Are menstrual cups the future?

My friend told me about menstrual cups about two years ago. Although I knew they were far better for the environment then pads and tampons I avoided them. The reasons were the same as why I stopped using tampons – I don’t like the idea of anything manmade going up my vagina (which is a bit contradictory since I have had 100’s of condoms up there :)) and  I don’t like the idea of a blood soaked tampon just sitting there and the accompanying risk of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) which occurs when a tampon is left in too long.

Then one day,  I finally decided to give it a go and ordered a £4.50 iCare from ebay.

Using a menstrual cup taught me a lot about my cycle.  It’s quite different seeing a cup of blood as opposed to a soaked pad or tampon.  I became aware of how much blood I expel during my periods.  I also learnt that every few months I get an extremely heavy blood flow.  Unfortunately this is when the cup couldn’t cope.  It literally overflowed leaving blood everywhere.  What a nightmare!

I used the cup for almost a year despite my heavy periods, during these periods I would switch back to pads.  Still better for the environment.  After about 8 months however, I noticed that my inner labia was getting sore.  The cup was rubbing on my skin and making it quite painful.

So in the end I gave it all up and went back to my old ways.  It’s a shame really, as a concept the menstrual cup is a great idea and I am sure it works for many.