My New Mooncup

I first heard about mooncups a few years ago and finally bought one this summer at the WOMAD festival and have started using it, for those of you who don't know the mooncup is an alternative sanitary protection product you re-use it's a silicone cup that collects menstrual fluid rather than absorbing it, you remove it empty it wash it and reinsert it. They last for years so you save money and it's also far more environmentally friendly than tampons and towels which take up space on landfill sites, cause pollution being incinerated or float around in the sea, yuck!

When I first heard of them I thought it must be un-hygienic and even dangerous but it was explained to me that Tampons cause Toxic shock syndrome because they stop your menstrual flow causing a build up of bacteria, but The mooncup doesn't because it doesn't absorb the fluid like a Tampon does it collects it. The mooncup has been in use since the 30's and no one has ever got Toxic Shock Syndrome from using it. You clean it by boiling it for 5 minutes before the first use, washing it in warm water with mild soap and rinsing it each time you empty it, and I think I'll boil it for 5 minutes at the end of each period too just to be safe. You can use it while you are out and about too just take a small bottle of water for rinsing it when emptying it.
I was also shocked by the size of it when I first saw it but you fold it to insert it and it's surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it.

I'm so happy never to have to buy tampons again I just had to post on here about it, sorry to all the men who's stomachs may have been turned by all the talk about womens things but it needed to be done. I recommend it to all women if we all used them there would be no more tampons in the sea and an end to all those annoying adverts for tampons and towels we all have to endure every day.

There's far more detail and answers to any questions you may have here or you can find the site by clicking the post title.