Look at this illustration. the cup is placed about half a finger away making it easy to remove. It allows the flow to go down naturally without blocking anything. It is specially recommended for women using an IUD or Nuvaring.

• It does not dry you out or disrupt your vaginal ph levels the way disposable tampons do. That is because a cup doesn’t absorb anything, it collects. There is much more in a vagina than just blood even during menstruation, those secretions are important and should not be absorbed. More than a quarter of the fluids absorbed by a tampon are, in fact, natural and necessary vaginal secretions. When you insert a tampon it just absorbs everything. When you remove it leaves some fibers behind that your body has to fight to flush out. It is believed that rayon fibers can cause micro lacerations to the vaginal walls during insertion and removal, leaving the vagina open to infections.

• You can wear it up to 12h which makes the logistic much easier. You can insert it in the morning when you wake up, empty it in the evening when you are back home and put it back during the night. It’s very convenient and comfortable. If you have a heavy flow you might want to empty it once at mid day. You can always find a toilet with a sink. If not simply wipe it with toilet paper or a wet wipe, or rinse it with a bottle of water. You can always wash it properly once you get home. A tampon needs to be changed every 4h so a cup lasts about 3 times longer.

• Menstrual cups have never been associated with TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome). Disposable tampons on the other hand have been associated with TSS which is a potentially deadly bacterial illness. When a cup is inserted in your vagina, it’s protected from the air by a light seal on the vagina wall, that way the bacterias don’t develop as fast. It has been laboratory tested, and results have indicated that it is very unlikely to amplify the bacteria responsible for TSS. It is known that most of the cases of TSS that were tied to menstrual products occurred because tampons absorb menstrual fluid.

• Many women report a much cleaner feeling while using a cup, and none of the common odor that usually comes with your period. You will notice it from the first time you use it. It’s once again thanks to the seal, it keeps the blood from the natural oxidation, you probably noticed that your tampon is rarely red when you remove it. The blood in the cup is. You can actually sterilize your cup by simply boiling it or using sterilizing tablets such as Milton. You know then it is clean. Although most women think pads and tampons have been sterilized, they have not. In fact, no feminine hygiene product has been sterilized.

• You can wear a menstrual cup ahead of time when you are expecting your period. If you know your periods are due today and you will be at work, just put your cup in the morning and you don’t have to worry about it. You can’t do that with tampons.

• You can do everything with a cup you can with a tampon and more: You can do any kind of sports: Yoga, pilates, horse riding, cycling, running and even swimming. You can even sleep naked safely while wearing one all night!

• Menstrual cups do not leak chemicals into the body. Disposable tampons contain bleached cotton, rayon/viscose fibers that get left behind inside you, and dioxin, which may be linked to cancer. Dioxin, produced during tampon manufacture, is the most toxic man-made substance known to science. Rayon/viscose, one of the main ingredients in tampons, consists of tiny strands of plastic (about 90%). It’s highly absorbent and usually chlorine-bleached (one of the main dioxin-producing processes). Since 1918 it has been known that toxins can be absorbed into the body through the vagina.

• The menstrual cup, and the materials used to make are safe. The material has natural antibacterial properties, and washes clean.  So it is perfectly safe to re-use as recommended. Another interesting fact is that the FDA does not require that the ingredients in tampons and pads be listed anywhere in or on the package.