By Alicia Barnes, liciabobesha.com
When my period started one summer day many years ago, my mom handed me a thick old school pad. I hated it. I felt like I was wearing a giant diaper. It didn’t have wings. It leaked. It made riding a bike impossible. It was gross and squishy. Sorry, I know, it’s nasty cause that thing was nasty.
When I got old enough to buy my own products, I switched to tampons. Even with easy to use applicators, getting it in and taking it out wasn’t always comfortable. Leaks still happened. I hated guessing wrong if I was going to be heavy, light, or regular flow day.
I was thrilled when Depo made my period disappear and saddened when it came back. I went back to tampons but around the time I started hearing about the Diva Cup. I couldn’t imagine using anything like that, so for years more I stuck to tampons.
Then I started getting crunchy and wondering how tampons were made and what I was exposing my body to each month.
Then I saw photos of molded tampons and realized the applicators that I liked made it impossible for me to see what I was putting in my body before use.
The scary thing about mold and contaminants are they can be present before there’s enough of them to be seen. Though doctors assure that the mold and all the chemicals that go into making tampons are harmless and the body most likely would be able to fight it off besides some mild irritation, I decided to explore other options that exposed me to fewer chemicals and weren’t so wasteful. It was awful to think about all the tampons flushed in a lifetime and all the pads sitting in landfills.
So I began searching and realized the Diva Cup was just one option in menstrual cups. They come sizes, shapes, and rigidity. I chose the Lunette brand. I’ve been using it for a year. I’ve run 10.5 miles with it with no problems. I swim. I work outside the home, and it’s been great.
I like that the products used in making them are safer than those in tampons and pads. I like that I’m not sitting on a mess. I love that they don’t need to be emptied often. They’re safe for 12-hour use, meaning I don’t usually have to change it outside of the home. I clean it with a fragrance free soap daily and boil it between periods. Getting used to getting it in was a bit of a learning curve and I’d recommend using pantiliners until you’re sure of it., but it’s been a great change.
Another option that I haven’t explored, but I know lots of moms love is using mama cloth or reusable pads based on the design of cloth diapers. Just like all diapers used to be cloth and reusable, so did pads. All this waste is a new thing.
While I haven’t tried them, I love that mama cloth isn’t filled with chemicals to make it absorbent. They are reusable and can just go in the wash, super convenient if you’re already doing loads of diapers.
I’ve heard women mention after switching to cups or cloth, their periods shortened, became lighter, and less painful. I was shocked how much my own cycle has lightened. While I’m not ready to give my cup the credit for my incredibly less painful periods (no vomiting and doubling over cramps for 2 days), I certainly have enjoyed much more pleasant cycles and my cup is definitely part of that. I’m so glad I ventured out.
Have you tried these alternate period products? Did you even know they were an option? Let us know in the comments.
Alicia lives in a small college town that often challenges her resolve to live as simply and as stress-free as possible. When she’s not working, rereading the same children’s books, cooking, or wondering how crunchy she’s become, she’s busy updating her site, liciabobesha.com. You can follow her on facebook.