Help! My Menstrual Cup is Leaking!

Hi all,
Today I want to share with you a few top tips for beginners (or otherwise) menstrual cup users if you are having a little trouble.

If your cup is leaking, there are a few possibilities as to why.

First of all, and I know this might sound obvious, but check that your cup is not actually full when you take it out. Sometimes even when it doesn't look quite full enough to leak, it can be, due to the position of your cervix inside the cup.

Possibility number two; your cup has not fully opened after insertion. You should be able to determine if this is the case or not by inserting your finger and gently tracing around the rim of the cup. If it doesn't make a smooth circle shape, chances are it hasn't opened properly. There are a few ways that you can fix this:
1. Try pulling the cup down slightly with the stem. Sometimes if you push it up too far before it has opened, your cervix can get in the way ( I will come back to this in a little bit). Once the cup is fully open, you should be able to gently push it back up the vaginal canal to a spot that feels comfortable, and go on with the rest of your day!
2. Gently push against the wall of your vaginal canal to allow room for the cup to open. (Note this may be an indication that you need a smaller cup size)
3. Remove the cup and try again using a different fold. I recommend the punch-down fold, as it doesn't have to open in different directions, and is still small enough to insert comfortably.

Another reason that your menstrual cup may be leaking is that your cervix is not actually inside the rim of the cup. This makes it kind of impossible to do it's job as the blood comes out of the cervix and then completely misses the cup altogether.

You can fix this by gently pulling it down past the cervix, and then push it gently back up and into place. It should sit inside or directly above your menstrual cup.


The last reason that your menstrual cup may leak is unfortunately not as simple to fix; you may have the wrong size cup for your body.
The only way to know for sure is to try out different sizes, shapes and brands. You may be able to receive free sample cups from companies to test out. You will begin to learn what sizes, shapes, firmness and brands work best for you.

Most importantly; give it a chance! It can often take up to 3 or 4 months to get the hang of using a menstrual cup. Be persistent! Your body, bank account and the environment will thank you for it!

'Til next time,
 Bella
xxx

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about menstrual cups, other re-usable menstrual products, and feminism, please follow my blog with the follow by e-mail box, or the google connect box on the right of this post.

Free Bleeding - What it Really is

Free Bleeding. Without any understanding of what it really is, free bleeding sounds like a gross, messy and over-the-top way of saying "f-you society", right?

Well, whilst free bleeding in most cases does not involve letting ones self bleed over everything for a week every month*, it is a practice that involves taking care of one's flow without the aid of sanitary products such as pads, tampons and menstrual cups.

* Some people do choose to free bleed into their clothing, especially when protesting the tampon tax, and trying to break taboos on menstruation.

Basically, it involves training your body to be able to hold in menstrual fluid, then later release it when going to the bathroom - much like how people can hold in urine.

For most women, they learn to feel and recognize the 'twinges' that mean they will begin bleeding.This can take years of training, and would usually involve wearing a pad as back up

I would love to research this topic further, so if any of you have any more information on how to free bleed, please feel free to leave a comment below!

'Til next time,
Bella
xxx

P.S, If you like my blog, or are intersted in learning more about the environment, feminism an re-usable menstrual products, please follow, either via e-mail, or google with the tools to the right.

Types of Re-Usable Menstrual Products

After recently stumbling upon a specific menstrual product called the Menstrual Cup, I became curious about the other forms of re-usable menstrual products.

Most people have only ever heard of the standard disposable tampons and pads, never contemplating the fact that there may be other methods of protection. For many people, they never really think about what using these disposable products may be doing to their bodies, the environment, and their bank accounts.

Menstrual Cups
Menstrual cups are small silicone cups that sit inside the vagina by forming a light suction seal and collect the menstrual flow.Menstrual cups have been around since the early 1930's but never caught on as much as either disposable pads or tampons.

Ruby Cup Size Medium - Purple

Menstrual cups have recently started to become more and more popular for many reasons including the fact that they are super convenient and easy to use once you have the hang of it; once inserted, it is safe to leave the cup in for up to 12 hours! This is because of its capacity which holds 3-4 times as much as a regular tampon, as well as the fact that it collects rather than absorbs the menstrual flow, therefore not allowing bacteria to grow, eliminating the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

There are countless different brands and styles of menstrual cups, some of the most popular and well known are:
 - Moon Cup
 - Lily Cup
 - Ruby Cup
 - Diva Cup
 - MeLuna Cup

Almost every brand of menstrual cup have at least two different sizes, typically one for a light to moderate flow or women who haven't given birth or are under the age of 30, and one for women who have a medium to heavy, have given birth or are over the age of 30.

Cloth Pads
One of the most popular and widely known form of Re-Usable Menstrual Product is Mama Cloth, also known as re-usable cloth pads. They come in many different lengths, widths, shapes, thicknesses and fabrics.

Pretty Bloomer Cotton Cloth Pad Set

Cloth pads are most popular among people who have used disposable pads previously, and wanted a more comfortable, environmentally friendly and natural alternative.

They can be purchased from retailers or from stores on etsy, or can easily be homemade if you have access to a fabric store and a sewing machine.

Sea Sponge Tampons

These sea sponge tampons can be found on accidentallygreen.com

Sea sponge tampons are a natural alternative to regular tampons, they hold roughly the same amount depending on what size you use, they have to be changed just as often, and they still pose a small risk TSS when worn incorrectly.
One difference between sea sponge and regular tampons other than their materials is that sea sponge tampons are completely safe to have sex with.


Period Panties
Period panties are basically just a pair of underwear that can be worn to soak up your menstrual fluid. It works in a way almost like a cloth pad that has been sewn into a pair of underwear, however the underwear remain as thin as regular underwear.

Thinx is probably the most well known brand of period panties. They stock 6 different styles of underwear: high-waist, thong, cheeky, hiphugger, sport and boyshort.


Re-Usable Tampons
Re-usable tampons are tampons that can be washed out and re-used. They often come in the form of a cotton square with a thin string sewn into one edge, It then rolls up and inserts like a regular tampon.

I hope this post helped those of you who are just getting into the re-usable side of menstrual products, or even those who only knew of a cups of cloth pads.

Bella
xxx


P.S, If you like my blog, or are intersted in learning more about the environment, feminism an re-usable menstrual products, please follow, either via e-mail, or google with the tools to the right.