Using a Menstrual Cup While Travelling

Which of us has not planned a trip or a holiday and then checked whether our period would land right in the middle of it? I even know women who gave up on trips because of their period. During menstruation we like comfort, a warm duvet, our own bathroom and some peace. We cannot always have that, though. So in this article you will find the most important things to know about the menstrual cup on the road.

In this article you will find 2 PROTIPS from Magda, co-founder of PerfectCup, who has travelled half the world with her cup.

I move around a lot myself and live the life of a digital nomad, so my period keeps me company in all sorts of situations and corners of the globe. Before I started with the cup I used tampons, to feel my period as little as possible.

When I swapped tampons for menstrual cups, the following things changed:

• I do not have to run around a strange city looking for tampons or pads. I remember getting my period in Majorca during the siesta, it was a DISASTER. I had to wait 1 hour for the shops to open.
• I save space in my backpack, which is hugely valuable when you travel often.
• I save money, because a cup lasts around 10 years. Assuming we spend €2 on a single period, over 10 years that comes to around €220. One cup costs from €19.
• I cut down on waste. That is one of the most important changes.

My cup has already been with me in Barcelona, in Iceland and at two festivals in Poland, and in the middle of January I am taking it on a 3-month trip around Asia, which I will be documenting on Instagram at @kubeczekperfectcup.

PROTIP from Magda #1

If you are going to China for a longer stay, it is worth taking 2 or even 3 menstrual cups with you. On top of that, look for toilets in hotels or shopping centres when you need to change the cup. Otherwise several people may end up watching you empty it, because in some regions the toilets often have no doors.

On Instagram I asked our followers for advice for anyone setting off on their first trip with a menstrual cup. Here is what they said.

“What should you remember when you take a menstrual cup on your first trip?”

@patrycja_bubic writes:

It all depends on the trip. By car? Hitchhiking? By train? 1 hour, 3 hours or 12 hours? I think using a cup day to day and using it while travelling are no different.

It depends on the toilets you end up in. Cramped and grim, or spotless with a sink inside.

I recommend taking a bottle of water with you. For me it works better than wiping with paper or a tissue (I get the feeling the fibres stick to the cup).

@rodzajowo writes:

Here are a few tips:

• it is worth having intimate hygiene wipes with you, or a travel bottle of clean water and tissues in your bag, to wipe the cup when you change it,
• strategic changes! Before and after the flight in your hotel room is easier than during the flight, although on board there is a sink right next to you and you can rinse the cup, so it is still easier than at the airport,
• if this is your first time with a cup, it is better to test it a few days earlier (even without your period) or to deliberately give yourself plenty of time for bathroom breaks,
• I take mine out when I go for a number two, because I am afraid it will shift, and I would not go fishing for it in a public toilet.

@asii_05 writes:

Despite a million worries, I used a cup at the Slot Art Festival. Antibacterial hand gel, bottled mineral water and wet intimate hygiene wipes. I managed, I survived and nothing happened to me.

@podwojnie_polozne write:

We recommend taking a few pairs of gloves for the rare situations where there is no access to water.

@aq_a_ta writes:

I always have antibacterial gel and intimate hygiene wipes with me. I never leave the house without them.

@zawadzka.iza writes:

It is worth having a bottle of water with you. We do not always have access to running water.

@jestemtuprzez_przypadek writes:

Definitely take wet wipes with you (in case there is no sink) and liners as extra protection, especially when you are walking or travelling a lot and rarely get the chance to use a toilet.

The mountains are the only tricky part. Out in the open with more than one layer of trousers on, it takes a fair bit of acrobatics, but with a dose of patience and good support on chat, anything is possible!

words of encouragement from @kasia_grynda, who writes:

I used a cup for the first time during my trip to Thailand and China. The first time I put it in overnight. Completely relaxed. THERE IS NOTHING BETTER.

In the morning it turned out that my underwear and the bed were clean. Nothing hurt. I could not feel the cup. I was so delighted with it that I told all my close Asian friends about it.

The girls had heard about cups but were not sure whether they were hygienic. I know I convinced 3 of them and they have their own cups now!

So, to sum up all these wonderful answers:

1. Take wet wipes with you.
2. Keep a bottle of water with you, or an empty one you can fill at the sink before you go into the cubicle.
3. Stock up on antibacterial gel and/or disposable gloves.
4. Think about changing the cup before the critical moment. Better to empty it early, just in case.
5. Add a liner for extra protection.
6. PROTIP from Magda #2: It is worth carrying a tiny jar, so that if you cannot get to boiling water you can ask for some in a restaurant or a hotel, for example, and quietly disinfect your cup there. You can add a spoonful of salt, which is strongly antibacterial and kills streptococci and other bacteria; bicarbonate of soda works too. Rinse the cup with mineral water, not tap water.

What next: we describe separately how to empty a cup in a public toilet. In cramped conditions the right cup fold helps too.