Gentlemen......this post may not be for you. It deals with female bodily functions, and therefore, may make some uncomfortable. If it makes you squeamish, I suggest you ask your female significant other, sister, aunt, mother, cousins, etc., to read it, as they may find it valuable.
I went out in the fall and bought a Diva cup. For those of you who don't know the product, it is a re-usable menstrual cup. More information about it can be found at http://www.divacup.com/ Why I haven't posted about it before now, has more to do with Mother Nature than myself. As I am a woman of a certain age, menopause is right around the corner. Thus, my bodily functions are not a reliable as they once were. I wanted to experience using the DC a few times before I posted about it.
Well, I am still waiting for a few times, but thought I might as well let my readers know that I have tackled once of the biggest waste challenges that a woman can have. The amount of garbage that the average woman uses for that week a month is unbelievable - estimates I've found on the Internet range from 300 lbs over a lifetime to 12,000 individual products. Whatever the correct amount, it is a lot of waste.
The Diva Cup, and its sister products Moon Cup and The Keeper, have an average lifetime of 10 years. So yes, I may throw it out eventually - but it's one item, as opposed to several thousand. Not to mention all of the cotton, oil, water and energy I have saved by not buying factory products items over and over.
I had a conversation with a friend of mine when I bought it. She has used one for several years, and is how I found out about the product. I wondered why we hadn't been told about this kind of thing when health class had come around in high school. She noted that although our grandmothers used re-usable rags, our mothers had the wonderful option of not having to deal with all of that mess - using disposable pads was an amazing invention. Why would they teach their daughters about the old ways, when amazing new technology was available?
I can understand her point, but I'm going to let my daughters know they have a choice. They can be environmentally-friendly, and deal with Mother Nature in a fairly mess-free way. I wish that I had found out about this product years ago.
I bought one last year and have tried it for a few cycles, but it has never been comfortable. I've spent hours on the site and tried trimming it and putting it in different ways, but I can still feel it. Hmmmm, maybe they are not for me?
ReplyDeleteI love the idea though...cant wait to see if you have any tips to share.
I tried using the Moon Cup when I lived in the UK, but it wasn't for me: my flow is too light, it was so uncomfortable, I couldn't take it!
ReplyDeleteI was on the fence about reusable options for a long time because of my work schedule (70 hours+ a week), and I just did not want to drag about a stash of dirty pads. I also tried organic tampons, but they're not available in 'light absorbency', and organic disposable pads were too thick. So I had to shelve those options.
When I came back to Canada, my schedule became a little more normal, so I started thinking about it some more. I spent a lot of time convincing my friends that they needed to use cloth diapers on their babies, and I was beginning to feel like a hypocrite. It took some time, but I finally went out and bought washable pads. I'm going to try other brands, 'cause I'm not 100% satisfied with the ones I got (I'm so used to ultra-thin pads that feel like nothing much), and I will need a bigger stash of pads, because I sometimes run out of clean (and dry!) pads.
There is a lovely woman in Australia who runs a very thorough website on reusable menstrual products that could be of interest to you and your readers. Here's the link:
Clothpads.org
As for not teaching young girls about the reusable option... Lots of women are not there yet: when I started my hunt for washable pads, I went to 5 or 6 natural food stores in Montreal. When I spoke to saleswomen of my age group (25-35), they were un-fazed by my asking about reusable pads, some even wondered why they didn't have them in store. When I spoke to older saleswomen, they all looked at me like I was crazy! It was as if they were thinking 'organic, unbleached cotton pads and tampons should be good enough for you, no need to go into gross washable things!'
So there, to each her own. I hope you get to enjoy your cup for a little while longer -at least long enough that you can really sell it to your daughters!
I've had mine for years, introduced my daughter and a few of her friends to it as well as several of my friends. I hope to be able to use this product (well, might need a replacement when it's lifespan is up) until the big M. 7 or so years so far + 10ish years to go = 17 years of not adding to the trash :)
ReplyDeleteWhy we didn't learn about it in health class? Sorry to burst your bubble Hun, but we had graduated university before this product was available :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, always wanted to hear about it from someone who wasn't selling it!
As far as I know, cups have been available for the past 30 years or so, I do think that a more progressive-minded health ed teacher should have brought the subject up.
ReplyDeleteAs for comfort, it pays to try different positions when inserting it. I have found that sitting down is best for me, but for others, standing up is better.
it's too late for me but think of the money I could've saved over the years!
ReplyDeleteYay! So glad you made the switch. Have you checked out this forum? They were a huge help to me when I first started shopping around and bought my Lady Cup.
ReplyDeletehttp://menstrualcups.org/
I have one and have used it a few times, but have been uncomfortable and even had a leak. I originally bought it for a backpacking trip and didn't want carry out used tampons or pads. I still have it and plan on using it agtain.
ReplyDeleteBunny - I'll check out the website, for sure. Becky - I found that the first couple of times felt strange, but it was all about proper positioning. Play around with it a bit - try different ways of inserting it, etc. Hopefully you'll find a way that works for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found out about the Diva Cup. I happened upon it about 2 years ago now and I've never looked back. I had a bit of trouble in the beginning inserting it and also with leaks, but I think I've figured it out now and it works just great. I especially love it because at night it does not leak!!! Never has!
ReplyDeleteI hope it works for you:-)
Thanks Anonymous for your comments. I've had a little bit of trouble this time round, but I think I've got the hang of this now. :)
ReplyDeleteMenopause is one of the major changes in your body, try to search about its symptoms so that you can prevent some of it.
ReplyDeleteWhat age does menopause start
Thanks LiveChat85. I've been doing some research about perimenopause symptoms, and am working with my doctor to try and mitigate some of them.
ReplyDelete