It's not every day that you challenge the status quo of under-pant business. Periods; I mean periods. We don't question how we decide to counter the red devil on a monthly basis. As most middle-class Indian girls are introduced to "necessary bodily functions" upon nearing puberty, we're handed a sanitary pad, after being demonstrated what goes where, because, you know, the science of wings can be confusing for a teenage girl battling hormones. Now, this lesson in logistics comes either from your mother (in all likelihood) or from your school teacher (only when the boys are out of the class).
And hence, sanitary pads become our default setting.
Thanks to the internet, and in essence, globalization, I learnt of something called tampons at a rather early age, and boy were they a gift from the angels of heaven! But, like life doesn't throw enough at us "forever transforming" women, there came the "susceptibility of vaginal infections"--gynecologist's words, not mine.
So, what does a woman with a super-demanding 10-hour job, and an active social life, do to maintain normalcy during those five days of the month? Now, keep in mind, the much-needed talk about saving the environment all over the internet does have an impact on us young minds. And hence, I decided to kill two birds with one stone--being environment-friendly and adopting a convenient blood-protection gear. Answer: Menstrual Cups.
As various websites said--it's easy to insert, you won't even know it's inside (just like a tampon), is environment-friendly and easy to get out, wash and reuse!
For the uninitiated, menstrual cups are silicon, bell-shaped, flexible cups for period protection. In lay man's terms, a woman is just to fold and insert it in, adjust it till it creates a vacuum inside and then take it out every 3 to 4 hours (depending on the flow), wash it well, and insert it back inside. See, clean and friendly!
hough the washing bit was the only thing that I wasn't pleased about (hello, germaphobe brain), I thought I'll take one for the environment. Since, you know, they say, being a good Samaritan goes a long way. Finding them isn't tough though; these things are available everywhere online.
So, here's how it unfolded for me. To my utter surprise, it really did feel like nothing was inside and the first four hours were smooth as silk. I went about my work as I would on any other day. Aaah, the little pleasures of life!
And then came the "taking out" bit. The bottom of this menstrual cup--which sticks out--is equipped with a tiny, silicon ring. You're supposed to pull the ring out, which is where the "smooth as silk" journey ends. The vacuum created by the cup wasn't letting this be a smooth ride; the harder I pulled, the stronger the vacuum got. Let's just say that what followed isn't something I'd like to elaborate on.
So, in short, it was a no-go for me.
My advice to anyone reading this is to listen to their mothers and teachers as they talk about the anatomy of wings (the white ones). If the environment bit does badger your conscience--like it did mine--opt for reusable pads instead
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