Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be completely baffled as to why the tampon is more popular than the mooncup?

436 replies

YunoYurbubson · 09/09/2010 16:24

It just doesn't make sense.

I am a very recent convert to the mooncup and all I can think is wtf was I doing with tampons all those years?

I feel almost... betrayed by the generations of women who have made the tampon the mainstream menstruation product of choice.

Ignore your prejudices because those would work either way. If you were used to using a mooncup and someone suggested carrying around a bloodsoaked wodge of cotton wool on a string in your vagina instead you would think that was gross. It's just what you're used to.

So, prejudices aside. Agreed?

Lets just look at this logically.

The mooncup produces no waste, so no flushing things you shouldn't, no filling a bin with smelly waste, no furtive smuggling of used tampons wrapped in loo roll up your sleeve when there is no bin and you don't have pockets.

It's every bit as comfy and convenient.

It's cheaper.

And it is SO COOL seeing how much blood you have lost. I'm sorry, but it is. It's much less yucky because it's not old, brown drying smelly blood. It's a fresh little pot of new, clean blood. It's just not yucky.

And this isn't a thread to critisise or judge or feel superior. I just REALLY want someone else to be converted and feel the joy too Grin. I want someone else to have the scales fall from their eyes and feel as delighted as I do right now.

OP posts:
diddl · 11/09/2010 18:42

Thanks.

Daughter was in tears abit ago with cramps.

Thing is she is only 12 so not sure if would find the mooncup a bit "eeewwww".

Also, she prefers tampons with an applicator at the moment.

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 20:42

I can't imagine putting a mooncup in 'not as far as' a tampon? I mean a tampon only goes up a little way (the length of your finger) - how do you know when the moon cup is in the right place? It doesn't seem like there would be enough room for it to expand until it got further than a tampon?

Confused
TessOfTheBurbs · 11/09/2010 20:53

I'm a bit scared of the mooncup. I can't get past thinking what if something went wrong... all that blood just waiting to spill everywhere... I'm sure it can't really, but still... I'm wary!

Oh, and I don't like the idea of having to stand in the kitchen boiling it.

I don't think it's gross. I guess I've just never had any problems with tampons, so there's nothing pushing me to try the mooncup. I know, I'm an ecological villain Blush

100years · 11/09/2010 21:04

I'm a convert to the mooncup, and have been for about 6 months now. I've not had any leaks, sometimes it feels a bit weird inside, but it's never uncomfortable, kind of forget it's there.

My cramps have lessened a lot since using it.

Once you get the hang of it, which doesn't take too long it's really easy to put in and take out.

The only drawback is sometimes having to flush the loo twice, especially if you are having a heavy day, but hey I'd rather that tbh.

It is supposed to sit lower than a tampon, otherwise there is too much room for it to move about and that's when leaks occur.

Diddl, I would suggest it to your daughter, on the basis that it may help her feel less pain, I wish I had tried it when I was younger. If she uses it now as she is only young, it will become like a way of life as opposed to thinking about doing something different.

Olifin · 11/09/2010 21:14

Just a thought for those who find the evangelising weird...we don't stand to gain anything from singing its praises. We're evangelising 'cause we want to share the mooncup joy Wink

solo · 11/09/2010 21:21

Tess, I only boiled mine before I used it as new and never since. I wash it in mild soap and rinse in really hot water and sometimes I have soaked it in sterilising solution (very weak and for only a few minutes) rinsing well afterwards.

Try one! if you go into it positively or at least with an open mind, you'll likely love it! :)

TessOfTheBurbs · 11/09/2010 21:27

I do consider it from time to time... one day I'm sure my curiosity will get the better of me. Thanks for the tip Smile

100years · 11/09/2010 21:35

Oh I've just ready back a bit and realised that I've been using the wrong size!!! I bought the smaller one, when I should have bought the larger one, I must have very good pelvic floor muscles then :) :o

Copied off their website

Size A
Because vaginal and pelvic floor tones naturally reduce with age, the size ?A? Mooncup is recommended for women aged 30 or over. The difference between the ?A? and the ?B? is only small (3mm), but it is crucial!
Size ?A? is also recommended for all women who have given birth vaginally, regardless of age.

