Risks with menstrual cups?!


Question: Risks with menstrual cups?
I am going to try them but I wonder about the risks, what are they (the risks I mean)? Btw I am 13

Answers:

It's actually sort of complicated because of various laws and politics surrounding menstrual products it means there hasn't been much research carried out into potential risks from menstrual cups, however bear in mind there hasn't been much research into potential risks with tampons either.

Tampons are self-tested so there's no independent safety testing thus we don't know the real risks from tampons. We know based on industry testing, how tampons work and the ingredients used that tampons pose health risks. Menstrual cups have had some independent testing - a few years ago it was suggested (we suspect by organisations with a vested interest in profits from tampon sales) that cups may contribute to endometriosis - this was found not to be the case, coincidently commercial tampons are linked to endometriosis. How cups work is less harmful to vaginal health and hygiene, and menstrual cups don't contain any harmful ingredients - so safer than tampons.

Any foreign item in your vagina has the potential to risk TSS, however there have been no known cases with menstrual cups - the estimated risk of TSS with a menstrual cup is 1.2 cases per 100,000 verses tampons where the risk is estimated to be 1 in 100. The risk is thus minimal.

If you don't wash and rinse correctly there is a risk of infection - some women will sometimes reinsert the cup without washing first if they're not able to wash and yet still the risk of infection doing this is still minimal compared to the risk of infection from tampons. As long as you wash and rinse well to get rid of any bacteria and soap residue off the cup there is no risk of infection.

I'm really stretching here to come up with any sort of health risks, the examples given above are so minimal they're not really considered to be of any risk with correct use, so you should still know that menstrual cups are one of the healthiest, safest and most hygienic menstrual products on the market and carry far fewer risks than commercial tampons.

Work within sexual health.




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