Are Menstrual Cups Safe For Prolapse?

Menstrual Cups are incredible options for Earth-loving, money-aware, Period-having people...but a SUPER common question I get, in my professional practice, and on social media, is "are menstrual cups safe for prolapse?"

Remember that I am here to give general information, not medical advice, but in general, the short answer is yes, menstrual cups are safe if you have prolapse. 

2 Reasons Menstrual Cups Are Safe to Use With Prolapse

1. Menstrual Cups Are Not Vampires

Menstrual cups are, indeed, not vampires. 

They catch blood. They don't suck it. 

This is important, because a major fear that individuals have when thinking of using a menstrual cup with prolapse, is they think "the menstrual cup will suck my prolapse out worse." This is false.

Look at the cup. It has little holes all around the top, to allow blood to pass through if the cup gets too full. When these small holes press against the vaginal wall, they do indeed form a “seal”, to HOLD blood in….but they don’t SUCK blood (or organs) out. 

Now, if this is inserted inside a moist vaginal canal, it will "create a seal" inside the vag.  It is best to remove the cup after "breaking the seal" by pinching the bottom of the cup before removing the cup.  

When you do "break this seal" you will often hear a small "suction release" noise, that then allows you to slide the cup out more easily.

But, rest assured, even just "pulling the tail" of the menstrual cup to remove, will not be detrimental to your pelvic prolapse.  

2. When in place, the menstrual cup actually acts like a pessary, supporting the vaginal wall

A pessary is a medical-item designed to support the vaginal wall and hold a prolapse (technically a -cele), in place.  If this is interesting to you, please consider buying one of my courses to learn more about your undercarriage, and specifically about how to manage pee, poop and prolapse problems without surgery!  

A menstrual cup, since it is NOT a vampire and doesn't suck the organs down,  might actually acts LIKE A PESSARY, and might even reduce your feelings of pressure during your period. Cool, huh!  If this is you, you'll notice a "lightening feeling" in your pelvis when you wear the menstrual cup.  And if this IS you, it might be worthwhile to find a health provider trained in fitting pessaries, which are made for this type of support, instead of a menstrual cup, which is primarily for menstruation.  

So not only is a menstrual cup not bad for a prolapse...it might even be helpful! But if you are noticing reduced symptoms with a menstrual cup, please chat about this with your primary medical provider, so they can fit you (or get you connected with the proper person to fit you) for a proper pessary. 

But what if it hurts to put it in, or take it out?  What if it’s uncomfortable “in there”?

Do These 4 Things if the Menstrual Cup is Uncomfortable

News Flash: Periods, and all pelvic general things (doc exams, periods, tampons or menstrual cup use) should be PAIN FREE!!!  They might be embarrassing at first, but they should NEVER hurt.  Here’s four things to do if using a menstrual cup is uncomfortable   

1. Check the size of the cup

Menstrual cups come in different shapes and sizes.  At a minimum, there is a “regular” and a “small” size, and some brands will have “teen” sizes.  If you are using too large of a cup, this could irritate your pelvic muscles, nerves and even your urethra (giving you pee-urges).  

If you are having discomfort, consider reducing the size of the menstrual cup.

2. See a trusted medical professional, in person.

This would be to check out your “down there”.  A medical doctor could check the skin on your vulva (part you can see) and vagina (part you can’t see, but your doc can, with a speculum). If your skin is irritated (from dehydration, trauma, lack of estrogen, or other things), the cup would hurt. This is regardless of if you have a prolapse or not, friend.

Pro tip: you could need Estrogen if you are in the perimenopausal time, menopausal time OR in breast-feeding time, because that is a "relatively estrogen deficient time", and at each of those times, depending on YOU, your tissues might need a big of extra Estrogen to be "fluffy down there" for optimal health.  

Rarely does "is a lidocaine cream" indicated.  Like hardly ever.  Cortisone is sometimes needed, but rarely lidocaine by itself.  So if your doc tries to prescribe this, especially without any pelvic PT, they better have a REALLY compelling reason for it, and you should probably find a new Doc, or a Pelvic PT on your own :)

3. Work on relaxing your pelvic muscles

If the pelvic floor muscles that surround the entrance to the vagina are resting too tight, you might have pain with cup insertion/removal or use.  This is the most common cause of pain with any menstrual product, actually.  The good news is that by learning to find, and relax the pelvic muscles, then spending a bit of time focusing on keeping them relaxed while you insert and remove the menstrual cup, you can usually eliminate this pain in a short period of time. 

Double bonus–the relaxed and healthy the pelvic floor muscles are, the less period pain we’ll have in general!  YAY!!

Here's a fun post where I train you to relax your pelvic floor over a Cooch Ball or rolled towel :) :).  If you're having pain, focus on the relaxing the pelvic floor part!!  Even just sitting on a rolled towel or a Cooch Ball, and trying to “relax your butthole” for 2-3 minutes can be a game changer for relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, and can make a HUGE difference in prolapse and in menstrual cup insertion ability.  

4. See a Pelvic PT (or other trained pelvic professional) in person

If you've practiced relaxing your pelvic floor muscles on your own, and are still having issues, please see a pelvic PT in person or online. There are many other "pressure management strategies" related to how you functionally use the muscles of your whole body that could be contributing to your discomfort.  Pelvic Physios are trained to quickly identify these contributing factors, to get you to pain free menstrual cup use, ASAP!

5. Consider a Pelvic Floored Online Course!

If you can’t physically, or financially, see a Pelvic PT or Physio in person, kindly consider one of my online programs to combat pelvic pain, and improve your awareness of your “down there.” Vag Lab is an amazing 2 hour lab, that includes education to ALL the things down there, including self vulvar and pelvic muscle assessments, to teach you how to find, and relax those pelvic floor muscles, for less pain with menstrual cup use.

Do I have any recommendations for types to buy?

Because you asked, I do have an idea list of my favorite items on Amazon.  Feel free to purchase products wherever is convenient for you, but that list will show you the ones that I use and trust.  

Thanks for reading!  If this is helpful to you, please share with others.  If you have other ideas that I forgot, please let me know at [email protected]!

XOXO

Dr. Kelly 

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