Size B
Designed for young girls and women under the age of 30 who have not given birth vaginally. It may also be suitable for women over the age of 30 who have had corrective surgery to the vagina, or who are advanced in tone-maintaining activities such as yoga, dance or pilates.

digggers · 11/09/2010 21:35

also love m moon cup. Agree about being fascinated about the beautiful ruby like qualities of fresh menstrual blood! I have been known to use mine to fertilise my tomatoes too! Altho that'll freak some of you out even more i guess!

i just don't understand why some folk and so weirded and icked out by the stuff their own body does! weirdos

100years · 11/09/2010 21:37

Someone once joked to me about me using one because we like to recycle/reduce waste etc, it got me thinking and I went and got one.

I'm totally un freaked out by what my body does.

Pixel · 11/09/2010 21:49

Diagram here to show how it sits lower than a tampon.

My dd has only just had her first period. I'd love her to be able to go straight on to using a mooncup and never have all the worry and possible embarrassment of going to school with pads, but I think it's too soon really. She does tend to freak out about the smallest thing (if she gets a splinter you'd think she's lost a limb Wink) so I don't even dare mention tampons yet. Shame though.

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 21:59

Pixel thanks for doing the link, I had actually looked on the site earlier and did see that then, but I just can't imagine it sitting any lower in me and not feeling very uncomfortable Confused

I wish they were a bit cheaper - £20 is quite a lot to 'give it a go' when you are fairly sure it will just be a nightmare!! Very envious of the poster who got one for £1 on sale!

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 22:01

Do they feel 'heavy'? Can you feel them filling up?

I'm going to have to try one aren't I?

Can you use lubricating gel on them? or is it enough to just wet them with water?

It all sounds very odd to me....

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:06

Honestly you can't feel it at all once it's in there, even though it is just inside (you can touch it with your finger without putting it in more than about the depth of your nail). I wear it for horseriding, cycling, swimming and would never know it's there, unlike tampons and the string that always seems to get in an uncomfortable place when I can't do anything about it, ouch!

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:07

I have cut the stalk right off though, can't see how you could leave it on and be comfortable tbh.

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 22:10

Well I might have to go and get one tomorrow. I ended up removing the tampon today and needing to lay flat due to the stomach cramps, but I hate wearing pads and the 'movement' you can feel.

I had to come off my pill about 2 years ago and I hate hate hate it :( I used to take it back to back, not having periods, it was brilliant.

ravenAK · 11/09/2010 22:11

OK, I'm going to get one - was dubious that it'd be worth it (40 this year, lightish periods after the first day, usually use washable cloths at home or at night), but you lot have convinced me.

Diggers - I use the soaking water from washable towels to feed my houseplants. Perks them up no end! Grin

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:12

Wetting with water is enough. The first time I tried it I made sure I was alone in the house so I could relax and take my time as I wasn't at all sure. I was actually surprised how easily it popped in. I had a bit of a panic the first time I tried to get it out and it had ridden up a bit, but once I realised you could give a 'push' and it would come back down again all was fine. Now I find it easier to remove than a tampon.

Go on, be reckless! Grin

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 22:15

What do you mean - give it a bit of a push and it comes back down?

I can just see it now, I'll be like the girl on the youtube clip and have to go to the Dr's to get it removed!!

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:19

Well, a push. You know, with your internal muscles. Can't really explain better than that. As if you were pushing something out?

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 22:20

Sorry, I thought you meant a 'push' with your finger! Sorry - I only had about an hours sleep last night, so not too 'onto it' today!! Grin

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:20

Haven't seen youtube clip. Girl sounds a bit feeble or attention-seeking to me ha ha.

ChippingIn · 11/09/2010 22:23

There are quite a few on youtube - there is one who goes on about her bf moving in with her and how she can't walk around the flat with 'nappies' on etc so she buys a mooncup (equivalent) and she is sitting on the loo I suppose, you can only see her head, shoulders and massive boobs (she's clothed, but barely!) and she actually inserts it during the video - you can't see her doing it of course - but it's a bit disconcerting none the less Grin

Pixel · 11/09/2010 22:26

Oh dear. I'm a youtube fan but I think I'll give that one a miss!

MistsandMellowMilady · 11/09/2010 22:26

I'm on the mini-pill and I get nothing for months on end then light loss for weeks. I want to try a Mooncup and I am impatient.

It surely couldn't cope with the normal rivers of blood I endure. Three tampons and three pads IIRC (yes it is perfectly possible to insert three tampons - they are smaller in length than the average penis) at night.

I don't suppose two Mooncups would work in the same way...