Sustainable Period Products: All About Menstrual Cups With Dr Cuterus

[00:00:01] Hi, so I was using pads before I shifted to menstrual cups and I realized that the number

[00:00:07] of pads I used per cycle in itself was huge and doing this for another 20 odd years I was

[00:00:13] just not okay with it.

[00:00:14] I spoke to a few people and they endorsed the idea of it so I was pretty convinced to

[00:00:20] give it a shot.

[00:00:21] Just, it was honestly just less of a hassle than using a pad.

[00:00:25] I did try using both tampons and menstrual cups but both did not sit well with my body.

[00:00:32] Whenever I tried to use a menstrual cup it just seems a little too difficult to place

[00:00:38] it in the correct position.

[00:00:40] I have thought about it but I don't know enough about like cups and stuff to know

[00:00:45] if they are safe.

[00:00:51] You're listening to the Quint's podcast.

[00:00:55] If you've been on the internet in the last couple of years chances are you know about

[00:01:01] the menstrual cup.

[00:01:02] This eco-friendly alternative period product that saves you money while also saving the

[00:01:06] planet.

[00:01:07] But are you overwhelmed, intimidated or unsure about actually using it?

[00:01:11] And maybe you've tried it but weren't able to and you're thinking what am I doing

[00:01:15] wrong?

[00:01:16] Hello everyone, I'm Anushka from Quint Fit and today I'm joined here with Dr.

[00:01:21] Taneya Narendra or as she's known on the internet Dr.

[00:01:24] Cutress and we're taking a deep dive into all things sustainable period products especially

[00:01:31] the famous cup.

[00:01:33] Throughout the course of the podcast we'll also hear from people like you who share their

[00:01:37] experiences with menstrual cups, some swear by it, some haven't been able to get the

[00:01:42] hang of it and others just have some questions.

[00:01:47] Thank you so much for joining me Dr.

[00:01:50] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:01:52] Getting right into it currently we have so many different types of menstrual hygiene products

[00:01:58] in the market, so many alternatives that we didn't have a few years ago.

[00:02:02] So can you give us a quick overview of the kind of sustainable menstrual hygiene products

[00:02:08] that we have right now what they are?

[00:02:11] So yeah we have a huge variety available.

[00:02:13] We have menstrual cups, we have reusable pads, we have fitted panties, we have

[00:02:18] menstrual discs.

[00:02:18] I mean there's just so many different kinds available these days and it's really wonderful

[00:02:24] because then everybody has their own method that works for them.

[00:02:28] So I mean you know there's something for everybody essentially.

[00:02:31] Right, okay let's talk about menstrual cups because those are some of the most popular

[00:02:37] sustainable menstrual hygiene products out there.

[00:02:41] You know like you mentioned there are so many different kinds available.

[00:02:44] There are ones which are collapsible, disc ones, one-sitter rings and stems and so forth.

[00:02:50] So if you're a complete newbie how do you decide which one to go for, which one to choose?

[00:02:55] I think it's a bit of trial and error just as it takes some time to find

[00:03:00] I don't know your perfect shoe it also takes some time to find your perfect cup

[00:03:05] and all these variants and varieties that are there are just helpful for catering

[00:03:09] to different audiences. For example I personally use a cup that has a ring at

[00:03:15] the bottom because I find it easier to pull out so I think it's more of a choice

[00:03:21] and a preference situation as opposed to this kind of cup is better for you or

[00:03:25] this kind of cup is worse for you.

[00:03:27] Right and you mentioned that you yourself used the cup so can you take us through your

[00:03:34] experience of making the switch and you know what it's been like for you?

[00:03:40] So I started using a cup in 2017 and I was living in the UK at that time

[00:03:45] where there was one brand that was more freely available.

[00:03:49] I did feel a little bit hesitant and I tried, I wanted to use it in India but

[00:03:53] my mom's a gynecologist and she said no.

[00:03:56] Just most Indian gynecologists have a block in their head about using anything

[00:04:02] insurmountable inside the vagina before your marriage but then

[00:04:06] I explained to her and it was a new product that we didn't know too much about

[00:04:12] so I think it was also the hesitation of what is this new fangled contraption.

[00:04:18] So I started using it on the slide and it worked really well for me and

[00:04:22] eventually my mom got around and like now she's on board with cups but I

[00:04:26] think it took me a couple of months of wearing pads or panty liners along

[00:04:32] with my cup as a backup because I didn't quite understand how folds work and I

[00:04:37] didn't know when to empty it because that's a little bit of trial and error

[00:04:40] situation where you just learn over time that okay now I think my cup should be

[00:04:44] full now and then it's now been, I don't even know how many years but yeah

[00:04:48] I'm very happy on my journey.

[00:04:50] So like you mentioned that was also my mother's reaction when I first started

[00:04:54] using it because I didn't tell her either.

[00:04:56] She found it like oh my god this is like how did he do that?

[00:05:00] So I totally get that but just kind of to build up on that that's also

[00:05:05] something that a lot of newbie users face like especially if you've only used pads

[00:05:10] up until then people are kind of intimidated when it comes to

[00:05:15] something that you've to insert especially like something as big as a cup.

[00:05:20] So the transition was, it was a very daunting task first of all to try the menstrual cup

[00:05:25] at first even after watching multiple videos and talking to people and reading manuals

[00:05:30] I couldn't get over the mental block of inserting a cup inside.

[00:05:33] It was very scary and extremely frustrating because I wasn't able to insert it.

[00:05:38] It's a mental block that hindered me from inserting it.

[00:05:41] I couldn't use the cup at all for the first four months after buying it.

[00:05:45] I tried every month but I just couldn't get over the fear but once I had inserted it

[00:05:51] it was comfy right away.

[00:05:52] A lot of my patients are actually coming to me just for understanding how to put

[00:05:56] the cup inside or how to take it out.

[00:05:58] Using certain things can be very very helpful for example if you can buy a water-based lubricant

[00:06:03] one of the biggest mistakes we make when trying a cup is we insert it when we're not on our periods

[00:06:08] just to see how it feels but because there's no natural lubrication inside the vagina at that

[00:06:13] time because you're not aroused and you're not on your period it can cause irritation

[00:06:19] it can be difficult to insert and then people are just like

[00:06:22] This is not going to happen.

[00:06:24] And the other thing is that squatting is very very helpful.

[00:06:28] So when you squat you open up your pelvic floor in a way where things are not as tightly

[00:06:37] constricted any longer and the other thing is that a lot of people become so tense

[00:06:41] when inserting it for the first time that they involuntarily cleanse their muscles

[00:06:47] and you know if you're standing up your vagina is not in a relaxed position

[00:06:52] and you know you're nervous and you're clenching and you're unlubricated and you try to shove it in

[00:06:57] it doesn't work for a lot of people that way and this can be extremely discouraging

[00:07:02] so when you do try it for the first time make sure you squat

[00:07:06] breathe in and out get comfortable put some lube on it and then insert it

[00:07:11] it will make the whole process so much easier.

[00:07:13] Also in my personal experience I found especially initially taking it out harder than

[00:07:19] actually putting it in because you know especially when I wasn't quite able to break the seal and

[00:07:25] it would just get stuck and it's frustrating and painful also so is there a right way to

[00:07:32] take it out are there ways to make it less painful and to make the extraction a little

[00:07:38] bit smoother and less messier also? You should never pull you should never yank at your cup

[00:07:45] it should be breaking the seal which is extremely important because

[00:07:49] the way a cup sits inside you is because of two reasons the first reason is that the walls of

[00:07:54] the vagina are constantly in contact with each other unless you're aroused when your vagina

[00:08:00] kind of opens up and in any normal situation your vaginal walls are always touching each other

[00:08:07] so you're basically putting something inside and it's being held in place simply because

[00:08:12] the vaginal walls are in contact it's not like your vagina is holding on to it

[00:08:17] and the other way it sticks in is because of the vacuum it forms around your cervix

[00:08:22] so if you yank it the walls of course you know you can part with your fingers

[00:08:27] but if you yank it that vacuum will put a lot of suction on your cervix and that kind

[00:08:31] of pressure is not good for your uterus and general pelvic obvans so sticking a finger inside

[00:08:38] the easiest way is to just squeeze the base to gently pinch the bottom of the cup and break

[00:08:44] the seal and bring it out and wiggle it out instead of yanking it out that way more blood

[00:08:51] is also contained inside and it becomes a little bit easier it's extremely important when you're

[00:08:56] cleaning your cup there will be holes on the top make sure when you clean your cup the holes

[00:09:01] are clear because if the holes are blocked a seal will not get formed adequately and when you try to

[00:09:07] break that seal it also won't happen properly we know about toxic shock syndrome and tampons

[00:09:13] is toxic shock syndrome possible with menstrual cups also so specific types of tampons also

[00:09:20] zero with dss not all kinds it's the super absorbent kind and we haven't had any reports

[00:09:27] of dss happening from menstrual cup use so far and cups have been around for a very long time

[00:09:34] menstrual cups are made up of this material called medical grade silicone and the special

[00:09:38] thing about it is that it is super slippery and it's because of that surface that it's difficult

[00:09:44] for bacteria to grow on it bacteria needs something firm to hold on to so the nutrition

[00:09:50] in the form of blood is definitely there but it's difficult for them to really cling to it

[00:09:55] and form a big bacteria colony and lead to an infection with that said you also want to be

[00:10:02] hygienic and you want to make sure you're cleaning your cup properly because it's not

[00:10:05] necessarily that they'll cause dss but it can cause other vaginal infections um and one thing

[00:10:11] that's really really important with using a cup that we all tend to skip is that every time you

[00:10:16] insert your cup or take out your cup or you're touching your cup make sure your hands are clean

