The Great Mooncup Thread / FAQ
Those who are squeamish / going to just sit and wince need not apply.
Following on from http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/t111208.html (:
Hey, so finally my hormones have deemed me able to write a factual account of mooncupping, which appears to be sweeping our little forum like a big sweeping thing.
What’s mooncupping? Why, it’s the act of placing a cup up your foo rather than a tampon, or using a towel. That’s what it is.
For this, you need a mooncup. Basically it’s a 5cm silicone based cup that catches all of your menstrual blood and holds it tight until it’s convenient for you to tip it out.
Totally unattractive thought, I know, but listen.
This cup is pretty awesome. Sure, like most awesome things it does require a little getting used to and dare I say, a little practice.
Okay, so I bought a mooncup after deliberating for a couple of weeks. But then I thought, what’s the harm? At the end of the day, it’s money that I could get back if I wasn’t satisfied, and if the endeavour worked, then it’d save me a tonne on tampon/towel money. Or rather it’d stop me whining at mum to buy some
. Anyway, they’re £17.99 off the website, and without the complicated maths, that’s a LOT less than you’d spend on sanitary products in even a year. Now lets bear in mind this thing can last for a good few years, it’s a decent saving.
Now for all of you hairylegged eco-warriors out there (!) there’s the fact that mooncupping does not contribute to landfill and excessive waste, and what’s more, there’s no risk of it blocking your loo and requiring embarrassing “Ah, yes, Mr. Plumber, that’d be my TAMPON.”
When I got my mooncup, I was not on my period, but the beauty of this thing is, if you’re scared at the thought of having it up there [and believe you me, my lady parts laughed at me when they learned what it was for. They then promptly cried when they saw the size of it] you can practice inserting and taking it out without drying yourself out and hurting yourself. When you actually think about it, and get the hang of it, it’s not all that big and scary [I’d hope bigger things made their way up there from time to time].
Which brings me to my next point: virgins [in the sense of no sex] –Using a mooncup will not damage your virginity. I understand that some families are a little iffy on the hymen front, and fair enough, but just be aware that you cannot lose your virginity to a rubber cup, k?
If your hymen definitely hasn’t broken, I can’t imagine using the mooncup is for you, basically because you need to get it up to where the hymen usually sits, and that might hurt you :\ Chances are that there are very few of you with a fully intact one though – you can break them just through exercise.
If you are not a virgin, or you are a tampon user, your hymen probably doesn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of still being there, so mooncup away.
They come in two sizes, A and B. For the most part, I reckon most of you will be a B because you are under 30, but for those of you over 30, or who have given birth vaginally you’ll need a slightly wider size A. [Because we don’t stay taught forever, ladies ;_;]
Yeah, so practice with it until you get the hand of insertion. You get a handy dandy leaflet that tells you exactly how to do it, so I won’t bore you with the gory details, but what I will do is give you a few personal pointers.
You probably won’t need all of that stem. If, upon inspection of girl parts you can still see the stem, you need to cut a bit of it off. First though, make sure it’s as HIGH up as it will go. For me, this was most easily done by getting my finger around the edges of it and pushing up a little bit – this way it wasn’t in anyway uncomfortable, because you are kindof breaking the seal with your fingers to make it more comfy up there.
I have cut more than half of my stem off. It’s bordering on moderately useless to plain irritating, and a good few mooncuppers have actually removed the stem altogether, because it’s only *really* needed to make sure you can pull the cup out [and unless your fingers are like an inch long, I don’t see how you can’t grasp a 5cm long cup from somewhere where it can’t go anywhere but back down again].
My cup [obviously much like my lady part] sits to the side a little [the right, if you must know]. I can only assume this is because I am anatomically ******ed. But fear not: if you too are a bit wonky in the vaginal department, it doesn’t appear to affect seal forming and therefore leakage.
I have not leaked from it at all – and you know what else is nifty? You know like sometimes where your tampon has some blood in it, and you wipe and a bit of blood comes off too? Or when you take a tampon out and it leaves a bit still in there? Mooncups don’t do that. You are totally clean from the top of the cup down, which means there is no chance of even any staining after you’ve been to the loo.
