I know. The majority of our readers are male, and males especially don’t love reading about such things. But hygiene is important. I also know: A good number of our readers are women and need the information. Also many of our male readers include the needs of their female group members in their prepping. They too need to know about menstruation cups. Give your self plenty of good conduct points for your supportiveness if you don’t need these yourselves. In any case, read on about menstruation cups.
Note: I’m still not a physician. This is information, not a medical recommendation.
What’s a menstruation cup?
Menstruation cups are simple, reusable devices for capturing menstrual flow with as little mess, discomfort, and expenditure of materials as possible. They can replace the use of tampons and pads. Since each one lasts for about three years of use (according to manufacturer recommendations), menstruation cups are highly portable and very storable in a tiny space.
Menstruation cups are small, soft devices usually made of silicone or similar materials. They fit over the cervix. The cup holds enough fluid to collect for 4-8 hrs. It’s then removed by a soft handle found on the underside of the cup and rinsed before being replaced or left to air-dry. There’s also an even lighter, disposable version called the ‘softdisc’. However, that’s not as prepper-friendly, being single-use.
Cups come in a range of sizes and shapes. *
Why are menstruation cups a good prepper option?
Other methods for menstruation control require a lot of single-use materials (tampons or pads). Others or are highly unpleasant and uncomfortable (cloth, paper, etc.). Cups provide comfort, cleanliness, and safety in a very small, long-term-reusable option. Frankly, if I was one to prep trade goods for a long-term scenario, I’d totally stock up on these. There will be a lot of women needing a solution. In fact, the menstrual cups are such a good solution many women choose them who could use anything on the market.
Menstruation cup risks
Some other intrauterine devices for menstrual control (tampons) are known to produce a risk of toxic shock syndrome. Toxic shock syndrome is rare but nasty. It is produced by the production of a toxin by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that have colonized the reproductive tract. The risk of development of toxic shock rises as the length of time the tampons are left in place rises. Do menstruation cups also carry this risk?
They do, but not much. In a simulated use environment, menstruation cups did allow the growth of S. aureus. (1) Toxic shock associated with menstruation cup use has been reported. (7) Such reports are vanishingly rare though. Cups have been in use for more than a decade and the first and only confirmed report I could find on one was from 2015.
Discomfort or leakage due to poor fit is more common (6% of users). However, that is easily solved by switching cup sizes or switching to a different control method. (5,6)
Managing the risks
Frankly, the risks are very small to begin with. Reports of negative outcomes are scarce. Further, infections of all sorts are much lower in women using these products than those trying to ‘make do’ with cloth, paper, or other on-hand materials. (3) The only safer course than using menstrual cups was using menstrual pads. Those are difficult to carry and to store in quantity.
To reduce the risks further, more frequent emptying is recommended. In addition, it’s been suggested (1) that a woman could have two cups and decontaminate one while the other is in use. The authors suggest boiling. General microbiology suggests that a scrub with soap followed by a good rinse or application of an alcohol hand gel would also be effective. (I’d let any alcohol dry off before insertion to reduce irritation risk.)
Size-related discomfort can be addressed by choosing the right size to begin with. In an unscientific survey of my female friends, the Diva Cup brand was often named as providing sizes too large for women of small stature. Me Luna suited such women better. (Yes 3BY readers, I asked so you wouldn’t have to.)
Do women who use the menstruation cups like them?
In a study on this question, most women provided with cups used them (as opposed to seeking out other alternatives). Use improved from 70 to 96% from the first to the second year, showing that the more the women got used to the new method, the more they liked it. (2) In fact, most women liked them better than the conventional alternatives. (4) 80% of women reported insertion was easy, 90% reported removal was easy. (6)
My non-scientific friend survey was similarly positive. Nobody wanted to say bad things about the menstrual cups. Most favored them over all other methods. Some used them only in specific circumstances. Most often cited — and prepper relevant — was switching to the menstruation cup when in more austere circumstances. A firefighter reported that the cups are very popular among the women who fight forest fires, for example. Access to toilets and running water is mostly a No in those circumstances. The cups were the most manageable option. Others liked them for camping due to ease of disposal of the waste and not needing to carry extensive supplies. Sometimes treating something like poop is appropriate.
Tips from users
“There’s a bit of a learning curve. Removal was a little hard at first but quickly got easy.” (I heard this theme several times.)
“Charts online help with sizing.” (I found one: https://theecofriendlyfamily.com/what-menstrual-cup-is-right-for-you/) Someone else mentioned YouTube videos to help with that.
“You have to be comfortable with handling the fluids, but it’s super convenient.”
“I like it, except when I’m working long days without a break.”
“I love the lack of waste.”
And “I love my diva cup.”
References
1) Nonfoux, L., Chiaruzzi, M., Baude, J., Tristan, A., Thioulouse, J., Muller, D., . . . Lina, G. (2018). Impact of currently marketed tampons and menstrual cups on staphylococcus aureus growth and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 production in vitro. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 84(12), e00351-18. doi:10.1128/AEM.00351-18
2) van Eijk, A. M., Laserson, K. F., Nyothach, E., Oruko, K., Omoto, J., Mason, L., . . . Phillips-Howard, P. A. (2018). Use of menstrual cups among school girls: Longitudinal observations nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study in rural western kenya. Reproductive Health, 15(1), 139-11. doi:10.1186/s12978-018-0582-8
3) Juma, J., Nyothach, E., Laserson, K. F., Oduor, C., Arita, L., Ouma, C., . . . Phillips-Howard, P. A. (2017). Examining the safety of menstrual cups among rural primary school girls in western kenya. Observational studies nested in a randomised controlled feasibility study.BMJ Open, 7(4), e015429. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015429
4) Beksinska, M. E., Smit, J., Greener, R., Todd, C. S., Lee, M. T., Maphumulo, V., & Hoffmann, V. (2015). Acceptability and performance of the menstrual cup in south africa. A randomized crossover trial comparing the menstrual cup to tampons or sanitary pads. Journal of Women’s Health, 24(2), 151-158. doi:10.1089/jwh.2014.5021
5) Nunes-Carneiro, D., Couto, T., & Cavadas, V. (2018). Is the menstrual cup harmless? A case report of an unusual cause of renal colic. International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 46, 28-30. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2018.04.002
6) Kakani, C. R., & Bhatt, J. K. (2017). Study of adaptability and efficacy of menstrual cup in managing menstrual health and hygiene. International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 6(7), 3045. doi:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20172932
7) Mitchell, M. A., Bisch, S., Arntfield, S., & Hosseini-Moghaddam, S. M. (2015). A confirmed case of toxic shock syndrome associated with the use of a menstrual cup/Un cas confirmé de sysdrome du choc toxique causé par l’utilisation de la coupe mentruelle. The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology, 26(4), 218.
* thanks for the image to Franziska Neuhaus, http://www.afriska.ch/ [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]