Has anyone had any experience with reusable pads, sponge tampons, etc.? I just looked on Youtube for any tutorial regarding making tampons out of natural sponge and watched the most bizarre video that had the wrong label. I actually picked up an old "Mothering" magazine, which is a crunchy-granola parenting mag (I really like reading it, even though I don't have kids). It was from the late '80s/early '90s and had a pattern for making your own pad! I just misplaced that issue and I don't have a sewing machine anyway.

I spoke too soon. I found a good video and she gave a great link for making your own pads.[www.instructables.com]

You know, it's funny how many people think it's gross to talk about menstrual issues like this. I even was a little hesitant to mention it on here at first.

@#$%& gets talked about on here often, why not menstruation eh?
I have the Diva cup, it's great. Before that I had the Keeper but it't natural rubber and does it ever retain odours, ugh. Cloth pads are ok, the washing of them is not something I enjoy though. The sponge can't be sterilized, I don't recommend it. It's not vegan either (or particularly enviro-sound) in case that's an issue.

Hmm...I saw some cup and it was made from silicon. It never leaks or anything? I am more of a pad person myself. About the sponge, it actually can be sterilized with vinegar. I do appreciate the feedback, though. Funny that I am exploring this when I am probably several years away from menopause, LOL

Vinegar doesn't actually kill bacteria though, it's a myth that it does. It's a great grease cutter but that's about it.
The silcon cup is good because you can boil it though I never have (except for when it was brand new), just wash in hot soapy water. It can leak the first few times you use it and can take a bit of practice to insert correctly but it's really worth it in the end. I forget I'm even having my period half the time! There is great customer support you can call and lots of online forums with other women to trouble shoot with too.
It's the most envornmentally sound option I think. It requires no more water than a quick rinse, there is nothing to dispose of beyond it's original packaging which is minimal, nothing to flush, lasts for ages, it's great.

coco.

A lab in Boston did a study on white vinegar as a cleanser of produce in behalf of America's Test Kitchens, and they found that it is, in fact, effective at killing up to 98% of pathogens with soaking. I am assuming it would have the same effect on personal, um, critters[down, gorge, down!].

I'm really glad to hear an explanation of the Diva Cup because I've always found the physics dubious. I use Seventh Generation natural pads; they're biodegradable and unbleached, and the packaging is recyclable. I cannot wrap my brain around reusable pads, although my mom used cloth diapers. I wasn't aware of this as an infant, so the idea of reusable waste cloths is still an odd one to me. I have never been able to fathom my grandparents' handkerchiefs, so a washable pad is beyond my desires at present

I used to have a bunch of hankies but you know what? Putting a snot damp rag back into your pocket is Nasty! Not so hot for preventing the spread of whatever ails ya either.

Nifty about the vinegar, good to know! I do soak my produce in vinegar and water but hmm, the sponge. It's pretty hard to even rinse them out (gf's and I all used them for a couple of years in our teens), can't imagine residual vinegar is good in the kootch ya know!

coco,

[down, gorge, DOWN, I say!]

Sorry Tam. I have kids, after touching @#$%& with my bare hands every day for literally years now barely anything grosses me out anymore.

I have no personal experience obviously with any methods, But I have a number of friends who use the cloth pads, although they don't seem like they would be all to absorbent to me, and one even mentioned that fact once, but I guess whether that matters or not would depend entirely on the average strength of an individuals flow...

As far as vinegar goes, I'm sure it probably wouldn't be to healthy for ones PH to have to much residual vinegar left in the sponge, although I also know 2 women who @#$%& with vinegar, I'm told its a common thing to do for uh, certain reasons,lol... but I don't know how common it really is, as they are the only two Ive ever known to even mention it, and it really doesn't seem healthy to me, but I'm the first to admit I am not an expert on the subject,lol...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Douching is a total no-no, it should never, ever be done unless it is for health reasons. Most people do it because of odour but hello, that's what poonany is supposed to smell like! Duh. It really messes with your internal flora to @#$%&.

I am hoping they are douching with a mild water and cider vinegar mix. Anything other than that, ewwwww.

I use the Moon cup - absolutely brilliant - wish I'd discovered it years ago. It doesn't leak - I can run for hours and I don't even know it's there. I simply can't imagine using anything else now. I used to use tampons which were ok - the thought of having damp, bloody pads in my pants - yuck - no thanks!!!!!

flipperjan,

I have been curious about this product, and women in the UK do rave about it. However, it isn't FDA approved here, so an American company sells something called the "Mooncup," which appears to be exactly the same but has FDA approval. There is some controversy about whether the quality over time is the same as the UK version, so I am still researching

My mom used to make her own pads out of flannel and cotton, they were super comfortable and I liked them a lot, and used them when I was a teenager. It felt like I didn't even have a pad, beacuse it was fabric I stopped using them when I lived with my partner, mainly because I didn't want to gross him out with the washing and stuff. Ive never used the cup things but again, my mom, loves the "instead cups", sold in the us. I have done some research on the sponge things but they seem a little risky. There are good organic tampons out there.

I agree, ewww, they are using straight apple cider vinegar... they say it er, tightens them up, I made some suggestions for a healthier way to do the same thing, but they didn't believe me...(kegal exorcises)

Tamukha Wrote:
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> I am hoping they are douching with a mild water
> and cider vinegar mix. Anything other than that,
> ewwwww.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

flipperjan Wrote:
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> I use the Moon cup - absolutely brilliant - wish
> I'd discovered it years ago. It doesn't leak - I
> can run for hours and I don't even know it's
> there. I simply can't imagine using anything else
> now. I used to use tampons which were ok - the
> thought of having damp, bloody pads in my pants -
> yuck - no thanks!!!!!