Now a few people have expressed concerns that mooncup is affecting their ability to pee properly. I haven’t personally experienced this, and I half suspect that it’s to do with the positioning [it might need to be higher up] BUT if you do have it in the right place and you’re still experiencing pee problems, just make sure you remove it, pee heartily and stick it back in to make sure you don’t get any fiddly bladder problems.
I have subjected my mooncup to sitting, walking, running, doing a slight jig, lying down and other general things and don’t seem to have had any problems thus far. I don’t really like emptying it all that much, but I guess that’s all down to what the consistency of your period is [yum]. I haven’t been swimming in it yet, but I am assured by the website and its dedicated followers that it *is* doable.
Lastly, if you are having problems getting it up there, try to relax a bit – but DO NOT use any oil based lubricants because they ruin the material. Use water-based lubes if you must [even saliva works, in the least gross sense of the suggestion].
Over the next few days, I am going to compile a full mooncup FAQ. Of course I could rip if off the site, but then it would be lacking in groovosity, So, for the meantime, check out www.mooncup.co.uk for testimonials, orders and whatnot.
All that remains to say, is oh my god I just wrote two pages of A4 about my period. Thanks.
Following on from http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/t111208.html (:
Hey, so finally my hormones have deemed me able to write a factual account of mooncupping, which appears to be sweeping our little forum like a big sweeping thing.
What’s mooncupping? Why, it’s the act of placing a cup up your foo rather than a tampon, or using a towel. That’s what it is.
For this, you need a mooncup. Basically it’s a 5cm silicone based cup that catches all of your menstrual blood and holds it tight until it’s convenient for you to tip it out.
Totally unattractive thought, I know, but listen.
This cup is pretty awesome. Sure, like most awesome things it does require a little getting used to and dare I say, a little practice.
Okay, so I bought a mooncup after deliberating for a couple of weeks. But then I thought, what’s the harm? At the end of the day, it’s money that I could get back if I wasn’t satisfied, and if the endeavour worked, then it’d save me a tonne on tampon/towel money. Or rather it’d stop me whining at mum to buy some
. Anyway, they’re £17.99 off the website, and without the complicated maths, that’s a LOT less than you’d spend on sanitary products in even a year. Now lets bear in mind this thing can last for a good few years, it’s a decent saving.Now for all of you hairylegged eco-warriors out there (!) there’s the fact that mooncupping does not contribute to landfill and excessive waste, and what’s more, there’s no risk of it blocking your loo and requiring embarrassing “Ah, yes, Mr. Plumber, that’d be my TAMPON.”
When I got my mooncup, I was not on my period, but the beauty of this thing is, if you’re scared at the thought of having it up there [and believe you me, my lady parts laughed at me when they learned what it was for. They then promptly cried when they saw the size of it] you can practice inserting and taking it out without drying yourself out and hurting yourself. When you actually think about it, and get the hang of it, it’s not all that big and scary [I’d hope bigger things made their way up there from time to time].
Which brings me to my next point: virgins [in the sense of no sex] –Using a mooncup will not damage your virginity. I understand that some families are a little iffy on the hymen front, and fair enough, but just be aware that you cannot lose your virginity to a rubber cup, k?
If your hymen definitely hasn’t broken, I can’t imagine using the mooncup is for you, basically because you need to get it up to where the hymen usually sits, and that might hurt you :\ Chances are that there are very few of you with a fully intact one though – you can break them just through exercise.
If you are not a virgin, or you are a tampon user, your hymen probably doesn’t have a cat in hell’s chance of still being there, so mooncup away.
They come in two sizes, A and B. For the most part, I reckon most of you will be a B because you are under 30, but for those of you over 30, or who have given birth vaginally you’ll need a slightly wider size A. [Because we don’t stay taught forever, ladies ;_;]
Yeah, so practice with it until you get the hand of insertion. You get a handy dandy leaflet that tells you exactly how to do it, so I won’t bore you with the gory details, but what I will do is give you a few personal pointers.
You probably won’t need all of that stem. If, upon inspection of girl parts you can still see the stem, you need to cut a bit of it off. First though, make sure it’s as HIGH up as it will go. For me, this was most easily done by getting my finger around the edges of it and pushing up a little bit – this way it wasn’t in anyway uncomfortable, because you are kindof breaking the seal with your fingers to make it more comfy up there.
