Being a nature lover, I do my best in every way to save this beautiful environment. The one time I felt guilty though was during my periods, for using plastic pads. I told myself I was no less than a person chopping off trees. That I didn’t care.
My first time looking at a menstrual cup was at @happyhealthyme an organic store. I stopped by many times but only to look at it. It was daunting to even think about it. Then in one of Karen Anand’s farmers market I happened to see @boondh in the stall of @grindingstone. I have to give the credit to the two girls selling it, for me having made this shift. Personal feedback from having used it themselves, not pushy, helping me understand who to approach to learn to use it. They said they loved it and it is super comfortable, they worked out with it even. I just picked it up.
Now the cup was in my court, literally. I read the instruction manual and it was not the best for a newbie, honestly. I tried it and thought I hit dead end. I was going all wrong. Anxiety hit me as usual and the Internet is just the wrong thing to do when you’re anxious. So I YouTube-d and hit upon several videos, some websites even tell you to get lubes. I was not going to give up, so I decided to have this awkward conversation over the phone with Boondh.
The nicest lady on the phone told me that there is no stress of having to learn it immediately. Half my worries dissipated. I needed to relax and it would take me some time to really get the hang of it and she cleared all my doubts. For someone who hasn’t even used a tampon it can get real scary. I looked at the size of that thing and wondered how it’s even going to make its way inside. Here I am, today I went swimming on the first day of my periods.
It took me 3 times of giving up, this beautiful link http://divacup.com/2015/okay-so-i-bought-the-divacup-now-what/ and now I’ve got how to use it. This link should be on the first hit on google search. Best help. I can’t even tell you what an achievement this feels like. No more plastic pads! Hurray! One lady less to clog and choke the landfills.
Quickly my experience-
- Putting it on: I realized its not like wearing a pad, it’s a learning. I got to know my body better and with some patience, I got it only the third month after I bought it. Now it’s a piece of cake. If you’ve got it right this doesn’t betray you like how sanitary napkins do sometimes. Read, watch videos, google, ask your seller, or just go to the link mentioned above, but don’t give up till you’ve figured. Its totally worth it.
- While its on: I forget I have my periods. No rashes from the sanitary napkins, Oh my gosh YESS! I’ve gone running, swimming, to the gym, to work and basically everything and its like its not even there. You can even address your natures call and not have to worry about it.
- Removing it: 12 hours of gap is fine to remove, clean, and sterilize it. It can get messy sometimes don’t freak out and jump up, just deep breaths. Its your body and your own blood, it doesn’t have to be so bad.
- Life: The internet claims you can use one cup safely for 10 years. The more you dig, though, the more you learn that there isn’t one set shelf life of menstrual cups. Each of them will probably last a different number of years, depending on how it’s taken care of — how it’s cleaned, how it’s stored, how it’s used, etc. See link below on maintenance.
- Popularity: Honestly I don’t know why this never got popular and why Akshay Kumar didn’t make a cup-man movie instead of padman. You can always encourage other ladies to make a shift too. Just share your personal experience.
Happy Nature and Happy Periods!
More links:
Best link to go to: http://divacup.com/2015/okay-so-i-bought-the-divacup-now-what/
Shelf life and Maintainence: https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/health-fitness/long-menstrual-cup-lasts/
The first video that made sense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voqd8e8aaBs
History for the curious: https://www.lunette.com/blogs/news/short-history-of-menstrual-cups
