Menstrual cups, explained gently

In a 2025 review of studies among university students, between 67.4% and 74.4% had received no health education about the menstrual cup. Their worries were practical, and “were less significant in those with experience of using the cup”. Hesitation is not a failing. It is a gap in what anyone was told.

What it is

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes a menstrual cup as “a small, flexible cup inserted into the vagina to collect menstrual fluid.” Canada’s SOGC describes “a cup-shaped, flexible silicone or rubber apparatus”. It adds: “The cup has a stem on the bottom for removal.”

A cup is not a disc, though the FDA’s page says “A menstrual cup, also known as a menstrual disc.” In Canada, discs hold their own Class 2 licences. A disc sits higher and is held differently.

How it’s used

Steps for putting a cup in are in each cup’s own instructions; the sources here set no single method. The FDA says: “Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for using the cup.” It adds: “It can take practice to insert and remove menstrual cups.”

For taking it out, one Canadian maker’s instructions say: “gently pull on the stem until you can feel the base of the cup. Pinch the base of the cup. This will break the seal. Gently move the cup from side to side and pull down.” The same guide says: “Do not aggressively pull on the stem to remove the cup.”

How long a cup stays in depends on who you ask:

• FDA: remove and empty “typically every 8 to 12 hours”; cups “may be left in place for up to 12 hours”
• SOGC and SickKids: “every 8-12 hours”

The FDA says a cup is “not intended to be used for any non-period vaginal drainage, flow, or bleeding”, such as from an infection, or after pregnancy or childbirth. One maker says to remove it before sex, and that it “is not a contraceptive device”.

What it’s made of

The FDA says cups are “generally made from silicone or rubber.”

For anyone sensitive to latex, the FDA says: “select a cup made from silicone.”

Boxes sometimes say “medical-grade” or “BPA-free”. Those are the maker’s words, not facts this Column repeats.

Some cups are single-use (see the card below). What they are made of is not described in the sources we checked.

Care or disposal

• FDA, at the end of each cycle: clean cups “typically by washing with soap and water and placing them in boiling water for one to two minutes.”
• Department of National Defence guide: cups “should be rinsed out between uses and need sterilizing between periods.”
• One maker, before use: “Boil your cup for 5-10 minutes”. Wash “with warm water and a mild, unscented oil-free soap”. Avoid “vinegar, tea tree oil, castile soap, anti-bacterial soap, hand sanitizers, hydrogen peroxide”. Keep “the tiny holes under the rim” clean.

The sources give boiling at different times and for different lengths. Your cup’s own instructions apply.

The same maker says to replace its cup “annually”, and “Do not flush”. This Column states no lifespan of its own.

What the label tells you (in Canada)

Here is what Canadian rules say about menstrual cups, in the rule-makers’ own words.

Health Canada’s device index lists “CUP, MENSTRUAL” as Class 2. The Medical Devices Regulations say: “no person shall import or sell a Class II, III or IV medical device unless the manufacturer of the device holds a licence in respect of that device…”. So a cup must be licensed by Health Canada, and the licence is the manufacturer’s.

A licence means the manufacturer may import or sell that device in Canada. It is not a recommendation, and it does not rank one cup against another. Licences can end; MDALL, Health Canada’s public listing, has active and archived searches. How to search it: see “Who regulates period products in Canada, and elsewhere”.

Health Canada’s labelling guidance has an appendix with a required warning for tampons. It has no appendix for cups; the Regulations’ general labelling rules apply. For how capacity is labelled, see the Column on “Super”.

Common questions

Troubleshooting

It won’t come out. One maker’s guide says: “NEVER use a foreign object, such as tweezers”. If you cannot remove a cup, contact a healthcare provider.

Something feels wrong. The FDA says: “If you experience itching, rash, pain, swelling, or discomfort while using a menstrual cup, stop using the cup and contact your healthcare provider.” One maker says to stop using a cup at once for “a sticky or powdery film”, “a foul odor”, if it “falls in the toilet”, or after use during “a yeast or bacterial infection”. It also says to stop and consult if back pain near the kidneys starts while wearing the cup and stops once it is out. This is where the Editor stops and a healthcare provider begins.

Away from home. Students named changing a cup away from home as a worry. Public washrooms are not described in the Canadian sources we checked; the cup’s instructions cover cleaning between uses.

What this is not

This Column explained a type of product, not a product. It named no brand and no size. It did not compare cups with other formats, and it did not tell you to switch. If you use a cup, the instructions in its box come before anything written here.