Fly me to the Mooncup

How many moon references can I think of ... I got a few more up my sleeve for future posts, don't you worry :)

I know you've been all excited, checking every day to see if indeed it is a yummy choccy pud, as uncertain suggested. Now that would be good. I'm sure you've not looked it up on Google like I would have ... well, I'll pretend you don't know and go with a big build up - are you ready???

Here it is - the Mooncup:


Oooo pretty isn't it! Love the little baggy and the pink ribbon.

Now what's inside ... is it a lip gloss? A delicate bracelet??

Ok, open the little bag and what's inside - it's a ...

Hmmmm, now what the heck is that?? Is it a plastic tulip? A baby turkey baster? A tiny bucket for removing flood water??

This should make it obvious...


Can you see that? Yes, it's a reusable menstrual cup!
Of course, you cry! I knew that all along!! How perfectly splendid!!!

Apparently they're big in the States according to my friend Helen - but then uncertain hadn't heard of it - or had you myc? My other friend emailed me and told me that she's been using a similar concept - the Keeper, nice name - for 6 years now. That's 6 years without using, without buying any tampons! That sounds good to me - it'll save me a fortune!! She's been recommending them to all her friends.

Here's the facts, as taken from Mooncup.co.uk:

The Mooncup is a reusable menstrual cup around two inches long and made from soft silicone rubber. It is worn internally like a tampon but collects menstrual fluid rather than absorbing. Unlike tampons the Mooncup is not a disposable product, so you only need to buy one.

It's not disposable, you see, you only buy one and re-use it. Re-use it. Hang on a minute ... how does that work??

The Mooncup can be cleaned in the same way as baby equipment: with sterilising fluid, or by boiling for five minutes in an open pan of water.

Oh I seeee ... you just boil it between uses, or stick it in a baby steriliser. How my gonna do that on a Pendolino to London? How my gonna do that at work, "sorry chaps just gotta boil the kettle to swill out my Mooncup". How my gonna do that at home when I can't leave the comfort of the toilet to head to the kitchen for a spot of sterilising because I'll leave the carpet looking like Jack the Ripper's been reincarnated...

You can still use your Mooncup in Public toilets. Simply take a small bottle
of water into the toilet with you and rinse it with this. Alternatively you
can wipe with toilet paper and give your Mooncup a thorough clean at a more convenient time.

Ahhh that's a bit more like it. In fact that's what my friend suggested, although she can get away with wearing hers for 24 hours on the trot generally.

The Mooncup will hold 30ml of fluid, which is roughly one third of the average total produced each period. A light seal is formed with your vaginal walls allowing your menstrual fluid to pass into the Mooncup without leakage or odour. You will probably find that you need to empty your Mooncup less frequently than you currently replace towels or tampons.

The average total produced each period is 60ml - now that's interesting. That's what appeals to me, not only emptying less frequently than I currently replace tampons - sometimes as often as every half hour - but that I can actually measure my blood loss. Does that sound totally weird?? I'm curious. Curious to know just how much I'm actually losing each month. I'm not getting that anaemic - HBC 11.2 (June) and Ferritin 12 - so therefore I can't be bleeding that much, right??

In order for a period to be considered heavy - according to the Mooncup website - one would be losing "80mls+ produced over the whole cycle". Will I be anywhere near that? I think so, knowing my tampon stats but we'll see.

I'm going to give it a go next period - in a week or so if my menstrual calendar is at all predictable, which it usually isn't!! I'm not entirely keen on the cleaning the cup out in the sink bit, or the squatting to get it in and out, or wearing it lower down the vagina than a tampon, or trying to remove it without spilling blood around like a chocolate fountain. But - I do like the idea of using less towels and tampons - from an environmental and economicental and mental point of view, I like the idea of accurately (if my hands are steady and the things not overflowing:) measuring my blood loss, and I like the idea of leaving it in and forgetting about it - maybe being able to walk into town and back without a public toilet dependency, maybe going swimming even??? It's possible apparently.

Wish me luck and send me bathroom cleaning products!

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