There are many ways to find pleasure while on your period. Menstrual cups can help! It’s important to remember that a menstrual cup should be removed prior to having penetrative sex. This will eliminate leaks and make it a more enjoyable experience for both you and your partner.
However, oral and anal sex is completely fine! Plus, most menstrual cups come with very explicit tips and pictorial instructions.
How Does It Work?
The Diva Cup is a menstrual cup made from medical-grade silicone that sits lower than a regular tampon, which can help reduce the risk of leakage. It’s available in a variety of sizes, with recommended options based on age, flow and whether you’ve given birth. Using it can be easier than you might expect. You can use it while swimming, exercising and sleeping, and it’s more hygienic than a tampon because it holds your blood in rather than pushing it out into the toilet.
Before you insert the cup, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with it and your anatomy. You can practice before you have your period by using a lubricant or squeezing a bit of water into the opening of your vagina. Some people find it helpful to have a friend or nurse show them how to insert their first cup.
Once you have it in, you can gently twist the base to open it up and make sure that it’s inserted correctly. Some people run their finger along the rim to check that it’s low enough. You can also rotate it while it’s inside to break the seal.
Some women will experience a suction that makes it difficult to remove their cup, but this is normal for new users and usually doesn’t last long. If it continues, you can use the tail to pull the cup out (be careful not to grab too hard or you could tear the wall of your vagina). Once it’s out, simply dump it in the toilet and rinse it with warm water before re-inserting it.
Can You Get Pregnant?
A menstrual cup is a bell-shaped container made of silicone, latex, or rubber that’s inserted into the vagina during your period to collect menstrual flow. It’s similar to a tampon or pad but it holds up to an ounce of fluid, has a much longer lifespan than a single-use product (about 10 years), and is mess-free. It also forms an airtight seal, meaning you can insert and remove it with less fuss than a traditional tampon or pad. Plus, it reduces odor and can even boost sex drive for some couples who want to try for baby.
The only downside is that you need to practice inserting it until you get the hang of it. You can find online tips and pictorial instructions, but it’s usually easier to start with a brand that’s designed for beginners or comes with explicit written directions. And it’s important to pick the right size, because too small could be uncomfortable and too large could cause leaking.
There are anecdotal reports of couples using a menstrual cup as a fertility aid, but there haven’t been any studies that show higher pregnancy rates or quicker time to conception for women who use the device. It’s best to stick with more reliable methods like monitoring your cycle, tracking ovulation with an app or home ovulation kit, and having sex during ovulation, which can help you get pregnant faster.
Can You Get Infected?
Menstrual cups can be more difficult to insert than tampons, especially for younger women, those with specific vaginal canal anatomy or who have never had intercourse. However, there are plenty of online communities that can provide tips and pictorial instructions to help. Plus, many brands come with explicit insertion and removal directions on their packaging.
While some people in online message boards have reported getting yeast infections more frequently when using a cup, there isn’t current research to support this. And even if you do get a yeast infection, it’s likely because of bacteria transferred from your hands to the cup, rather than from the cup itself.
A Diva cup is made from medical-grade silicone, which is free of latex and is hypoallergenic. It’s also free of BPA, PVC, plastic, acrylate, elastomer and acrylic acid and meets US FDA, Australian TGA and COFEPRIS standards.
The Diva Cup is available at most major health food stores and online. Use the promo code “alittleadrift10” at checkout to receive 10% off your first order. The company also has a slew of other options designed to fit various types of vaginas and periods, including the popular Loulou Cup (read the reviews!). The Loulou cup is a great option for petite women, teens and those with uterine prolapse, since it has extra grip ridges to help ensure it stays in place.
Is It Safe?
Having sex with a menstrual cup can be a little tricky. You and your partner may need to experiment with different positions to find what works best. A good quality, water-based lubricant can help the cup slip in easier and reduce friction, as can making sure you sterilize your cup thoroughly before inserting.
It is not recommended to wear a reusable menstrual cup during penetrative vaginal intercourse, even if it is designed for this purpose. This is because the firm body of a reusable cup takes up more space in the vagina, meaning it could put pressure on the cervix during sexual intercourse, which can be uncomfortable. It can also be a bit risky for your partner, because the silicone stem of the menstrual cup could scratch or cut the penis or any other sex toys that are used.
Disposable cups, such as the Softcup and the Diva cup, are much less likely to cause discomfort during penetrative intercourse. A grad student who uses a Diva cup says that while it’s a good menstrual product, the Diva can be uncomfortable at times during penetrative intercourse, because of its design and the fact that it sits lower in the vagina than a tampon.
Other than that, she finds it to be a great alternative to pads and tampons. It saves her money, eliminates a lot of mess and, she reports, enhances orgasms.
See Also:
