Frequently asked questions about menstrual cups

Find the right position for you to remove the cup. What is your favorite way to remove a tampon? Some remove a tampon or cup while sitting on the toilet, others prefer to lie flat, and still others prefer removal while standing with one leg raised if necessary. Removal is as individual as the wearer of the cup herself, find the position that is right for you!

Please always make sure that you do not simply pull the cup out, neither by the stem nor by the ring. Make sure that you always release the vacuum by pushing the cup in, otherwise you can hurt yourself.

If you can't get a good grip on the cup, try using disposable gloves.

Stop! The most important thing now is not to panic. Don't worry, the cup can't disappear and it will come out again. Try to take a breath and relax for a moment. Make yourself some tea, flip through the newspaper and just try to distract yourself somehow. If you are more relaxed, then your pelvic floor will also relax and the cup will come towards you a bit. Just try again at a later time! Especially directly after getting up, the cervix and therefore the cup sits higher than later in the day. Take a short moment after getting up and remove the cup perhaps only after breakfast, after the first coffee or similar.

If the cup is still out of reach, sit down in a wide-legged crouch like a frog and press your pelvic floor down a bit. Put your head in the neck and open your mouth wide, this also relaxes your muscles in the lower torso area. Now your cup should come back towards you and be within reach.

If you slip off the cup with your fingers, use disposable gloves, they will give you a little more grip.

The fact that the cup is not tight can have several reasons.

Is the cup able to unfold its full volume and is the cup popped open? Check with your finger to make sure that the cup is actually "open" and not pressed in or bent at one point. At first, it may be unusual to get the cup to unfold. However, you soon get the hang of it. If the cup doesn't pop open, you can also change the folding technique. Sometimes it also helps to let the cup pop open a little further down and then push it into place with jerky movements. It can also help to rinse the cup with very cold water before inserting it. This will make the material a little firmer and easier to unfold.

Also note that your pelvic floor muscles play an important role! If you have overestimated your musculature, the cup may be too hard and simply slip out because your musculature is not strong enough to hold the cup in place. However, if your pelvic floor is stronger and you have a cup that is too soft, you will squeeze the cup and it will leak.

Did the cup fit at the beginning and now it is gradually leaking more and more? There can be many reasons for this: For example, maybe your pelvic floor became a little tighter. This can happen by exercising more or by wearing the cup itself.

Try to relax first. Especially cup beginners sometimes find it difficult to insert the cup. Do not put yourself under pressure and try again later if necessary. Also try a different fold. Sometimes that's already the bowl's luck! Some get along better with the C-fold, for others the punchdown fold is the real deal. Find out what's best for you - and only you.

Furthermore, it can help to wet the cup with some cold water or use a water-based lube (try to avoid silicone-based lubes, they can attack the cup). The lube will make insertion especially easier in the beginning, later you will find that you don't really need this aid anymore. Because, as with tampons and everything else, handling menstrual cups is purely a matter of getting used to them. Practice makes perfect!

You are welcome to use the cup during treatment. However, please make sure that you boil the cup at least 3 times for 20 minutes after use. Always let the cup dry completely between the three boiling phases. After that, you can continue to use the cup without hesitation.

If you are more prone to fungal infections, make sure that you thoroughly clean your hands of soap and disinfectant residues before inserting the cup. These agents attack your vaginal mucous membranes and unfortunately open the door to fungal infections. Also, wash the intimate area only with water or, if necessary, with intimate soap.

Fungal infections are not caused by a lack of hygiene, but - on the contrary - mostly occur due to incorrect or excessive hygiene in the intimate area.

The white traces are merely lime deposits that settle on the cup after boiling. This happens especially when you use hard water for boiling. Don't worry, it is quite enough to clean the cup from the traces with water and then use it. To prevent the white deposits, you can also simply add a small shot of vinegar to the water the next time you boil it.

No! The cup is not a contraceptive, nor can it be worn during sex. If you wear the cup during sex, you can seriously injure yourself and your partner. Always remove the cup before having sex!

IUD wearers need to take special care. If you are wearing an IUD, the retraction thread always protrudes a little from your cervix so that the doctor can remove the IUD later without any problems. However, since the cup also sits close to the cervix, it can happen that you pinch the retrieval thread between the cup and the vaginal wall and the IUD then moves. But how can you prevent this?

First of all, you can ask your gynecologist if it is possible to shorten the retrieval cord a little. In most cases this is possible.

Also, feel for the retrieval cord before inserting the cup. You will then notice whether it is more to the right, left or centered and can then control the cup better. At best, the thread should be in the cup.

The most important thing, however, is that you absolutely release the vacuum before removing the cup! This is especially important for spiral wearers, because if you do not release the vacuum, it can happen that the vacuum pulls the spiral down and then even removes it. So always release the vacuum before removing the cup.

But don't worry, it's more likely that the return thread will get tangled in a pad (especially one with wings), because you can't control that yourself. However, the handling of the cup is in your own hands, so nothing can happen to you if you pay attention and pay attention to everything previously described.

Colorless cups in particular tend to discolor for some women. This is not bad at all and does not affect the function in any way. However, sometimes it really does not look nice.

The discoloration occurs because of the individual composition of menstrual blood and therefore does not occur in every woman. Some wearers are really bothered by it, so here are a tip that can help against this discoloration: Put the cup in the sun! The sun's rays will bleach out the discoloration somewhat. Especially light discolorations can be removed this way.