "wash" your cup with, you are putting that ghastly bacteria right back into your body.  Would you wash a drinking cup with dirty toilet water!  Miyuki, don't follow this horrendous example! 
Meg
 
Mon October 12, 2009 @ 08:47 PM
These things are seriously great.  I'm really pleased that I made the switch :o)   
ankhst
 
Thu August 26, 2010 @ 12:51 AM
I love my cup. I'm never going back to disposables now. I found a great NZ website that sells all of the menstrual cup brands, not just one or other, and cloth pads too. I never realised there were so many options! I got a pretty green Ladycup.  The store is called EnvironMenstruals
Julia
www.ecolives.wordpress.com
 
Thu September 02, 2010 @ 05:34 PM
GO MENSTRUAL CUPS...they are the best thing ever! They mean: no more embarrassing visits to the supermarket (where you inevitably end up spending more money on "other" things to hide the tampons or pads...), no more being caught out (since you always have your cup with you), no more creating waste and no more worries about toxic shock... I was even heard saying after my 2nd or 3rd period using a cup "how exciting I'm getting my period and I will get to use my cup"...

Is there a story in the fact that barely anyone has heard of them? I think it is all a marketing ploy from big pharmaceutical companies to make us spend money (at least $10 per month over our life times)... Check out a blog I have on it here www.ecolives.wordpress.com.

Anyway, enough of a rant. I LOVE MY CUP and don't know where I would be without it...they even come in pretty colours too. Check them out here: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/
FC
 
Fri September 03, 2010 @ 10:59 AM
I have used the cup for several years and recommend it to all women. To make it more comfortable I snipped the end of the 'stalk' just a little. I usually only empty the cup once a day, so I can do this at home with the sink handy. When I think I need to empty it during the day at a public toilet, I take a bottle of water with me and rinse the cup and my fingers as well as I can with it. Then wash my hands again at the sink. Thank you for writing about the cup, not enough women use them and tampons are so wasteful.
Lynda Brendish
 
Wed September 08, 2010 @ 12:35 PM
My answer to Anon's question would be that a) Annabel is right and you usually don't have to empty during the day, but b) if you do need to - the wheelchair accessible stalls are often a great way to avoid the rinse 'n' duck.  Wheelchair stalls usually have their own sink inside, and it's a handy distance from the actual toilet so no getting up is required. 
My one peeve is the NZ habit of building household toilets separate from the bathroom with no basin inside! That means there is definitely some back and forth, and sometimes you have to be a bit furtive if you're at someone else's house.  But overall, the benefits SO outweigh any minor blush-inducing moments you *may* come across.
Jo
 
Sun September 12, 2010 @ 12:45 PM
I bought my mooncup last year after baby #3 and having tried various home made washable rags/pads for the previous couple of years, which I just soaked with the children's nappies.
I also bought a couple of washable panty liners from the same website, which I use at either end of my period, and are great.
I love my mooncup - its so easy and I haven't had any worries with emptying/rinsing it out. I don't rinse it out every single time I empty it, and have no problems at all. I wash it gently with a bit of soap whenever I am in the shower, and then at the end of my period I sterilize it in boiling water. Pop it away until next month! No irritation, no infections, and no more tampons!
The modern woman's eco friendly equivalent to our mums and grandmothers who used rags and washed them without drama. That was were I started my eco-friendly menstruation journey, but I am happy to have found a less labour-intensive solution!
Lhizz
 
Mon September 20, 2010 @ 09:51 AM
Well, I took the plunge and invested in a Mooncup and mostly I've very pleased with it. The second month I wore it I developed a UTI, but I worked out that this was probably because a) the stem was still a bit long and irritated my urethra and/or b) I left the cup in when I urinated, which was somehow irritating as well. Now I make sure to take it out and wash it each time I pee and I haven't had any problems since. It can sometimes be a bit difficult to remove because of the shorter stalk (and a bit embarrassing with the various squelchy/farty noises it makes as the suction is released!) and I find I have to be very careful not to accidentally tip the cup as I take it out and make a mess, so I wouldn't recommend it for ppl who are not comfortable with bodily functions! But on the whole it's great and I save so much money on tampons etc. I use it in conjunction with cloth pads so if I don't feel like putting it back in, I can just wash and dry it and tuck it away in my bag until I get home. And the disabled cubicle is a god-send for using it at work - speaking of which, wouldn't it be great if some enlightened workplace had a special cubicle for women "on the rag"? Then you wouldn't have to whack your elbows on those blasted sanitary disposal units every time!

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