So this Friday was just an average Friday night here in Williams’ Household. Husband was out of town for work (again. I miss that boy when he’s gone), and cool party animal that I am, stayed home and boiled my new menstrual cup.
Say WHAT?! (did she just use the word ‘menstrual’ in a public blog (GASP) and what in the name of pants is she talking about???)
This is where the boys can feel free to stop reading. (I tried to warn you.)
I’ve already alluded to the fact that I am ‘riding the crimson wave’ this week and I did already give my full disclosure warning about this blog being for reals-no leaving out the weird, personal stuff-so naturally I’m going to talk about it. But I have a specific reason I want to talk about it. I don’t just go spouting off about my period for no good reason. I’m not that weird.
Rather serendipitously, I came across some very interesting info on health and your period this week as I was ravaging the internet for information for my new real food obsession. And let me tell you, organic is not just important for what we eat ladies! Being a hardcore tampon girl my entire menstruating life, it never once occurred to me that I could be putting toxins, chemicals, and even pesticides into my body through my tampons! What is this craziness?? Not only are we subjected to monthly bleeding, but we can actually poison ourselves and even potentially reduce our fertility through the only small comfort we have during this time of the month?? I don’t know about you but that feels like a bit too much to handle. Especially when I’m so emotional.
I read this excellent blog post from Weed ’em and Reap (my new Everything Guru) and this is what the author discovered. (I’m paraphrasing and summarizing the long and short of it here so PLEASE read her full post-she deserves all the credit!)
The truth is that tampons are made of cotton. Which is a plant. And plants are treated with pesticides. And can be genetically modified on top of that. Tampons are also made of rayon which is apparently essentially wood pulp (splinters in your va-jay-jay anyone?) and the processing of rayon produces super creepy dioxin, a very, very bad toxin, which can make it’s way into your very own tampons under your bathroom sink. And unless you are buying organic tampons, you are subjecting your delicate lady parts to these toxins and pesticides every month. I was totally doing it too.
There is also a theory held by some doctors in the OBGYN medical community that tampons can contribute to infertility as tampons don’t allow tissue to be expelled during our period, since they only absorb fluid, and can cause a back up of tissue in our uterus, which you can imagine could get quite unpleasant. I have literally been using tampons since my very first period over 14 years ago. That’s a lot of tissue just chilling out in my uterus. I want to make room for babies in there some day!
So, if we aren’t buying organic tampons (and who can freaking afford that? Tampons already cost more than I’d like to pay considering they are being used for something that makes me bloated, cranky, weepy, and bloody), are we stuck using diapers I mean, pads? Please Dear Lord, I cannot face that. Please let there be some alternative.
Welcome to the Menstrual Cup my friends!!! Now, please don’t be like, “this girl is nuts and if she thinks she is about to ask me to put a CUP in my ladies parts, she is SUPER NUTS” and stop reading. I promise, it’s better than it sounds!
I actually read about Menstrual cups about 6 months ago and promptly called my sister and was like, “um hey, have you ever heard of a menstrual cup?” She had and told me what she knew about them but neither of us were converts at the time. But when I came across them again this week, I was like, “it’s time.”
So basically, a menstrual cup is a small, flexible, medical grade silicone cup that is placed in the vagina (yes I used the actual clinical word this time…don’t freak out on me) during your period to collect any expelled blood and tissue. It is reusable, safe (no worries of Toxic Shock Syndrome), and can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time! HALLELUJAH!!
For those of you visual girls out there who cannot seem to picture this (I couldn’t either), here is a picture of a cup on the Lunette website.
Now let me just say that I am not at all squeamish about these types of things (like I said, I used tampons from day 1 of my menstruating life, switched to non-applicator tampons in college, and also use the Nuva Ring) so this idea did not really freak me out at all. But maybe that is not you. Maybe you are like “this is freaking disgusting, get me out of here!” But I have a question for you…Do you like saving money? I LOVE saving money. LOVE IT. I also love not having to strategically plan when to put in a tampon before bed so I can get the maximum amount of sleep before Toxic Shock Syndrome sets in. Would you like that to? Would you also like the comfort of knowing that you are not inadvertently putting toxins in your body and harboring years of tissue in your uterus potentially affecting your fertility? For me, the menstrual cup pretty much had me at the first two. That’s how much I love saving money and sleep.
So this is how I ended up boiling my new menstrual cup on a Friday night. I researched the different brands out there – I chose Lunette because of their sizing options and thorough sizing guide (plus I liked their packaging, silly I know) – and began my search to find one. I was hoping not to have to order one since I was currently in the midst of my monthly friend and was anxious to put it to use this month. No more toxic tampons for me. Luckily, a store near by had the one I wanted and I rushed out to get it. I was so excited, I even braved rush hour traffic. (It’s sad what makes me excited sometimes. This is what happens when husband is away.) I ended up getting a blue cup, which I’m glad about. I originally wanted clear but the store only had blue and after reading up on washing it online, I read many comments on how the clear cup can become discolored over time. (A trick to help with this is always rinse your cup with cold water after emptying before washing with warm water and soap*. This helps prevent discoloring).
*IMPORTANT: If you are thinking about getting a menstrual cup of your very own, remember to purchase some unscented, mild soap to clean it if you don’t already have any. I did not think about this and all I had were scented soaps at home. It’s actually pretty tricky to find a truly unscented soap, even plain old Dial soap has fragrance in it. Lunette offers its own wash you can buy, but since I did not think of this until after I left the store (which was 30 mins across town) I ended up getting Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby Mild Soap which I found at Rite-Aid. Many fellow cup users use Dr. Bronner’s to clean their cups, but please check you brand’s website to see what type of soap they recommend (other than their own brands of course).
So there you have it! I am a changed woman! The cup is super comfortable, easy to use and empty (give it a few times to come up with a system that works for you), and super cost effective! They last many years and can be used during all types of activities without leaks or strings. I used to be the biggest tampon advocate but MOVE OVER TAMPONS, THE MENSTRUAL CUP IS WHERE IT’S AT.
Okay, boys, you can open your eyes now. The graphic girl talk is over.
For now.
I did some massive recipe organizing and meal plan strategizing this afternoon which I’ll be sharing in an upcoming post. I’m also thinking about sharing my experiences with detoxing from processed foods (super fun to go through while also having your period. (Oops. Sorry boys, that just slipped out by accident)).
Laters friends!
Ditching the Processed. 