Have you heard of the new, tiny, flexible game changer – the menstrual cup – yet?
To a man, this possibly sounds like Latin now, but to a woman that has tried everything on the market but failed to find the perfect sanitary ware, new innovations like the menstrual cup are received with bated breath. Is this the product that finally saves me from all the little and big accidents related to my monthly period?
Twenty-five-year-old lawyer, Collina always dreaded that time of the month when her body reminded her of its natural cycle when her uterus sheds its walls in form of blood. The pads she had used for more than ten years felt bulky, uncomfortable, and gave her a burning sensation.
Tampons were not much better – she was constantly aware of them rubbing against her, and at times, they left her nether regions feeling dry and irritated. The fear of embarrassing leaks and stains, the ‘sneeze effect’, the smelly cooked pad after six hours and the limitations on her activities during those days of the month had her feeling trapped in a natural routine she could not break free from.
“In November last year, my sister returned to Uganda for a break and handed me a strange-looking box, swearing that this box would change my life,” Collina remembers.
“Menstrual cups? Intrigued but skeptical, I read through the product description. It was made of medical-grade silicone, reusable, and promised long-lasting comfort with no risk of leaks.”
The thought of freedom during her period was an idea Collina had never even considered. No more running to the bathroom every few minutes? No more planning her day around when she needed to change a tampon?
But, of course, the idea of inserting a ‘cup’ into her body was a bit unnerving. Collina asked a close friend, Lydia, who was already using a menstrual cup for a year and swore by it.
“Lydia was like, ‘It changed my life. Once I got past the learning curve, it was the best decision I ever made. I don’t even think about my period anymore’,” Collina says.
Lydia said she could swim, go to gym, jog, and go about her daily life without any restrictions, unlike before the cup. Collina spent an evening reading through the instructions carefully. She watched a couple of online tutorials to calm her nerves because the thought of inserting the cup into her vagina was intimidating.
After a few tries, she figured out the best folding technique for her body, and with a deep breath, tried again.
“The first time was a bit tricky; I was going to work, but I wasn’t sure if I had inserted it correctly. I felt some discomfort, but after a few moments of adjusting, I finally felt comfortable. The cup was in place. I could not even feel that there was something there! I even forgot about it in a few minutes. I only remembered I was on my period when the cramps kicked in,” she says.
When she removed it during the day to change, her blood did not smell nasty, like menstrual blood does; it was just blood, like it was from a wound, unlike the other tangy smell that comes off the pads after absorbing blood and mixing with heat, sweat and absorbent material of the pad.
She poured the contents into the toilet and then rinsed the cup at the sink and replaced itT. he next morning, she woke up and realized something that felt almost too good to be true.
“I had slept through the entire night without a single worry about leaks or discomfort. No rustling of pads, no sleeping on one side, no riding up my butt crack and no need to change anything in the middle of the night!”
Collina stood in front of the mirror that morning, smiling. She was free from the constant upkeep and irritation of traditional menstrual products. Lydia, 32, who accidentally landed on a friend’s spare cup now swears by it. Lydia was at a work teambuilding camp when the monthly monster sabotaged her fun.
“I was halfway through a hike at Sipi falls when I realised I had not packed enough pads; I only had one for emergencies and I was already wearing it. My friend offered me her unused cup and I had no choice but to use it, although I had never seen one. By the end of the trip, I was asking myself why I hadn’t made the switch sooner!”
She explained that unlike tampons that require frequent changes or pads that get bulky, this cup can be worn for 12 hours.
“That’s very liberating,” Lydia says. The financial benefits of this cup are also undeniable. An average-flow woman can spend roughly Shs 84,000 on pads and Shs 252,000 on tampons each year and yet a well-maintained menstrual cup can last up to a decade, costing only Shs 20,000.
It is estimated that an average menstruating woman will use between 5,000 and 15,000 pads or tampons in a lifetime, most of which end up in landfills, but with one well- maintained cup, there is an environmental aspect beyond just saving money.
Women The Observer talked to admitted that the science of how the cup works is fascinating, but the idea of switching to a menstrual cup seemed daunting. A small rubber device inserted not to absorb like the pads and tampons, but to collect menstrual fluid?
Some ladies said they could not even try them because what if they widened them and made their vaginas loose?
“I haven’t heard of these cups before, but they seem better than the pads and tampons that sometimes have harmful chemicals. For example, I tried Shuya pads one time, they were not bad because they even have a vaginal test, but the mint-like refreshing chemical they put in them burnt me. I thought I had candida but after a few more uses, I realised it was the pads. Also, I have heard of toxic shock syndrome that happens when a tampon or cup stays inside for too long; so, I don’t think I will be using the cup and I think the whole process of emptying it and cleaning it would be dreadful. That’s why I prefer pads,” Najjengo said.
The older women (those that have given birth) were surprised to even look at the menstrual cup. They were mostly unaware of its existence and functionality. After briefly explaining how it worked, their cringed faces relaxed a bit and the thing did not look so alien anymore.
One woman noted that her daughter had refused to go to school one morning claiming the pad had bruised her and she was too uncomfortable to go to school.
“Maybe she could try this cup,” the mother pondered.
I keep thinking about the poor Karimojong woman and others elsewhere in rural Uganda, who have to use old pieces of cloth, banana fibres or dig a hole in the sand to collect the blood, to cater for a monthly natural process that community leaders and governments sadly ignore as a health and lifestyle emergency.
A reusable cup would be a game changer. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. When The Observer asked a man if he would recommend this cup to his wife, the conversation was as hilarious as it was sad.
The Observer: Have you ever bought your wife pads?
Ssewankambo: What type of question is that (with a disgusted face)? No. I give her money to buy them herself.
The Observer briefly explains and shows Ssewankambo a menstrual cup. His face takes on a disturbed expression.
Ssewankambo: This thing needs someone to be extra clean. You know that blood…eh… I don’t think most women can embrace it; the hygiene and the process of inserting it. It needs a lady that is not easily disgusted by blood.
I think even if a man that finds his wife washing blood…(looking distraught now) I think that also affects the man.
Many women still live under the bondage of outdated menstrual products, unaware of the true freedom that a menstrual cup could offer. It was not just about comfort or practicality for Lydia and Collina; it was about taking control of something that had always been a source of discomfort.
As more women share their experiences and break the taboos around period care, menstrual cups are the way to go when it comes to saving money and the environment. So far in a few Ugandan pharmacies worth their names, soon these cups will be easy to find on supermarket shelves and beyond.