解开我的包裹 - 自由杯

我的自由杯。

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女神杯(Diva Cup)的广告已经出现在我的面书好一段日子了。一直以来我都没给它太大的关注,直至一天恍然大悟,觉得它可以舒缓我在经期时的不适。我的经期通常长达至少六天才能完全“干净”。每当我的经期即将结束时,我都有因为皮肤和卫生棉摩擦和潮湿而引起的疹子,有时还会疼。在疹子消退后和皮肤刚痊愈之时,我的下一个周期即将开始。因此这问题仍会一再出现。至于几时可以脱离苦海呢?可能须要等到我更年期的时候。唔,那还有好多年。

出于好奇,我做了关于月经杯的线上研究,例如浏览美国eBay和亚马逊,本地在线市场如Lazada,Qoo10,Watson,Guardian,观看相关的YouTube视频和博客评论。 我发现的大部分信息都是关于女神杯,Lazada的售价约为50新元。 而Watson和Guardian则没有售卖月经杯。 (嗯,谁愿意售卖无法重复大量售出的产品?)

当我即将停止搜查关于女神杯不胜枚举的讯息时,谷歌蹦出了mothership.sg这篇博客文章谈到了另一个品牌“自由杯” (Freedom Cups)。 我很兴奋,因为我终于找到了一家销售月经杯子的本地公司! 让我更兴奋的是这家公司并非盈利机构,它是一个非营利组织,通过出售杯子向贫困社区的女性捐赠免费的杯子。 简单地说,就是“卖一个,捐一个”。我告诉自己:嘿,为什么不试一试,同时回馈社会呢?

其实,我的心情既是开心,又是害怕受伤害。要自己把东西放进自己的身体内确实很可怕。我是一个怕痛怕脏的人。由于博客和YouTube评论以及自由杯网站上的常见问题都“保证”杯子不会“迷失”在我的身体内部,而导致我最终需要外科医生将其取出,于是我决定试用它,我说服自己的原因有几个:

1. 我希望在我的月经期间,包括在我睡觉时,尽可能保持动作的灵活性。

2. 当我的经期即将到来时,我不会浪费任何垫子。 我有“预防胜于治疗”的习惯。当我外出时,我有习惯用上垫子,以防止“大姨妈”的突然到访而造成的尴尬。

3. 尽量减少制造垃圾。因为我必须每隔4小时更换一次垫子。这是为了个人卫生因素。 因为我有轻到中的流量,所以浪费是难免的。垫子多数都还没完全“弄脏”,就得更换了。

4. 我希望皮疹会永远消失。

我总是希望我们的环境可以变得更好。 以上的#2和#3常常让我在这些年来感到内疚。它们是肯定可以被淘汰解决的问题。 正如自由杯所言,月经杯是由医疗级硅胶制成的小杯子,将其入时很像入卫生棉条,并位于子宫颈底部收集月经液。 一个杯可以用最多长达15年。15年?! 哇,真是令人鼓舞,因为我的钱包和这世界有救了! 我不再浪费时间了,我将Grande添加到了我的购物车中。 自由杯有两种尺寸,迷你(Mini)和Grande。 它们并没有太大的差别,因此我选大号的Grande。 我是一个懒惰怕脏的人,我希望我的杯子可以容纳更多的液体,因而我只需要每天更换两次杯子:) 我相信,当我在户外“穿”着一个较大容量的杯子时,我会感到更放心。 我不想在公共厕所让自己混乱和慌乱。 我只有自家的洗手间才感觉干净,舒适,安全。

缴付了杯子的33新元和邮费的2新元后,我耐心等待着它的到来。 由于我在购买时,我的“大姨妈”已到访,因此我只能在下一个周期开始使用它。 一周后,我的丈夫把包裹从邮箱内递交到我手中。 

我等不及了。 我想在下一个周期之前练习放入和移除它,因为根据评论和说明,使用者需要一点练习和了解自己的身体,用起来才可以更得心应手。我想为它做好准备。

我将在随后的周期中使用它之后,并撰写评论。我为自己勇于改变的勇气干杯!

包裹到了!








说明书所推荐的贝壳折叠法。

说明书所推荐的贝壳折叠法。

可爱的小小收纳袋。

Unboxing My Menstrual Cup - the Freedom Cups

Freedom Cup size Grande

欲阅读华文版,请点击这里

It was a while ago when I came across menstrual cup commercials on Facebook, the Diva Cup. I did not really think of to give it a try until I realised that it might help to soothe my discomfort during menstrual cycle. My menses usually last for at least six days, in order to become "completely clean". I have rashes on my skin everytime when my period is ending. I believe that is due to friction while I am wearing pad. Before my rashes completely gone, my next cycle is about to start and thus the problem will still recurring until, probably when I am having my menopause? That will be a lot more years to go.

Out of curiosity, I did online research about menstrual cups such as browsing U.S. eBay and Amazon, local online marketplace such as Lazada, Qoo10, Watson, Guardian, watching related YouTube videos and blog reviews. Most of the information I found is about Diva Cups, which is selling at about SGD50 on Lazada. Watson and Guardian do not carry menstrual cups. (Hmm, who will carry a product which has no recurring sales?)

When I am about to stop researching, I came across mothership.sg which this blog post talked about another brand, the Freedom Cups. I was excited because finally I have found a local company that sells cups! What excited me more was this company is not profit making, it is a non-profit organization which donates a free cup to women from underprivileged community by selling a cup. I told myself: Hey, why not try this out and at the same time contribute something back to the society?

Putting something into my body does frighten me a fair bit. Since blog and YouTube reviews, and the FAQs on Freedom Cups website are giving "assurance" that the cup will not get lost inside my body where I might end up seeing a surgeon to remove it, I decided to give it a try for these few reasons:

1. I hope to be as mobile as I can during my menses, including when I am sleeping.

2. I will not waste any pad anymore when my period is approaching. I have the habit of wearing a pad when I am outside, to prevent any "unforeseen circumstances".

3. Create lesser trash since I have to change my pad every 4 hours, before it is completely soiled. This is for personal hygiene factors. I have light to moderate flow.

4. I hope that rashes will go away forever.

I always wish our environment can be better. The above #2 and #3 made me feel guilty all these years and they are something can definitely be eliminated. As claimed by Freedom Cups, a menstrual cup is a small cup made of medical-grade silicone that is inserted much like a tampon and sits at the base of the cervix collecting menstrual fluid. One cup can serve a woman up to 15 years. 15 YEARS?! Wow man, this is very encouraging, for my wallet and the better world! Without further ado, I added Grande to my shopping cart. There are two sizes, Mini and Grande. They do not really different a lot thus I prefer the bigger one. I am a lazy person, I hope my cup can hold more fluid and I only need to change only two times a day :) I also believe that I can feel more relieved when I am outside with a bigger cup. I do not wish to create mess in the public toilet. I am a kind of person who is only comfortable with own washroom.

After paying SGD33 for my cup and SGD2 for postage, I patiently waited for its arrival. Since I ordered it when I was having my period, I can only start to use it for my next cycle. It reached me slightly after a calendar week and my husband was the one who collected it from mailbox. 

I can not wait. I want to practice inserting and removing it before my next cycle, I want to prepare for it since reviews and instructions are telling that this needs a little bit of practicing and understanding our own body. 

I will be blogging a review after I have used it in my subsequent cycles. Bravo!









This is the shell fold recommended in the instruction booklet.

This is the shell fold recommended in the instruction booklet.

The adorable pouch.