venta

A few months back, I bought a Mooncup. For those of you who aren't well-up on such things, it's a reusable alternative to tampons and the like, with mysterious overtones of feminism and hippie nonsense.

The couple of people I've mentioned this to have been extremely curious about the whole business, so I thought by way of a public service announcement I'd put my thoughts on it here. I was considering locking this to just girls on my friends-list, but (a) I can't be arsed, (b) I'm not actually clear on the gender of some people and (c) if boys want to read it I don't see why they can't.

I've tried to be as un-icky as possible, but a certain amount of graphic detail is required to explain things.

If you're not familiar with a Mooncup, it's a cone-shaped cup made of flexible silicon. You insert it more less as you would a tampon, then take it out again to empty it more less as regularly as you would change tampons.

Its main selling points are:

- it's a one-off purchase and will last for years, so it's cheaper.
- it's not disposable, so it's more environmentally sound than chucking away sanitary products each month.
- it's healthier.

I'm not sure of the level of scientific backing for that last one. Apparently it's not associated with TSS, though that's not a particularly large risk anyway. There are general claims made about lack of irritation and overall "vaginal health", but I don't recall any of these being a problem with tampons either.

Does it work ?

Yup. I've been really pleased with it over the last few months. I was concerned about whether or not it would be leak-proof, and thus far it has been completely. Learning to use it is an ongoing process, and sometimes it still takes me a few goes to get it inserted properly (it's very easy to tell whether it's in right or not: squeeze your muscles as if you're trying to push it out, if it stays put, you're fine).

Is it icky ?

Bluntly, yes. If you're a bit squeamish about the idea of applicatorless tampons, don't even consider taking it on. However, it's not significantly different to (say) dealing with a tampon whose string is lost/detached. Inserting it requires you to fold the cup in on itself, and it should pop out to its proper shape when in place. Somestimes it doesn't do that, and you have to prod it into shape.

For removal... "don't push it in too far", they say. Yeah, right. Regardless of what you decide, your muscles will reposition it wherever the hell they want. The cup has a 'stalk' on the bottom which you can grab hold of to pull it out but there are two problems with that. Firstly, in order for the thing to be comfortable when in place, I had to trim the stalk down quite a lot (you are recommended to do this), and it can be a little hard to reach. Secondly, because a slight vacuum seal[*] is formed, it won't really shift until you've managed to reach the base of the actual cup-part and squeezed it to release the vacuum.

In addition, you do have to empty and clean out the cup between uses. This exposes you to actual blood in a way that tampon-use doesn't[**]. The main disadvantage I've noticed is that if you're in (say) a public toilet where the cubicle doesn't contain a sink, cleaning your hands can be a bit of a pain. Of course, I'm sure I should be able to walk across a room with blood all over my hands in full view, but I'm not quite that brave.

Anything else ?

Yup, a few things. Firstly, the main advantage to me is none of the things used by Mooncup's marketing department. I'm very dim, quite absent-minded, and I don't get period pain. This means that I've always been quite inclined to forget to take tampons with me when I go anywhere. I'd quite regularly go to work for the day and not take any, or put some in my work bag but then forget them when I went to the toilet. Other than remembering to locate and sterilise my Mooncup at the start of a period, I don't have to have a memory. The thing is always there, and just requires emptying.

The sterilisation part isn't difficult. They recommend boiling (which I haven't tried, as it seems rather antisocial to boil such things in a saucepan we all use in a shared kitchen), or using chemical steriliser. I've not actually been able to locate the correct concentration of sterilisation fluid they recommend (I'm using standard baby-utensil steriliser).

Mooncups come in two sizes: small (if you're under 30 and have no vaginally-delivered children) and large (everyone not covered by small). When I bought mine, I was instructed to buy large as I'm over 30[***]. This concerned me, as evidence from things like smear-tests suggests I'm built quite small (nurses have previously had to locate an extra-small speculum), however everything seems to be fine.

One of the FAQs on the website is "Can I leave it in during sex?" Well no, duh, you can't. Slightly less obviously, I've found that I'm much more comfortable if I take it out before defecating. No one seems to mention such subjects in the FAQ, but it just felt indefinably wrong and uncomfy to me when I tried it.

I'm happy to answer (or attempt to) questions if anyone's got any. They're probably answered on the website as well, but I'm always more inclined to trust answers from real people than to trust testimonals. I certainly regard the thing as £20 well-spent and would (with reservations about squeamishness) thoroughly recommend it.

[*] Arf, arf!
[**] Insert claptrap about being better in touch with your body, etc. Moon goddesses optional.
[***] Actually, I was instructed to buy small because I was under 30, but I had to correct the lady to tell her I wasn't as young as she thought ;)

Edit: for the curious, but who don't wish to read the details: I think it's great, but it's not for the squeamish.