To not understand the moon cup love

[Kangar00]

So, if you use a moon cup, do you work? I just can't imagine wearing one at work.

It's scary to put in. I have the smallest size and I've had a child but I still find it scary and it reminds me of childbirth!

I just don't get it. I don really want to as it's more environmentally friendly. Did it take you a while to get used and adjust to using one?

When I first got one I didn’t get on with it at all, it was really uncomfortable. I tried it again after cutting off all of the tail bit and now it’s fine. I work from home though, so don’t have to use the loo st work.

how is emptying a cup getting closer to your bodily fluids than touching a soiled tampon or pad

I must be doing menstrual cups wrong, because I have to put my fingers directly into my vagina to insert it, and especially to take it out. With a tampon or towel I'm not sticking my fingers up anywhere, I touch the string of the tampon, or the edge of the towel / liner, so no contact with any fluids at all

Am I missing a trick?

I use one. At risk of being flamed, I use the disabled toilet when I need to change it at work because the cubicle has a hand basin inside. (As far as I'm aware there are no disabled people on our floor and I only use that cubicle when I need to change my mooncup, so a couple of times a month I guess.)

You get used to putting them in. I love mine, when it's in I forget I'm on my period. Great at work. Our loos are the sort with a sink in the cubicle, otherwise I'd just empty it down the loo and wipe it clean with wet wipes.

I hate pads, I don't like the sensation of blood trickling out of me especially at work, and the fear it might leak when you have a big gush. Or that people might smell the blood or hear the pad rustling. I also hate tampons, they feel itchy and dry.

TMI pads and tampons definitely make me smell. Mooncup, not a whiff.

I used one for the last few years of my menstruating life and loved it. Wished I’d started using it sooner. Hated tampons, they dried me up! Never a problem in work, just didn’t empty it until I got home.

I used with a washable towel and if needed to empty at work on heavier days this can be done in the cubicle with a bottle of water or even a couple of wet wipes.
It's still a lot less waste than tampons or pads.

Most places have disabled loos that will have a sink in, but I really don't think rinsing the cup in on in a sink that is not your own is ok.
Unless of course you happen to have bathroom cleaner with you...

I would pour the blood down the toilet and just rinse any residue in the sink. I think it’s fine as long as you run the tap for a while and wipe the sink afterwards to make sure there’s nothing left. The toilets and sinks in my office get cleaned every day anyway (unlike the ones at home!)

I've used one for about 12 years now and wouldn't go back. I actually recently got a MeLuna cup which comes in more sizes and shapes than the Mooncup, and it's even better. If your cervix sits lower like mine, the short size of the MeLuna might work for you better.

Like others say, I only need to change it during the day on the heaviest days. I mostly work from home now but never had a problem at work - you can even use some loo roll to clean it, and as long as you've washed your hands first (and after, obviously) it's perfectly hygienic.

Ten years in with mine, and it was life changing. I have very very heavy periods so do need to empty every couple of hours for the first day, but it is a huge improvement on constantly leaking pads and cramp inducing tampons. I pretty much never have leakage issues now, but do use washable pads as back up. And I’m much happier about the environmental impact of my periods now.

There's no blood in contact with my hands when changing a tampon. Not the case with a cup where I'm having to stick fingers right up my vagina!
What you don't seem to realise is that the vast majority of the time it is possible to empty a cup without getting any blood on your fingers. The blood is all contained inside the cup, you only touch the outside of the cup and empty it down the toilet. The only times I have ever got blood on my fingers is when it has overflowed, and that is rare. If you don't have heavy periods, you would never have that problem. Just empty it morning and night and there will be no blood under your fingernails. Wash your hands as normal.

There's a comparison table of the different mooncup options HERE

There's a quiz on the same site to help you choose the best one for you HERE

I use a MeLuna Sport for heavy days (more rigid, larger) and good old Mooncup for the other days. NO STEMS, too stabby. Used them for over 10 years, pre and post kids. Made my life so much easier. I could be anywhere in the world and just get on with life as long as I have a cup, no counting how many hours I'll be out, how many tampons etc.

