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

[YunoYurbubson]

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 . I want someone else to have the scales fall from their eyes and feel as delighted as I do right now.

Love love love the mooncup.

1. You can put it in in the shower in the morning and give yourself a good wash after insertion so no post-tampon insertion blood leakage and waste of a mile of loo roll. Also hate when you've just started your period and even lifting you leg causes a flood. so you drip all over the bloody (no pun intended) bath mat.

1. Only need to change it twice a day. That means I only ever need to change it at home in the comfort of my own bathroom. I don't need to bother with trying to change it in a stinky public loo. (I do sometimes change it when I get home from work and then before bed but again, only on day 1-3).

1. I hate sleeping with knickers on and never felt that a tampon offered enough protection at night, leading to doubling up with a pad and having a sweaty fanjo all night. Yuck

1. It's so comfortable! I feel nothing; less cramp, less dryness.

1. No squeaky fanjo at end of period as mentioned above.

1. Mine has never over flowed, even after 12 hours. It holds way more than a super tampon. Had a few leakage issues in the early days but three years down the line, I can whip it in and out pretty swiftly and effortlessly.

YANBU I'd never go back to tampons now (though haven't needed either for 2 years due to pg/bf and now worried I'll have forgotten how to use my mooncup when I need it...)

I actually felt angry when I started my period on holiday unexpectedly and didn't have my mooncup with me. I had to buy tampons for the first time in years and was most dischuffed all week.

I love the mooncup, no way will I ever use a tampon again. Sure it took a bit of practice but now it's much quicker to sort out than a tampon and so much more comfortable. I no longer get the cramps and recurring thrush that I had before and my periods are days shorter. Also, in my forties I find that my periods are regular for the first time in my life, although I've no way of knowing if that is down to coincidence or the mooncup. Honestly the only problem I have is remembering I have my period! (literally did forget last time and suddenly realised I hadn't emptied it since the previous morning).

Shinyandnew, believe me it won't fall out if you run. I've worn mine for horseriding lessons that have involved lots of trotting without stirrups and the mooncup hasn't moved or leaked at all.

I know just how the OP feels. If only I had known years ago.

Familiarity, maybe.

I had never heard of mooncups until about a year ago when I read about them on another parenting forum. Why is there so little publicity about them?

I have no need for such things any more, but had I known about them I would have used one when I could. I realise that sometimes it just isn't practical to deal with one if you are out and about or at work, but surely it is so much better for the environment.

The reason I haven't tried them is I would not like to have to bring my used mooncup out of the toilet cubicle into the washing area to wash it, then back in to the cubilce to put it back in. boak. yuk. No thanks.

And I'm not squeamish about blood or menstruation, I just don't want to show it to other people.

Agree with you YunoYurbison!

I wish so so much I'd know about it years ago. Although I don't actually ever recall of such a thing until very recent times and only heard of it on here. Even now no-one I know in rl seems to mention them.

I'm coming to the end of the road on all this now at 45, but will def def let my dd's in on it when they are ready.

I do wonder whether the tampon companies quashed the idea for ages

But Hairy, you really don't have to. Unless you have positively Niagaran flow, it's absolutely fine for 12 hours.

I love my mooncup. I bleed quite lightly and tampons can be really painful at times so the mooncup is a godsend. It's really handy to be able to use it before my period actually starts but I've got that heavy, niggly feeling - no surprise bleeding.

If I wasn't so close to menopause, I'd try it and will encourage DDs to try it.

But hairy - you don't need to! Honestly, you can leave it in much longer than a tampon (depending on flow of course). I can't remember the last time I changed it at work (possibly not since the early nosey/trial days).

If I'm going out, I chnage it before I go and then when I get home. If I'm going out straight from work or all day, then I can normally find a combined loo and sink somewhere along the way so will do a opportunistic change early on to give me another 12 hours.

But period loo visits in between changes are as if there was no period at all. All blood kept high up in the fanjo, no pads, no leaks, no bloody hands. It is utterly revolutionary.

As a aside, does anyone now look at those sanitary waste disposal units with horror now, knowing all that blood and tissue is festering away inside?

Mooncup appears to be an exclusively MN thing - I had never heard of it before.

I can't bear the thought of rinsing in the sink at work, just yuk. And yes, I am "Niagaran" - Super Plus Extras for me - and I couldn't imagine it working through the night.

Oh and dh works for a tampon manufacturer, so price not an issue for me!

You don't need to wash it... wash your hands before you go into cubicle, hoick it out, empty, whack it back in (quick wipe with toilet roll if you are v fussy. Besides, you'll probably only need to do it twice a day so can just change in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

And you can put it into to anticipate your period which is great..

Of course they are not popular - its a crap business plan - instead of selling lots of a product every month, you buy one product once, for ever

Hear hear! I absolutely love my mooncup and hate the rare occasions when I have to resort to a tampon.

Free is right.
I love my mooncup - got one last year thanks to MN, I'd been dithering for years.
My periods are a little bit erratic, so I just pop it in a couple of days early, and just wait .
I used to find tampons really uncomfortable, but can hardly feel the mooncup - one day I just knowe I'm going to forget to take it out.

I can't be doing with all the ''ugh, no thank you'' prissiness from people who have never tried one.

I find the comments really interesting re mooncup and coil as I had a mirena which came out by itself about 9 months after insertion - I'd only had a few periods but had used the mooncup for all - I never connected the two but maybe it did cause the mirena to come out?!

That aside, I do like my mooncup and wouldn't change back to tampons, but I wouldn't particularly love it! I came across the mooncup by pure chance - they had quite a few on sale in my local boots and decided to try one as they were reduced to, wait for it.........£1!! I also use washable panty liners on heavy days.

Your period is supposed to be shorter with a mooncup due to the suction effect - gets it all out quicker apparently!

I looked into the possibilty of the Mooncup.
What puts me off is that I'm not at home much.
During my last period I was at The Edinburgh Frige, the period before that I was working away from home on a residential with young people.

So it's the faffing of finding a public toilet and having privacy while I wash the thing out and then back to the loo to reinsert.

At least when I'm wild camping I put the tampons in toilet tissue and then into a sealed sandwich bag for burning or disposing.

I mentioned it to a colleague over the weekend and he had never heard of them but may look into buying one for his partner.

'Oh and dh works for a tampon manufacturer, so price not an issue for me!'

ROFL! Are you ever tempted to namechange and post anti-Mooncup propaganda all over the site?

don't particularly love it not wouldn't

I love mine but can't use it midcycle as my flow is too heavy, 2x superplus tampons at night!
Emptying and washing out my mooncup resembles a chainsaw massacre at times so I compromise and use it when flow calms down.

I really don't fancy emptying and washing a mooncup in the ladies loos at work.

And your deascription OP, has put me off entirely.

Yeuch!

OMG thankyou for starting this thread. I have always used tampons (ex-dancer) but recently have had clotty periods and have hated the feeling of it balancing on the tip of the tampon Hate pads but have been wearing them at home for internal comfort - externally feel awful tho iyswim.

Just googled mooncup as have never heard of them. It seems the solution. Put in while showering am, remove when get home pm at possible new lease of life. Due in 2 weeks and going to try this for the first time. Might take a while to get over the whole eurg of putting fingers up ones own fanjo but a small price to pay me thinks