Menstrual talks, tampons/pads the only option?

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let me first say that i am not a nurse of any kind and nor am i a student having just turned 30yrs of age. What i would like to ask is weather school nurses are giving their students all the options when it comes to advice about menstral protection? I have just personally descovered a product called a moon cup and while not wishing to advertise the more i look into it the more other alternatives i find. I now feel cheated that i was not given all the options when i first started to mensturate - has this changed? I think not! I have a friend who is a school nurse herself and while out with her one evening she menstioned that she was to give a talk about periods to a group of young girls the next morning. I told her about the moon cup i had just started to use and to my surprise she had never even heard if the product and was just going to sugest the use of pads / tampons without i suspect even considering the alternatives. I do understand and indeed remember that this is a delicate subject with girls this age but i do also think that with the amount of waste materials which end up in land fill or washed up on beaches the other greener and often cheaper options could do with a quick description. Hope this coment is useful to someone who is a school nurse.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, School and Camp Nursing.

School Nurse here. I have never heard of a moon cup but I would be curious to learn more about it.

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I've heard of it and have heard there's an increased chance for a UTI when using it. I think it would be such a pain as you have to clean it every four hours or so. Traditional protections items such as tampons are much easier especially because you can dispose of them easily.

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

I'm not a school nurse but as a woman who's menstruated for 15 1/2 years, I have never heard of a "Moon Cup."

I have used, with success, a product called "Instead." It's a cup as well, it goes in as a diaphragm would, and can stay in for up to 12 hours. When I used it, I threw it away rather than cleaning it out (seemed rather nasty to me!)

It takes away the risk of TSS and I don't see how it could increase the chance of UTIs, considering it doesn't contact the urethra at all.

But when I was in school, I only used pads. I tried and tried and tried some more, but couldn't use a tampon until after I went to the GYN.

What about those tampons made of Cherokee hair? Do they work?

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Camaro - if you couldn't use tampons . .. . how do you put a rubber cup in??????:eek:

I've heard of the cups - but I'm with some of the other posters in that it is a mess to take out and clean up.

Also, as a mom, I'd want to be the one to talk to my daughter about all the options - or at the very least I'd want to know EXACTLY what the school nurse was telling my daughter.

I'd rather use pads/tampons.

However - I think I'm in menopause so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

steph

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Camaro - if you couldn't use tampons . .. . how do you put a rubber cup in??????:eek:

I've heard of the cups - but I'm with some of the other posters in that it is a mess to take out and clean up.

Also, as a mom, I'd want to be the one to talk to my daughter about all the options - or at the very least I'd want to know EXACTLY what the school nurse was telling my daughter.

I'd rather use pads/tampons.

However - I think I'm in menopause so I don't have to worry about it anymore.

steph

I couldn't (past tense) use tampons, Steph. Big difference! That was quite some time ago.

A trick I learned was taking it out in the shower. Then sort of rinse it out and wrap it up like one would a pad. Then toss.

And about the menopause, thing, Steph...my grandmother thought she was in menopause...my dad's youngest brother is Toby...just sayin'...

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reply to twilightrnurse. Actually a moon cup can stay in place for up to 8 hrs and sits no where near to the urethra! I also hated using tampons as they used to dry me out so much. Also with a cup there is no chance of tampons spiling out of ur bag if its dropped on the school floor etc.

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reply to needs more chocolate - great name by the way. You can google mooncup.com or see youtube for women you have used mooncup. Mooncup also is bleach free and has no risk of TTS.

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i couldn't (past tense) use tampons, steph. big difference! that was quite some time ago.

a trick i learned was taking it out in the shower. then sort of rinse it out and wrap it up like one would a pad. then toss.

and about the menopause, thing, steph...my grandmother thought she was in menopause...my dad's youngest brother is toby...just sayin'...

i thought the same thing kiddo - at 43 i was having what i thought were menopausal symptoms - but he is almost 9 years old now! :D

and re: the highlighted part . . . the op is talking about teenage girls . . so, that was my point. how would a teenage girl who had a hard time using tampons . . use a cup? :coollook: i know my own daughter had a hard time with tampons.

steph

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
And re: the highlighted part . . . the OP is talking about teenage girls . . so that was MY point. How would a teenage girl who had a hard time using tampons . . use a CUP? :coollook: I know my own daughter had a hard time with tampons. [/quote']

Gotcha, Steph. I agree.

Part of me thinks that the OP is a peddler of Moon Cups, or something...

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i actually train horses for a living since you r so intrested. If you read my original post you will see that i also said i had found other options with i never knew about. I do take your point that maybe at the age of girl which you talk to things need to be kept as simple as possible but on the other hand i do feel that 30 is very late to find out that there are meny other options. My point in writing this was to ask why it has taken so long for me to learn more on this topic. I was also shocked that some nurses do not keep fully up to date with all products.

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. As for the idea that i wish to advertise any product (please see original post where i state that now i have looked into it i have found lots of alternative products) i don't suppose the brand name tampax has ever sliped from anyones lips when what they really meant to say was tampon! In fact my school had a tampax rep give us a talk on tampon use - it worked i was a loyal customer until now!

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