I have cut more than half of my stem off. It’s bordering on moderately useless to plain irritating, and a good few mooncuppers have actually removed the stem altogether, because it’s only *really* needed to make sure you can pull the cup out [and unless your fingers are like an inch long, I don’t see how you can’t grasp a 5cm long cup from somewhere where it can’t go anywhere but back down again].
My cup [obviously much like my lady part] sits to the side a little [the right, if you must know]. I can only assume this is because I am anatomically ******ed. But fear not: if you too are a bit wonky in the vaginal department, it doesn’t appear to affect seal forming and therefore leakage.
I have not leaked from it at all – and you know what else is nifty? You know like sometimes where your tampon has some blood in it, and you wipe and a bit of blood comes off too? Or when you take a tampon out and it leaves a bit still in there? Mooncups don’t do that. You are totally clean from the top of the cup down, which means there is no chance of even any staining after you’ve been to the loo.
Now a few people have expressed concerns that mooncup is affecting their ability to pee properly. I haven’t personally experienced this, and I half suspect that it’s to do with the positioning [it might need to be higher up] BUT if you do have it in the right place and you’re still experiencing pee problems, just make sure you remove it, pee heartily and stick it back in to make sure you don’t get any fiddly bladder problems.
I have subjected my mooncup to sitting, walking, running, doing a slight jig, lying down and other general things and don’t seem to have had any problems thus far. I don’t really like emptying it all that much, but I guess that’s all down to what the consistency of your period is [yum]. I haven’t been swimming in it yet, but I am assured by the website and its dedicated followers that it *is* doable.
Lastly, if you are having problems getting it up there, try to relax a bit – but DO NOT use any oil based lubricants because they ruin the material. Use water-based lubes if you must [even saliva works, in the least gross sense of the suggestion].
Over the next few days, I am going to compile a full mooncup FAQ. Of course I could rip if off the site, but then it would be lacking in groovosity, So, for the meantime, check out www.mooncup.co.uk for testimonials, orders and whatnot.
All that remains to say, is oh my god I just wrote two pages of A4 about my period. Thanks.
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I don't think I'll be investing in one anytime soon, seeing as I can't even get a tampon up there. I think I may be a medical marvel - it seems that absolutely nothing can get in there 
mooncup is the one thing i'm pretty clueless about. never seen them in hk...and i've never even heard of them till i came onto tsr.
my friends either have pads or tampons. but it'd be nice to learn about it and see if it's a better alternative.
afterall...tampons have always given me the TSS fear even though i shouldn't worry THAT much. 
my friends either have pads or tampons. but it'd be nice to learn about it and see if it's a better alternative.
afterall...tampons have always given me the TSS fear even though i shouldn't worry THAT much. 
rmyl
I don't think you should worry about that much at all. Correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought if you react to tampons and get TSS, it would be during the first time(s) you use them, not once you've used them many times. And also if you are aware of the symptoms you should be able to spot it.
NB........ If you do suspect TSS, remove the tampon immediately and consult a doctor
NB........ If you do suspect TSS, remove the tampon immediately and consult a doctor
i know. guess i'm still more of a pad person.
rmyl
I don't think you should worry about that much at all. Correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought if you react to tampons and get TSS, it would be during the first time(s) you use them, not once you've used them many times. And also if you are aware of the symptoms you should be able to spot it.
NB........ If you do suspect TSS, remove the tampon immediately and consult a doctor
NB........ If you do suspect TSS, remove the tampon immediately and consult a doctor
Nooooooooooooo...TSS is because of a bacterial infection that can occur at any time, not an allergic reaction. The reason it happens is people leaving tampons in for too long, not because it's their first time with them or whatever. It's very, very rare
lessthanthree
They come in two sizes, A and B. For the most part, I reckon most of you will be a B because you are under 30, but for those of you over 30, or who have given birth vaginally you’ll need a slightly wider size A. [Because we don’t stay taught forever, ladies ;_;]
They come in two sizes, A and B. For the most part, I reckon most of you will be a B because you are under 30, but for those of you over 30, or who have given birth vaginally you’ll need a slightly wider size A. [Because we don’t stay taught forever, ladies ;_;]
hehe, loved that bit.
wow lessthanthree, you really are the goddess of H&R!!! Nice report
Helenia
Nooooooooooooo...TSS is because of a bacterial infection that can occur at any time, not an allergic reaction. The reason it happens is people leaving tampons in for too long, not because it's their first time with them or whatever. It's very, very rare
i know...my teacher made me do a research on it (for no reason at all).
i've been using pad for my whole menstrual life so guess i just don't wanna make a swap. and my teacher used to always scare me about TSS (when i was young and innocent) ah well...i'll stick with my lovely pads for now. 
