Oh yeah, I also use a special alcohol free soap that is for ‘down there’ and I wash it with that, in between insertions. I use the one that I have bought from Avon, but I’m sure the ones you get at Boots or anywhere else would work just fine. Seeing as that stuff is specially formulated for ‘down there’, I feel safe using it on my mooncup and I know I won’t have to use nappy rash cream or something to combat thrush.

Spinky, many thanks you are my winner :-)

That soother steriliser sounds perfect. I boil mine in the microwave.

Mooncup.co.uk maybe should manufacture one!

A funny pouch use?

Slightly off-topic to the very nice looking pouches, but regarding storage and sterilisation, you might find the soother steriliser box from Mothercare helpful as well. They are meant for sterilising soothers in the microwave, but are also exactly the right size for a mooncup. So I sterilise mine in the little plastic box (which costs a couple of pounds) at the end of a period, no mess, no boiling, no soap required, tip any remaining water out and then keep the mooncup in the box for the rest of the month until it is needed again. No mould (box not airtight), no fluff, but sterile.

A tip from mumsnet which I found really helpful as my flatmates would not appreciate me boiling menstrual products on top of our shared stove…

Karen

As long as you clean it extremely well at the end of the period, then keeping something which is made of medical-grade silicone in a cotton bag is no difference (that I can see) than a tampon (which is made of cotton and that cotton goes inside you) stored in breathable paper.

Problem with a GP is that they also only see the times that go wrong, not the vastly greater number of times when there’s no problem and there’s no way to determine where the contamination arises from (not thoroughly cleaning hands before insertion or not cleaning thoroughly at the end of the last period… I wouldn’t store out openly on a bathroom shelf, for example, in a cotton bag, just as I don’t store my toothbrush out on an open shelf in the bathroom and always shut the lid of the loo before flushing!)

One known problem with mooncups is if you use soap to wash it out with then this can cause increased incidences of thrush (reaction to the soap). I’ve heard this over and over again (and suffered it myself) and changed my cleaning routine to just rinsing out then boiling in plain water for 5 mins to counteract this. This is the first I’ve heard about increased risks of pelvic infection due to storage.

I’m not saying that he’s not right, just that I’m skeptical as it seems counterintuitive both to personal experience, users stories and the problems with non-breathable container that Jane mentions – but will keep an eye out for proper studies/other people’s experiences of this issue.

Washing (even in very hot water) is not sterilising, which my GP was very clear concerns him. Who has time to soak their Mooncup in Milton or boil it in a pan when they’ve started unexpectedly?!! I continue to believe that using a high quality, low migratory cling wrap is the best solution.

An amusing use for your product? A new Witch’s hat for me? It would need to be Blue of course :) Oh wait… my head’s not that small…

I think people would always wash their mooncups before using at the start of a period however “sterile” it might be. Easier to insert and more hygienic in my opinion.

A funny use for a tetra pouch?

As I said, mine’s 3, and I have had absolutely no problems.

My original bag had unfinished edges and frayed fluffy bits :-(

I’ll never make a Girlie Witch ;)