Disclaimer: I am not a doctor but I am a girl who uses menstrual cups.

Menstrual cups were invented during World War 2 but because of a rubber shortage, tampons became more popular. Now that more people care about the environment, menstrual cups are coming into the spotlight, but there are a lot of questions and myths. Menstrual cups are flexible silicon cups that are inserted into the vagina during a menstrual period to collect blood. There are links at the end if you have more questions about how they are used and what they do. Here are 8 things you should know about menstrual cups regardless of if you wanna try them or not.

1. They don't overflow.

Biggest myth ever. The first time people hear about menstrual cups, one of the first questions is "will it overflow?" The answer is no. Because no matter how heavy you think your period is, you just don't bleed enough to overflow this cup especially if you take it out when you should.

2. They are messy at first, but it gets better.

But it doesn't really matter because you can do it at home anyway. You can leave a cup in for about 12 hours and the average person is only out of the house for 8 hours a day. It is still possible to take out and clean the cup in a public bathroom, it's just more comfortable to do at home. Putting in and taking out the cup without the mess and in the exact way that it won't leak, takes practice. Once you get the hang of it, it's well worth the wait.

3. They are safer to use than tampons.

They're also just as effective when inserted properly, and a little more convenient because they don't need to be changed as often. You can sleep with a menstrual cup in which is awesome because you don't have to risk your life sleeping with a tampon in and you don't need to worry about leaking out the sides of your pad. There was a belief that menstrual cups users don't get Toxic Shock Syndrome but I saw an article that there was one reported case. So do your own research on that, there are some links I've read at the end of the article.

4. They save you a ton of money.

The upfront cost of a cup is more than a box of tampons. An average woman spends $7 per month on tampons and the menstrual cup typically costs about $40. The cup pays for itself in about 6 months. The information of the lifespan of the cup varies: some websites say it lasts 1 year and others say it lasts up to 12 years. So just keep it clean and use your best judgment.

5. You learn a lot about your body.

When using a menstrual cup you get to know "down there" really well. That's a good thing. Everyone should feel comfortable with their bodies especially before you share it with someone else. You'll learn how much blood you lose in how many hours and what your vagina feels like. When you master using a cup, you feel like you've conquered mother nature. Now if only we could conquer cramps.

6. No, it will not fall out.

Your vagina has muscles and they squeeze whatever is between them. They can be strengthened like any other muscle with things called kegel exercises. Kegel exercises are not required to use the dive cup but they do strengthen your vaginal muscles so do them if that will make you feel more secure. You usually can't feel the cup inside you so I'm pretty sure you won't worry about it after you put it in.

7. Yes, it will fit.

Your vagina expands enough to let a baby come out so it can definitely fit this flexible little cup in there. You fold the cup to help it fit more easily and then it expands inside to form a suction over your cervix to collect blood. Moral of the story: it fits, its flexible, don't worry.

8. No, it will not get stuck in there.

Your vagina is not an endless abyss. It is about 4 inches long typically. Once the cup is inside, you can still stick a finger just inside the opening and feel the bottom of the cup. You will never lose it. To be honest, it might get slippery and difficult to grab to remove but just wipe off your fingers and try again, it's not hard, it just takes practice. If you're still having trouble removing it, try reaching towards the top of the cup to break the suction and then pull to remove it.

I do recommend that people interested in using a menstrual cup get comfortable with tampons first because going from normally wearing pads to a cup can be stressful and frustrating. You have to be comfortable sticking your fingers inside your vagina to use a menstrual cup. That's how you find where it goes to get the best fit to prevent leaks. You will probably have leaks when you first start using a menstrual cup because it's hard to know exactly where your cervix is if you've never gone there before. The Diva cup and the Moon cup are the most popular menstrual cups out there but do look into other ones to see which one offers you what you're looking for. They're all basically the same though.

Diva cup and more basic info on cups:

http://divacup.com/products/the-divacup/

TSS cup case:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC45561...

Happy searching!