Abstract :
Background: There has been an increased awareness among girls and women in India, especially from middle and higher income group on menstrual cup, due to health or environmental reasons. Use of various sanitary products during menstruation can impact menstrual health with incidence of urogenital infection like rashes, irritation etc. being common among women.
Objective: To determine prevalence of symptoms related to urogenital infections before and after switching to menstrual cups.
Materials and Methods: In this retrospective self-reported study, females using menstrual cup were administered a questionnaire consisting of questions related to symptoms of urogenital infections in their lifetime.
Results: A total of 301 menstrual cup users were included in this study. The most common symptom reported by the respondents included rashes (48%), itching (48%), abdominal pain (40%.), foul smelling white discharge (22%), excessive white discharge (20.6%) and burning sensation while passing urine (15%). The prevalence of the symptoms was lower after switching to menstrual cups. Among the most common symptoms, 92% women were relieved from rashes, 79% from symptoms of itching and 42% from abdominal pain. Approximately, 1-5% women reported symptoms only after switching to menstrual cups.
Conclusion: The results demonstrate lower prevalence of symptoms of urogenital infections among women when compared to their previously used menstrual product. Symptoms of urogenital infections did not affect the acceptance and continuance of menstrual cups usage. Additional clinical studies will be required to compare changes in occurrence of symptoms post switching to menstrual cups and develop linkage between these symptoms with usage of menstrual cup.
Keyword :
Menstrual cup, Learning curve, Urogenital infection, Symptoms.