From painful to pleasant with a period cup

As a female the one thing I constantly detest is that time of the month. Look, I get it – it’s necessary and natural blah blah blah. As a woman who is not planning on procreating it is even less necessary for me and yet every month I spend a lot of money on tampons to take care of my personal 4-7 day hell.

Besides the discomfort and aggravating pain that takes full control of the first day of each period aka my womanhood. There is also the discomfort of tampons and the quite gross nature of making use of them. You need to change them frequently, and each time you go to pee you wonder how you’re avoiding the accidental pee on the string you’ll need later to tug it out.

So, as a well read (relatively well read) woman in her early thirties, I have been intrigued by the period cup that was introduced a couple of years back. After reading up on this new invention I just was not able to imagine how it works. I mean it made some interesting claims regarding how frequently you need to remove it and clean it, which left me wondering won’t it fill up?

As a subscriber of the period app, Clue who regularly shares great insights on the female body and beyond I kept reading about the period cup but could honestly not see how it would work for me.

Surely it must be very uncomfortable? Isn’t it really gross to clean? Does it require replacing and isn’t that going to be more costly than tampons?

All of these questions popped up in my mind until I just eventually stood in front of the box tampons and finding myself paying for yet another box of the things I despise. Caught in a vicious cycle I have finally seen the light, thanks to my girlfriends who took the plunge and purchased the period cup.

To get me on track my friend ordered one for me and said to just give it a try. As I work from home I thought it would be a great opportunity to try. I mean, if I don’t like it I could remove it and not have to worry about any mess or fuss of being in an uncomfortable setting.

I read the box and its instructions thoroughly which lead me to the shower as the most convenient place to start this new journey. It was easier than I thought and after a few squats (in the shower on recommendation from my friend) I was ready to bring on the day.

Running through all the previous questions… Surely it must be very uncomfortable? Nope, it is surprisingly comfy. Isn’t it really gross to clean? Nope, easy and convenient anywhere but even more so in the shower. Does it require replacing and isn’t that going to be more costly than tampons? Another no, it requires a thorough clean in hot water and safe storage but other than that it is much more affordable than tampons.

All in all, I realised that I could have been making my dreaded period much easier and less painful years prior to this experience. Alas, this is how we learn and now I can give you this advice for your future (happy) periods!

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