Before I had a baby I could not have even conceived of fitting a moon cup up there, but things are a little roomier than they were. I'm still not really swayed by the idea though. At work.. do you just wash your bloody cup out in the sink? Weird.

Back when I had light periods and had only had 1 child, I too loved my mooncup.
Then I had a second child and my periods became a bloody nightmare.
The mooncup filled up so fast, it was ridiculous. Emptying it made the loo look like a massacre, blood absolutely everywhere. And getting it out became horribly uncomfortable. Absolutely no chance of doing it anywhere other than at home.
And so I have gone back to tampons and tbh they are easier, and cleaner, and just more convenient all round, and I don't have to deal with the blood in quite the same way.
I also don't know a single woman IRL who uses or has ever tried a mooncup. Only on MN.

Really amazed and impressed to see all the early adopters who've been using them for years and years! I only got started late last year!

I have quite heavy periods so need to change every 3-4 hours at the start (but this is better than soaking a super tampon hourly). I also get a bit of leakage, so wear liners or light pads. I'm planning on investing in a set of Thinx period-proof underwear when I have the money.

It was definitely fiddly to start with, and three periods in I'm still finding my way (I am going to try one with a rounded stem as I find the Mooncup stem a bit stabby).

I read advice on one of these threads to change them in the shower morning and night (for me this means adding a two-minute shower before bed), which works great for the lighter flow days for me.

At work there are sinks in the toilet cubicles, so I rinse it in that. The bathrooms are professionally cleaned daily. I know some people have a more visceral reaction to period blood than other body fluids, but period blood is not "dirty". Of course it's not; babies grow in it! Plenty of people give their teeth a quick brush over the communal sink after lunch, but I don't see anyone suggesting that the sinks need to be bleached because a mouthful of saliva has gone down them.

I feel so happy every month when I think of the waste that I'm not producing (and the cost that I'm not incurring).

Thanks to the poster who linked to different folds and Voice for the comparison links.

Cloth pads also rock.

I have an organicup but found that it did not unfold once I'd got it in. Does anyone have any tips about what I'm doing wrong or if another brand might work better.

I love mine, wish I'd tried it years ago. I have a heavy flow (would change tampon hourly) but I can go al, day at work without emptying it but I do only work 9-3.
Not had a problem inserting it after first few attempts, Not sure which brand it is, got it off Amazon for about £12, it's a soft one.
Maybe watch a YouTube video if you're struggling to insert it properly?

I love mine so much I bought them for my friends , they love theirs too!

Has everybody bought their cup online?
I have NEVER seen one in a shop.

I love mine! For all the reasons above, less faff, less changing, less smell, less painful periods and it must have saved me a fortune over the years. Also, I love that you can put it in early (when you know you're about to come on) and avoid being caught out.

Once in a while I do have trouble getting it in comfortably, it seems to somehow get suction in the wrong place and is rather painful but just taking it out and trying again till it's comfortable fixes it (and it's only occasional).

One tip, I find it easier to insert when wet so sticking it under the tap first can help!

Also do not drop it down the toilet while pissed

Boots have Mooncups! Don't know about other types..

18 years here! Pads and tampons seem totally archaic and smelly and disgusting in comparison. And full of plastic. Why anyone would want to put a bleached chemical filled piece of plastic inside them and then throw it away to never biodegrade is incomprehensible to me. Weirdos.

I wouldn't think an absorbent plug of cotton wool in a Tampon is particularly healthy to be used internally. Natural body fluids help to flush out bacteria.

Hooch
18 years! Impressive!
You must have been one of the first.
Rather brave I think, did you tell many people?

They really changed my life. I used to be so sniffy about them and distinctly remember telling a more 'hippy' friend about 10 years ago I thought they were gross. More gool me, wish I'd listened to her sooner.