to ditch my mooncup because it stinks of rotting dead bodies?

[fanjolina]

I've tried, I really have tried to get in with the mooncup.

I've got over the ickiness of blood on my hand (and all over the bathroom when it once 'pinged' whilst full).

But my god, by day 5 - the smell!! It seriously stinks like rotting dead bodies. And it's the mooncup itself (I did a sniff test).

Others can smell it too. I was getting weird looks on the bus this morning and at work today people have been commenting on a foul smell.

I swear that apart from the rubber mooncup my vagina is as fresh as a daisy. It's not rotten - but the mooncup is.

So AIBU to ditch it and return to tampons?

Do you have v light periods and therefore aren't changing it very often? The only time I've had any sort of smell was when I forgot it was there the last day of my period and left it in for 24 hrs. That wasn't particularly pleasant, but it wouldn't have stank out a hotel room .

I remember a friend leaving in a tampon for a week and she was followed around by an utterly rank smell, but that was a week, something's not right if you think people can smell you after just a few hours.

Yes, period is very light so I only have to empty it once every 1-2 days. Could that be the issue?

Samu I have very heavy periods I use a mooncup with a basics pantyliner on the heaviest day and a mooncup on its own is enough for the rest of the period so it only costs me 20p every few months for pantyliners

Yes Squeaky but that is old stale blood. You should the leaving a mooncup unemptied for that long!
Samu I can get really heavy. You will know when it needs emptying. I empty mine regularly on heavy days anyway. The only suggestion I will make is to use a pant liner on your heaviest days. I can get slight leakage if its quite full. It has tiny holes round the top to prevent extreme suction, if its brimming it might seep a miniscule amount through these. Not a problem if you are wearing a liner, and still an improvement on wearing 2 3 big tampons at once!

Omg Fanjolina I think you have found your problem!

Yes. Leaving it in for 2 days is going to stinks to high heaven!!! Take it out and at least give it a wipe (preferably a rinse) a couple of times a day and you'll be sorted.

2 frigging days... yuk.. just yuk

Yes mine smells more if I leave it for 2 days which I have done sometimes at the end of my period by accident.

I would be changing it once every 12 hours at least to prevent unpleasant smells, the blood is "dead" so of course it's going to start smelling if you leave it for too long.

Yes emptying it every 2-3 days is the issue! Empty it every 6 hours apart from overnight, and the problem will go away.

Oops 1-2 days, not 2-3 days.

It's like only having a wash once every 2 days and wondering why you smell!

it should not smell, im sure that it is also recommended that you empty it every 8 hours, it could be that you are not doing this often enough

i leave mine in a jar with a tiny bit of sterilizing fluid when im not using it, i also rinse it with a bit of soapy water (if at home) when im using it, and i rinse every 4 - 8 hours, i would never leave it in for more than a day as i would be worried about stale stagnant blood being left inside me

i had mine for over 5 years and naver had a smell

Eek, every couple of days?! Definitely think you've found your problem!
I use a moon cup and it doesn't smell at all It's also not made of rubber, so no rubber smell!

Although the mooncup will contain a light to moderate flow easily you should still be changing it, at the most, every 8 hours even if it only seems a tiny bit full.

Iirc it does state to change regularly on the instructions.
I change mine 4-6 hourly as I have a very heavy flow but can last overnight ~8 hours if needed.

Please make sure you go to the doctors if you have any signs of infection, keeping dead tissue warm and moist next to mucous membrane for 48 hours is a recipe for a nasty.

Oh dear, definitely found your problem, defo needs a good rinse after about 6 hours despite not being 'full'. Can kind of understand why you wouldn't think you'd have to but as its all very sensitive in that particular region I'd be very wary of leaving anything up there longer than overnight. Maybe stick to the general rules of thumb wrt tampons and towels, regular changes/ rinses every 4-6 hours and empty before bed and as soon as you wake up. You'll be fresh as a daisy in no time!

Just read you're leaving two days between changes, think we've found your problem

I have light periods as well, and I find with the mooncup it's very easy to forget it's there... so get into a routine - I empty and clean at least every morning and night (so can be done at home, easy to give a good clean). Bet that solves your problem. I always sterilise after my period, and sometimes before again, depending on how keen I'm feeling!

I've had mine for years, never been aware of a smell, other than the normal smell of blood, iykwim.

Just empty it every time you pee. Job done!

I do shower morning and night so I am clean.

But it seems like I should be emptying it more often. I shall try this and see if it makes a difference. Am sure I never saw instructions to empty every 8 hours.

Thanks for charming thread title!

Are you washing the mooncup when you empty it?

I've used one for years and never had this problem

Yes, I wash it when I empty it. I usually do so every morning - give it a good thorough clean out. Only on occasion (when hungover) has it been later in the day, hence me saying 1-2 days.

well, not really

i think standard instructions recommend changing every 4-8 hrs

Yes official instructions are 8 hours. I often leave mine 12 without a problem and on the occasion I have left it for a day it has smelled a bit pongy.

Yep, it's in the booklet, promise.

I would sterilise it and if the odour hasn't gone then replace it if it were me. Then do as you said and empty & wash frequently.

I've had mine years and it doesn't have an odour so doing this should keep it tip top.
But really, once or twice a day is not enough. It'll also be less full & therefore less likely for you to splash or get blood on your hands (?) if you just do a quick change when you go for a pee.