Ever since a thread on one of the LinuxChix mailing-lists, I’ve been vaguely contemplating trying out a menstrual cup. The inital cost put me off a little, but looking at how much I spend on tampons and pads every single month, it didn’t take long for me to decide that it was probably worth a try.

Of course, I only ever remembered a day or two before my period that I was considering trying it out - and at that stage, I generally wasn’t interested in ordering one, only to have it arrive just as my period was finished! So finally, last month, I remembered in good time, and started looking around.

The three main options I was aware of at the time were The Keeper, The DivaCup and Mooncup. I’ve since become aware of a Finnish company also making menstrual cups, under the name Lunette.

I decided against The Keeper purely because it’s made of rubber. I don’t know if I have a sensitivity to rubber - but I seem to have developed sensitivities to some products over the last year that I was always fine with before, and I sure didn’t want to find out the hard way! It occurred to me that disposable menstrual cups had a lot of the disadvantages of tampons, and then some, so I stayed away from them too.

Having read the website, testimonials, blog posts, and emails from Chix, I eventually decided that really, the only remotely substantial difference between the DivaCup and the Mooncup was the packaging it came in. The DivaCup seems to come in pretty packaging (yes, I’m a sucker for that), where the Mooncup comes in a little cotton bag. However, it really didn’t make much difference to me. In the end, I went with the Mooncup, because it was UK-based (and therefore physically closer), and the exchange rate seemed to mean it would be cheaper (in the end, it cost me 27.89EUR).

It arrived about a week later, posted in the manila envelope as promised on their website - even better, it went straight in to my mailbox (Almost everything bigger than a postcard is either junky trash advertising, or ends up getting stuck at the post office. And worse, when something is stuck at the post office, you can’t collect it that evening - you have to wait until the next day. Bugger that!) The only sign of what the contents were, was the return address - and I suspect if people are checking your mail that closely, they’re probably checking inside it too, so someone’s gonna find out. I say, “who cares?” - yes guys, women menstruate.

Included in the envelope was a fairly hefty “manual” for using the Mooncup (hefty because it’s printed in a ridiculous number of languages - it’s actually a fairly simple guide to how to use it), a glossy pamphlet about the Mooncup, an advertising sticker, and a small, cotton bag, containing the Mooncup itself. Having read the contents of the manual, and still having a couple of days before my period, I decided to try it out.

The first brownie points are for sterilisability Just drop the Mooncup into a pot of boiling water, and boil for five minutes. Do try not to let the pot boil dry! It can also be sterilised in any ‘normal’ steriliser - Milton, or a steam steriliser. I was well impressed with the ease of insertion - all you have to do is follow the instructions, and it Just Works. Fold, fold and insert.

I was convinced initially that I’d never be able to remove it without spilling the contents everywhere - but again, you just follow the instructions - pull it down, then slightly to the back to get the front bit out, and yay! It actually stays upright fairly naturally anyway, letting you ’spill’ the contents wherever is most appropriate The other super-handy thing about the Mooncup is that you can quite comfortably wear it before your period - so you don’t get caught out when it actually starts.

I have fairly heavy periods, and I found that even on my heavier days, when I’d easily be changing (super) tampons every couple of hours, I could quite comfortably get away with only emptying the Mooncup after about six hours. Also unlike tampons, I found there were almost no leaks - and those that were, I’m relatively confident were down to me not putting it in quite right.

I’ve seen a few mentions of bloody fingers online, but I found it wasn’t any different to using a tampon - yes, I got a little bit of blood on my fingers, but not much. The other common issue is the ‘tail’ - all the companies suggest that you trim it, so that there’s just enough outside the vagina to get a grip on, to remove it. I found I could feel the cup before I did this, and it was slightly uncomfortable - I’ve had no further problems since then though.

The makers of the Mooncup do get two Darwin points though - one for pointing out that you can’t have sex whilst wearing the Mooncup (I understand that this may not be obvious if you’ve never seen/worn one. Trust me, once you do, it will become blindingly so), and the second for advising that you refrain from trimming the ‘tail’ of the Mooncup whilst it’s inside you… What can I say!?

Overall, I’m really delighted with my Mooncup - it’s handy, easy, and so much cheaper & less wasteful in the long run. I’m definitely converted, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone.