Menstrual cups have lately been giving the ‘age old’ sanitary napkins a run for their money. While some are still hesitant about this tiny silicone cup, others have already embraced it with much enthusiasm. Dr Shimna Aziz, in one of her Facebook posts, elucidates the advantages of using a menstrual cup instead of a pad. The doctor wrote that she decided to post a message about it as lots of women seemed confused and unaware about using a menstrual cup and that she wanted to clear the misconceptions about it.
“Menstrual cups are inserted into your vagina and placed at the cervix to collect the menstrual blood. A major benefit of using a cup is that one can avoid using sanitary pads which may cause irritation to the skin. Medical grade silicone is used to make menstrual cups and can be comfortably used by women, whether she is a virgin or has given birth. It would never increase the width of the vaginal opening or affect your sexual life in any way,” says Dr Shimna Aziz.
Dr Shimna recommends a moderately priced high quality cup for the beginners. She vouches for the model iCare large reusable menstrual cup which she herself has bought. The medical practitioner adds that there are several videos on Youtube which demonstrates how to use a menstrual cup. Shimna wrote, “It would be a little difficult to insert and take out for the first few times. But once you get used to the cup, it would be impossible to go back to the pads. Take out the cup after 12 hours; discard the menstrual blood, clean it with soap and water and you can put it right back in. In days of heavy flow, you may have to take out the cup more frequently.”
Shimna warns that there are chances for infection if the menstrual cup is not taken out and cleared of its contents for not more than 12 hours. She adds that the menstrual cup, when bought for the first, may seem a little expensive, but comparing with the amount of money spend to buy pads for 10 years, it indeed is much less. “The initial difficulty in inserting and taking out the cup, chances of leakage if not inserted properly or cleared the contents at appropriate intervals, or even using a wrong sized cup are the negative factors of a menstrual cup. However, considering how uncomfortable a sanitary napkin or a tampon or a wad of cotton cloth is, the cup may seem like the most amazing choice. But somehow most of us are reluctant to use it. Some things have to be used to understand its benefits, the menstrual cup is one of them,” wrote Dr Shimna Aziz.
In a footnote to her Facebook post Dr Shimn Aziz says unlike the sanitary pads, there will not be wetness, foul smell or discomfort while sleeping when menstrual cups are used. She even assures that the cup is economically viable as a single one could be used for ten years. This also greatly reduces the risk of environmental pollution which may be caused by throwing away plastic based sanitary napkins.
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