Stems
So far the cups come in 2 styles. A flat “tab” style solid stem, and a hollow tube. The tab stem is more flexible than the hollow tube kind. The stems can all be shortened if they are too long, and some women completely remove them. They are there to make removal easier but are not required, some women do prefer to use the stem to pull the cup down to a point where they can reach more easily, so like to leave some stem intact, others use the base of the cup to grip and do not need or like a stem.
Diva - Shortest stem, hollow tube.
Femmecup – Hollow tube
Keeper - Longest stem, hollow tube
Lady Cup – Hollow tube
Lunette – Flat tab
Miacup – Flat tab
Mooncup (UK) – Hollow tube
Mooncup (USA) – Hollow tube
A menstrual cup is form of reusable menstrual protection. It is inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual fluids. Once in place it forms a seal, preventing blood flowing out of the vagina by collecting it in its “cup” shaped reservoir. Unlike a tampon which absorbs the blood along with the vagina’s natural secretions, a menstrual cup simply holds the fluids until you remove it – so they do not dry out the vagina and do not hold the TSS risk that tampons do.
They hold around 20-30ml, which is for most women will cope with a full day without emptying, and at most perhaps you would need to empty it a few times a day for a very heavy flow. A menstrual cup will last (with proper care) for around 10 years, perhaps longer, so while the initial outlay is high, it pays for itself with savings pretty quick.
This website aims to give information on all the available reusable cups, and provide the latest news. This is a sister site to www.ecomenses.com
