An alternative to tampons or pads. Females only, please.

[MerryH]

The silicone sounds better than latex, which irritates.

Thanks for bringing this up. I forgot to mention that the material is also something to consider. Some are made of rubber, some are latex, some are silicone, and possibly other materials I'm not aware of. If you have allergies/sensitivities to any of those, choose accordingly.

Barring allergies, silicone seems ideal to me, since it can be boiled.

[Gratedwasabi]

Shot anyone? ... Sorry.

I just want to tell all you women that, on behalf of men everywhere, we appreciate you not only dealing with your feminine issues but doing so discreetly.

Just reading about the options.. man... not fun! I remember the first time I discovered a tampon and had no idea what it was.. "why is a string coming out of this chick?" Poor ladies..

[doppelgaenger]

"why is a string coming out of this chick?" Poor ladies..

You just gave me a really good idea, for a painting, haha.

[ShellyZ]

I remember the first time I discovered a tampon and had no idea what it was.. "why is a string coming out of this chick?"

You were old enough to be fooling around with a naked woman, but not old enough to know what a tampon was? That said, she should have at least warned you before you removed her underwear. I would never let a guy be surprised by that.

But I appreciate the sympathy.

[Gratedwasabi]

You were old enough to be fooling around with a naked woman, but not old enough to know what a tampon was? That said, she should have at least warned you before you removed her underwear. I would never let a guy be surprised by that.

But I appreciate the sympathy.

I knew what they were but not the exact way they were used, ie.. I didn't realize there was a string to pull it out. I mean.. a boy growing up without a sister and they didn't have sex ed classes where I grew up.. how else would I have known that?

[ShellyZ]

they didn't have sex ed classes where I grew up

Ah, that explains it. Did you grow up in the Bible Belt?

[MerryH]

Suppose there's a market for a case, just like for pads.

Actually, I realized today that I never carry mine around. Unlike tampons, there's no harm in using it when you suspect you might be starting your period. It's a nice safety measure.

[Beautyw6737]

Cloth? Maybe cotton. Don't know how this would work.

[Beautyw6737]

Lol being a girl really sucks doesn't it.

Sometimes I wish men could experience what we have to go through. Just so they knew.

[bluesummer]

Thanks for the info, I've actually wondered about these. I hate pads, and I have a heavy period so I have to carry a purseful of everything to make sure I'm covered at all times. It's awful.

Okay now I have a really, really gross question. May even gross out the girls......



..........




....if it's been sitting in the cup for hours and hours......does it clot? I don't know if I'm cool with that. I picture a jello-mold type lump of menstrual blood. My mind works in disturbing ways at times.

[MerryH]

Haha. Yeah, that's gross. So is the answer, though. You've all been warned.


................


I can tell you that it's not at all like a jello mold. It's very liquidy. But, there are...clumps, sometimes. I doubt this is from coagulation in the cup, because I noticed them before, when I was using tampons and pads (it's just a little more obvious now that I can see it). I'm pretty sure that coagulation happens inside your body, not the cup. Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong. Still, you're not going to be making little jello molds of grossness every few days.

Thanks for showing interest. If you have problematic periods, I think you would especially like cups. Try one!

[Vanity]

I can only wear pads right now because I'm a virgin and I'm worried a tampon might break my hymen >_>

I hate wearing pads, it feels like a diaper =_=

But I don't think I would want to use the cups/ball/whatever the hell they are. They just look uncomfortable...

[bloodtippedrose]

When I'm in the bathroom at work or out in public, like a restaurant, I'd imagine it to be much more easy to throw out a pad/tampon in the stall than what? Washing out my blood and uterus lining in a public sink in between patrons walking in and out? Then heading back to the stall to stick it back up there? PLEASE indulge me with how you do this!

[MerryH]

When I'm in the bathroom at work or out in public, like a restaurant, I'd imagine it to be much more easy to throw out a pad/tampon in the stall than what? Washing out my blood and uterus lining in a public sink in between patrons walking in and out?

You wouldn't wash it out in the sink in a public restroom. That would just be rude. If you're stuck somewhere and it absolutely has to be emptied, then you just dump it out in the toilet, wipe it off, and put it back in. At the earliest convenience, take it back out and wash it. It's very forgiving. Since you can leave it in for 12 hours, and it ain't no thing to remove/reinsert, it's easy to plan ahead and do it when it's most convenient. I've been using it for over a year now, and there has only been one instance of me having to deal with it in a public restroom (14 hour road trip on a heavy flow day.) In that specific case, yeah, a tampon or pad would have definitely been much easier. But I don't buy those anymore and if I did, I would feel like I was cheating on my beloved cup.

[Andariel]

I had never heard about cups before, thanks for your post! My period is really heavy and long so I use tampons and pads (which I hate) during the first 3-4 days because I always worry that there will be a leak and wearing a pad whilst using a tampon eliminates any potentially embarassing incidents...! ;-)

I saw all the info you posted about the cups and although at first I thought it might be a good idea, I really now find them too big (I wouldn't feel comfortable inserting them or taking them out) compared to tampons and washing out the blood bit sounds too gross for me!

I don't think the coagulation bit has anything to do with the cup itself. I think it's just a natural thing that occurs in the body because sometmes when I use tampons or even when I'm just wearing a pad, I have that during the first few days. Being a woman is hard!!! ;-)