LOL! You make it sound like a nightmare! It's not so bad (as I currently know)

About the Moon Cup, I heard it was made out of silicone. Is it comfortable to insert and does it handle heavy flows? I have never been a big tampon fan and one reason is that I end up using a pad anyway. I don't trust even the super duper sizes to work by themselves.

Hi Banana who

my experience of the mooncup is this: I go on a runners forum and the women there were raving about it - saying how wonderful it is etc so I thought ok I'll have a go.

Yes - it is very easy to insert particularly I believe if you have had children but basically if you can insert a tampon then you can use this. Yes it is comfortable to insert and when inplace you don't know it is there. My cup never fills up completely by the time that I want to change it - although if you have a heavy flow then you just empty it more often. On my heaviest night I wear a panti liner as well just incase of tiny leaks which I sometimes get. This is compared to the complete flood that I used to get during my heaviest night when I used to use tampons.

To me soggy pads do seem like a nightmare lol!

Sorry if this is too much for the guys - but I do think it's good for guys to know what we have to deal with. The males in my family are used to coming across my mooncup. It's such a simple little thing - just empty it and rinse under the cold tap and pop it back in. When your period is over just boil it for 5 mins in water and then pop it back in it's pretty little cotton bag till next time. No buying of expensive tampons in all their packaging, no washing gross pads, what ever they are made of, or throwing away disposable ones. It must be clear that I am a huge fan of the wonderful Moon Cup

doesnt bother me, my closest friends since childhood have always been female, so im used to it,lol...Ive found im less grossed out by it than many women ive known either, I dunno, although I dont find them all pleasant, I dont tend to get weirded out by normal bodily functions... its part of being a living creature...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

So cool Curator - my guy is the same but they're not so grown up

I don't wear it overnight, I find it can leak but maybe I thrash around when I sleep? Who knows...

I have found it a bit difficult to figure out how to rinse the thing (and your hands) in a public bathroom. You don't want to be washing blood out into the sink, people tend to freak out a bit about that (these days you can't be too careful with all the things you can catch via blood, plus it's gross. And people always ask because it looks like you've chopped a finger off and are gushing to death! And how do you waddle to the sink, pants up bleeding all over or pants down arse hanging out? What?). It helps to keep a bit of paper towel and a bottle of water in your purse to rinse right into the toilet.

Well worth the effort, Well worth it. I love that thing best of all the things I've used in my 27 years of menstruating.

Coco - I;m not often in that situation (public bathroom) but if I am I just empty it down the loo and pop it back in as it is. Wipe fingers on loo roll etc and then have a normal wash at the basin like anyone else. I really can't be doing with carrying bottles of water etc about!!!

I have no problems with it at night. I agree with you though about it being the best thing I have ever used - hurray for the Mooncup

How do you get your pants up with bloody fingers and such though? TP only takes off so much, it is tissue thin after all. Without some water on hand I haven't found this part very easy or convenient. Or possible

I guess I get enough off to hitch up pants - I mean we all manage to clean other bits with thin tissue don't we??? This conversation is in danger of getting really graphic

Meh, have you read some of the @#$%& threads? Now those are graphic! This is so tame in comparison .

Very interesting conversation because we are getting down to the nitty gritty, nuts and bolts, insert other cliche here_____.

I finally saw a Divacup at Whole Foods today! Never even occurred to me to look. I had seen the organic maxis and tampons, but the price made me not even go to that area. The Divacup is about $38. They had two types and this got me: one was for those under 30 without kids and the other was for over 30 and/or have kids. That is ridiculous! Why do they think that a woman who hits 30 without kids is going to require a bigger version automatically? Another thing I am concerned about is that it looks pretty big and has no string. Kind of intimidating to me.

That's a good price, mine were $50.
It isn't too big, believe me, I am Small in there! Even still, after 2 kids I think the bigger size fits better. A bit snug maybe but doesn't move around much. You honestly won't feel it at all, it hugs the cervix sort of cupping it, it fits very well. It's not a bigger size for any reason other than the cervix changes as you age, sort of like the nose is supposed to get bigger, apparently so do other parts .

I cut the stick thing that is on the bottom right off mine, I found it irritating. Even without it I just reach up, pinch the cup to break the seal, tilt very slightly and gently pull it out. It's not hard, only intimidating a bit if you've never had occasion to feel around in there. When I used tampons I opted for the sort without an applicator so my kitty and I are good friends from way back .

Completely echo everything coco has said.

Mine cost £20 (20 English pounds) - A box of 32 tampons costs between 3 and 4 pounds so you don't have to use the Mooncup for long before it doesn't owe you anything. Yes it's an initial big payment but you soon forget it I promise you.

Banana who - believe us - it is very easy to use.

There is a LOT of discussion online about it too, many women's forums where girls are using the cup and talking about it. Whatever issues there can possibly be I've seen discussed and resolved in one place or another and when I contacted the company that makes one of mine they were TERRIFIC about answering questions.

I may opt for it and thanks guys for the info. The Mooncup is pretty cheap, it appears. I think a pound=1.5 dollars although these days the US dollar has gone down, so it sounds really inexpensive.

I was always the one who tried tampons and couldn't use them as a teen. The first time it worked I was so pumped!