- Tampons are still the current internal protection
method of choice for most people
partly because they're more visible.
They're taught in schools and in health education classes
and partly because you see them in literally every
grocery store and pharmacy shelf in the U.S. and abroad.
Cups have come a long way but most people are still
not quite sure how to use them
and why they should pick a cup over a tampon.
(slow funky music)
Today, Put A Cup In It is going to discuss how
tampons are worn and used
and how menstrual cups are worn and used
and how they're alike and how they're different.
This way you can decide which option's best for you.
One thing I definitely want to point out
is that both tampons and menstrual cups,
as internal protection,
can be used by anyone at any age regardless of their
sexual activity and history.
Using a cup or a tampon will not take away your virginity.
It's all about your comfort level
and what you feel good about and what works for you.
Before we go any further, take a moment and subscribe
to Put A Cup In It on YouTube.
Thanks so much.
Now let's talk about the tampon.
They're pretty ubiquitous.
Most people have tried them and there's not a lot to them.
The tampon itself is an absorbent one-time use product.
Most of the time it's made up of these
synthetic rayon fibers.
They're not usually cotton unless you buy the more
premium priced organic cotton tampons.
They come in varying different absorbency levels
from the most petite light flow all the way up to
those super max tampons.
As far as the tampon itself goes,
they often come with an applicator.
Usually in the U.S. you're going to find them
with a plastic applicator like this one.
Something like this, this was the compact version.
There are also cardboard applicator tampons
and tampons that don't have any applicator
that you insert digitally with a finger.
The plastic tampon, while it is typically considered
more comfortable for users, is certainly the most
wasteful of all the tampons and this plastic
is gonna stick around for a really long time.
So if you're going to choose a tampon,
something without an applicator is really the more
ecological choice or at minimum
something with a cardboard applicator.
For safety reasons, you really want to choose something
that is an organic cotton tampon.
This does have a lower risk of TSS.
To insert the tampon, most of the time
you're doing it with an applicator
but again, you can do it digitally.
When you're inserting the tampon,
it's just sort of a blind situation where
you insert
and then push the applicator inside.
One of the reasons people are so squeaked out
about menstrual cups when they hear about them
is that, for the most part, they've used internal protection
like a tampon with an applicator and the contact
that they were having with their vulva and
their actual vagina has been very minimal
up to the point of considering a menstrual cup.
So here is an example, you just kind of push.
The tampon, when inserted, will sit just below the cervix
and absorb all of the fluid and flow.
Most tampon users are gonna get between four to six hours
of daytime wear for their tampon
and overnight you are really only supposed to
let you tampon sit inside for a maximum of eight hours.
Anything over than that really increases your risk of TSS.
When it's time to remove your tampon
you just simply pull the string
and toss it in a bin.
One thing I definitely want to mention
while I have you here talking about tampons
is that tampons are not flush-able.
This is something a lot of people think
and one of the reasons they consider it
a more convenient option,
but actually you are not supposed to flush your tampons
and it will mess up your plumbing.
So dispose of your used tampons in the bin.
Now for my favorite part,
menstrual cup basics.
Menstrual cups come in a wide variety of sizes
and different shapes and styles.
The reason for this is that vaginas come in a wide variety
of different shapes and sizes and styles.
Unlike with tampons, you select your menstrual cup
not based on your flow and how heavy or light your flow is,
but you want to pick a cup based on sizing.
Menstrual cups come in different sizes,
typically a size one and a size two.
Size one being under 30, haven't had a baby.
Size two over 30 and or have had a full term pregnancy.
Now, these are not hard and fast lines,
but we do have lots of different videos
on this YouTube channel explaining how to pick
the best size for you.
You want to pick by size, not flow, because you want it
to fit, feel good, and stay in place all day during wear.
If you need even more help picking a cup, we have the
menstrual cup quiz you can take
and that will also guide you.
To put your cup in, instead of poking it up
like a tampon, you're actually going to fold to insert.
My favorite fold is the punch down,
where you push down to the base, squeeze,
and this gives you a nice narrow point of insertion.