[00:10:21] and then make sure your nails are short so many of my patients who struggle with a cup

[00:10:26] and they say what dars dutta hai aur problem uti hai is because they have really long nails

[00:10:30] and when they're putting their fingers inside they're cutting themselves on the inside um

[00:10:34] keep your nails short just gently you can carry a lot of bacteria and dirt and worm eggs

[00:10:42] under your nail surface is it okay for people who have never had sex to use a menstrual cup

[00:10:49] will it take away my virginity firstly virginity is a social construct it's not a medically valid

[00:10:55] concept um secondly you can very much use it if you do believe in the concept of virginity that

[00:11:01] means having sex for the first time that doesn't mean inserting anything inside your body for the

[00:11:05] first time so um you're not having a sex with a cup so i guess it's okay um the second thing

[00:11:14] is that you know you shouldn't be putting anything foreign inside your body and it's bad for you um

[00:11:21] a lot of that is linked to purity culture where people do believe that inserting anything inside

[00:11:26] the vagina will make you impure absolutely untrue there are a lot of a lot of things we put

[00:11:32] inside our body we put in contact lenses nobody comes and tells us that oh no they're bad for

[00:11:38] you you shouldn't put anything foreign inside your body yeah these are extremely safe very

[00:11:42] well tested and um i don't see any reason to not use a cup unless you have like a medical contraindication

[00:11:51] say five six years after i started menstruating around you know when i was 16 years old every

[00:11:57] time after i complete my cycle i would have severe uti so after that i started you know

[00:12:04] shifting to cotton based sanitary pads which are more expensive i had to do it because i

[00:12:11] could not deal with the uti and the pain anymore so yeah i did try using both tampons and menstrual

[00:12:20] cups but both again did not sit well with my body every time i tried like shifting to one of them

[00:12:26] even though you know i made sure that i practiced all the uh precautions and safety instructions

[00:12:32] and cleanliness guidelines my body still could not take a foreign object inside again you know

[00:12:39] i went back to my childhood where i had severe pain and severe uti again and i did not understand

[00:12:48] what was happening but again you know last year when i tried shifting to a menstrual cup

[00:12:54] i had the same problem again now every time let me tell you why i keep doing this in faces

[00:13:00] every time i see a vlog or i read a story about how people have shifted to menstrual cups i do

[00:13:07] get like very attracted to it you know it is not only is it sustainable it also looks very way more

[00:13:15] convenient for people who have started using it and whose body is taking to it but unfortunately

[00:13:22] every time i do give it a very honest try my body just does not accept it yes there are

[00:13:29] two cases where you should be using products if you have a condition like vaginousness where

[00:13:34] you're not able to insert the menstrual cup please do not force yourself to do that anyway don't force

[00:13:40] yourself through that but especially if you have vaginousness it can be very anxiety inducing if you

[00:13:45] have any ongoing vaginal infection at the moment you shouldn't be using a cup it can aggravate

[00:13:51] your infection the other thing is that if you are sensitive to silicone shouldn't use it i do

[00:13:58] want to establish that the cup is not the answer for everybody and people don't have to switch to a

[00:14:05] cup i feel like there's a lot of pure pressure in switching to sustainable products right now

[00:14:11] which we should let go off yeah absolutely and you know there are so many people who it just

[00:14:17] doesn't suit their bodies or even logistically you know there are people who are not able to

[00:14:23] make it work because they're in jobs where they don't have access to clean washrooms all the

[00:14:27] time but we're in a time when we're so conscious of climate change its impact and how much waste

[00:14:34] we're generating that it can be really easy to feel guilty when we're you know contributing so much

[00:14:40] to it but like you said it's okay if you're using non-sustainable products especially pure

[00:14:45] products that can't be avoided if you're not able to make the switch right yeah exactly that

[00:14:51] menstrual products are not a luxury they're a necessity if you want to reduce your plastic

[00:14:57] impact eat one less packet of chips in a month they also come in plastic packaging nobody has

[00:15:02] ever told you oh you're a bad person you should only buy organically packed sustainably packed

[00:15:07] snacks and you know because you're creating havoc on the environment it's that's not a

[00:15:13] necessity so I feel like eco anxiety is a very real fear especially for our generation and the

[00:15:23] upcoming generation we are seeing the real life impacts of climate change but the burden of

[00:15:33] being more green does not lie on a menstruator in terms of their you know other pure products

[00:15:39] they use it's the same thing as going to a hospital where you're requiring medical intervention you

[00:15:47] wouldn't worry about oh they're using a plastic cannula I will only use a biodegradable cannula

[00:15:52] or like oh they're using one time use syringes and there are so many of them yeah exactly that

[00:16:01] I mean there's there's a bigger industrial impact and you know companies are more responsible for

[00:16:06] climate change than period products and you know nobody should be forced to use something with this

[00:16:14] you know gun on their head oh you have to be more green I don't believe in that

[00:16:19] thanks for listening log on to the quince website and check out our other podcasts