Diva cups

aliboli

Hi everyone, I'm a kiwi girl heading off to asia in a few weeks with a non-profit promoting bike use and environmental education (and trying not to be killed by rabid dogs and dust!) Diva have sponsored us, so I've bought back a whole lot of diva cups with me from the states, to give away to give away in exchange for a donation to our cause. Have you guys heard of the Diva Cup? It's a menstrual cup that is great to use when riding (or running or swimming...) cause it doesn't need to be changed as much as tampons do, and doesn't create any waste (one cup lasts for about 7-10 years).
I don't want to sound like a selling agent, but these things are bloody brilliant (I've been using mine for a couple of years now, and it is so good not to have to cart around boxes of tampons when I'm touring!).

Normally they cost around $50 NZ plus postage, but we are asking for a $40NZ minimum donation with no extra postage fees. I've got about thirty left, so please email me if you'd like more info: alice@pepyride.org. Check out our website too if you've got time: www.pepyride.org, and for more info about the Diva cup: www.divacup.com
Cheers,
Alice

bikelet

Hi,
How much research has been done into these cups? They sound great at a glance but it generally pays to be a bit suspicious. For example, tampons have been show to be dangerous to your health in ways other than TSS. Tampons contain rayon and dioxin for absorbency and bleaching. Rayon provides a breeding ground for dioxin- a potential carcinogen and is toxic to the immune and reproductive systems. Dioxin is culumative and slow to distinegrate so it's not really smart to use tampons, just in case. I was shocked when i found this out as it hasn't really been publicised to wider society. So if those cups work then that might be a good alternative

aliboli

Hi all,

Yes, tampons do contain dioxins which can mix with the vaginal mucous and get into the bloodstream. The only way to get away from this is to buy chlorine-free, non-bleached, organic tampons; but you still have the problem of tss.

I've been doing a bit of research to try to answer your question about the cups...The menstral cup is made from silicone, is hypoallergenic, and it is not absorbent, so does not promote tss (it is the highly absorbent tampons that pose the most risk for tss). It has been around since the 70's, and I cannot find any studies saying that it is dangerous to use. The only thing that I can think of is the risk of bacteria from your hands transferring to your vagina, (as you do use your hands to insert the cup, unlike a applicator tampon), but the vagina is self-cleansing, so can take a fair bit of bacteria, and if you wash your hands first, shouldn't be a problem.

While I was looking this stuff up, I found a site saying that on average women use 12000 tampons each during their menstruating years...that's a lot of cotton down the toilet, eh.

Cheers,
aliboli

bikelet

Indeed. I have heard that unbleached cotton tampons do not totally solve the dioxin problem anyways. I did look at the Diva website but i can hardly expect them to post anything less than promotional on their website so i don't think they are the best place for external unbiased feedback. Most of what's on their website just bags out tampons and does not address the question of whether the cups themselves have been proven to be safe.
Well as the concept has been around for awhile, maybe they are ok but on the other hand you don't know. Tampons have been around for a while too and only relatively recently has the dioxin link been discovered. Just the idea of using the same cup for all those years ( i know you sterilise it but still) and having the blood pooling and sitting there during the night/day seems a bit sus to me but that's just a kinda emotional/instinctive reaction. But i do wonder if anyone has done some major research into it.