When you insert your cup, you want it to go
as high as possible
before allowing it to unfold.
Once it's unfolded, give it a spin
to make sure its open on the base.
Make sure everything's inside
and then you get to wear your menstrual cup
for a possible up to 12 hours.
The menstrual cup just sits below the cervix
and collects the flow, versus absorbing it.
This is one of the reasons that menstrual cups
are considered more comfortable
by most people who try them.
The menstrual cup does not take their body's
natural moisture, unlike a tampon,
which will take the flow, and the body's moisture.
Cups also have a longer wear time than tampons.
You can wear a cup safely up to 12 hours at maximum.
This is very unlike a tampon where you typically
wear for about four to six hours during the day
and eight hours maximum when you're sleeping overnight.
You don't want to keep your cup in more than 12 hours
because that will increase your risk of TSS.
So for safety, change every 12 hours.
Not only are cups safer to wear for 12 hours
because they're medical grade silicon or TPE,
for that reason they can also be worn so long
because they hold more than tampons.
Typically one cup can hold between
four to six times more than the average tampon.
So if you have a pretty heavy period,
cups are the way to go because you can go longer
in between having to change the cup
than you were probably going between
changing out your tampons.
If you are concerned sitting there thinking
how do you do this in public,
it's actually pretty easy.
You just remove the cup, dump it,
and put it right back in and wash when you get home.
Cups have a much higher learning curve than the tampon
where with the tampon you just kind of shove it in,
with the cup you have to get used to folding it
and inserting it, getting it the right angle,
getting it to open.
So you definitely want to start with backup
when you first start with your menstrual cup.
Now how do you get this thing out without making a big mess?
That's typically what people ask and
they also want to make sure it doesn't get stuck in them.
The menstrual cup is never going to be stuck inside you,
even if you can't reach it, it's not lost.
It's still there and it can't go past the cervix.
So what you'll do is you will pinch the base of the cup
and then pull down gently
straight down as you are kind of hovering over a toilet
keeping it level.
Dump it in the toilet, wash it with
a gentle soap and cleanser,
and put it right back in.
If, as I mentioned, you can't reach the cup
for some reason, you have a high cervix,
bear down with your vaginal muscles
using the same technique you do to have a bowel movement
until you can reach the cup
and most importantly, don't panic.
Panic and fear
will tighten your muscles,
make you freeze up, and make it feel
like it's even more stuck.
We have a video for removing your cup
on our channel, as well.
The up front investment for a cup
is going to be more than tampons
because they are a very long lasting product.
Typically a cup is between $20 and $40
and they do last 10 years
so you will make that money back and then some
over the many years you use your cup.
As a resource called Put A Cup In It,
we are obviously more bias towards cups,
but that's because we just think
they're better than tampons.
They're more convenient in the long run
they're more comfortable, they're not stiff
and dry and irritating like tampons.
Most people who switch to a cup would never
switch back to a tampon.
It's just about getting to understand how the cup works,
getting past learning curve, and then you should
have a really good experience.
If you're new and you do want to switch to a cup
and you need more help,
we have tons of resources on our YouTube channel,
we have our menstrual cup quiz
that'll help you find a cup
that is most likely to work for you.
If you need more assistance getting started
with a cup or succeeding with your cup
that's where we're going to plug the
private Facebook group called Put A Cup In It Community.
We have almost 40 thousand members there.
You can join and ask for help and receive it
and hopefully succeed with your menstrual cup.
Thanks so much for watching.
Make sure you like this video.
Subscribe to Put A Cup In It and if you would
leave a comment and let us know
your experience switching from a tampon like this
to a menstrual cup, we'd love to hear it.
Bye bye.
(upbeat music)
This is a test for this new setup
and
get a cup
and I want to talk to you about tampons versus cups.
This is Kim from Put A Cup In It.
This is my uterus.
This is how I'm gonna talk
and I would like to try to talk in an even tone
so that everything sounds good
so let's try to do that today.
Okay.
Here it goes.
Alright.
How am I doing on my mic?
What's up?
Okay.
Ugh.