Helenia
Nooooooooooooo...TSS is because of a bacterial infection that can occur at any time, not an allergic reaction. The reason it happens is people leaving tampons in for too long, not because it's their first time with them or whatever. It's very, very rare
ok thanks, i'll edit my post
rmyl
ok thanks, i'll edit my post
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/t116090.html
my essay some time ago about pads / tampons and TSS etc. (which people don't usually read
)eurasianfeline
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/t116090.html
my essay some time ago about pads / tampons and TSS etc. (which people don't usually read )
my essay some time ago about pads / tampons and TSS etc. (which people don't usually read
)oh ok, thanks
(i thought that was a sticky at one point?)
rmyl
oh ok, thanks
(i thought that was a sticky at one point?)
(i thought that was a sticky at one point?)
nope. H&R Queen <3 moved them into the sticky thread of important stuff at the top of H&R.
somehow people tend to go blind and can't see that huge sticky thread.
eurasianfeline
nope. H&R Queen <3 moved them into the sticky thread of important stuff at the top of H&R.
somehow people tend to go blind and can't see that huge sticky thread.
somehow people tend to go blind and can't see that huge sticky thread.
oh ok, hehe.
i suppose that limits the need for loads of stickys though
and only 50% (give or take) will actually have to know about the menstrual cycle hehenice thread btw
lessthanthree
guh, you all rock 
not as much as you.
*runs to cuddle <3*
aren't you proud of my sig?! hehe
i reviewed my mooncup here
i am one of the also anatomically confused in that wearing the mooncup does seem to impinge on my ability to wee. I think it's just that all the tubes around there are quite close together, and in some people it will press on it more than others. Lots of shuffling around (wearing the cup higher/lower/to the side etc) hasn't relived this problem but i have read about other women having similar difficulties so it doesn't bother me that much. i don't wee that often anyway!
i am one of the also anatomically confused in that wearing the mooncup does seem to impinge on my ability to wee. I think it's just that all the tubes around there are quite close together, and in some people it will press on it more than others. Lots of shuffling around (wearing the cup higher/lower/to the side etc) hasn't relived this problem but i have read about other women having similar difficulties so it doesn't bother me that much. i don't wee that often anyway!
lessthanthree
I am weeing like a mofo because a) I'm takin yasmin at the moment, and b) I drink tea until it comes out of my ears.
I haven't had *too* much of a wee problem, the only thing that bugs me a little is after I take it out, I have to wait a short while to get it all out, which adds significantly to the time I spend *in* the toilet, which, when you have to wrestle with a mooncup that makes *pop* noises, then, well, people might look at you funny when you leave the cubicle.
-
Oh a sidenote, I accidentally stayed in the bath for about two hours last night, and my mooncup must have gotten some water in it through the tiny holes in the top, so there was a little bit of watery leakage. But hey-ho.
I haven't had *too* much of a wee problem, the only thing that bugs me a little is after I take it out, I have to wait a short while to get it all out, which adds significantly to the time I spend *in* the toilet, which, when you have to wrestle with a mooncup that makes *pop* noises, then, well, people might look at you funny when you leave the cubicle.
-
Oh a sidenote, I accidentally stayed in the bath for about two hours last night, and my mooncup must have gotten some water in it through the tiny holes in the top, so there was a little bit of watery leakage. But hey-ho.
I'm on yasmin and haven't really noticed any diuretic effects. (thank god.)
yes the only downside i've noticed is that it does take significantly longer to change than a tampon. but i think i'll get faster with practise!
that's a good point - are you going to have an FAQ on cleaning? would be worth mentioning you have to make sure the holes are clear to allow the seal to be broken...could be painful otherwise...
so for someone who drinks and pees a LOT (me ) is it not as convinient with a mooncup than a pad then?
i've been using pad all my life.
) is it not as convinient with a mooncup than a pad then?i've been using pad all my life.
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