Nika\u2019s inspiring professional role includes civil protection, volunteer firefighting, and training rescue dogs, so I\u2019ve invited her to talk openly about her essential work and managing her period in times of crisis.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never tried a menstrual cup until a month ago. It reminded me of putting a tampon in for the first time. I bled a little over it, decided it is weird, and swore I shouldn\u2019t do it again too soon. Not many warn you of the uncomfortable feeling of the first use, and how there\u2019ll always be an emotional barrier before finding your own comfortable spot.<\/span><\/p>\n Which is why I\u2019d probably give up the cup if it wasn\u2019t for two reasons. First, I\u2019m locked inside for more than a month and it is easier to test a new period solution within your four walls. And second, I have a childhood friend who is a preacher of menstrual cups and all in all, an impressive personality.<\/span><\/p>\n We all know for which reasons we are locked up inside around the globe, so I do not want to spend a lot of time commenting on a coronavirus situation. <\/span><\/p>\n I hope people respect social distancing rules and that we find a way to stabilize the critical situation. I want to talk to you more about menstrual cups, and my amazing friend, who also does an important job in civil protection during this crisis, all #whilebleeding.<\/span><\/p>\n Hi Nika, can you tell me what you do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Nika<\/strong>: I work in civil protection and also train rescue dogs. I\u2019m a crisis management graduate and also work as a volunteer firefighter. All my work has to do with responding to emergencies. Currently, our job as civil protection is to distribute medical supplies to hospitals when masks and protective gear arrive on airplanes from other countries.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n How did you decide to start using menstrual cups?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika<\/strong>: I have done some research on my own. I was looking for a better solution than tampons and pads. Something that I can count on when I am on the move and away from stores. At the time they were not as easily accessible and it took me some time to even find a way to get one.<\/span><\/p>\n Can you think of an inconvenient situation when you got your period?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika:<\/strong> Once we were in Cyprus,\u00a0 at a training seminar. It was a part of an international community and a platform of EU countries that provide aid in response to emergencies. For example, Croatia asked for tents and other equipment for forming emergency camping grounds after the recent earthquake alongside all the protection gear for the pandemics. As a response, our neighboring countries offered the equipment and in a matter of hours, it was on our way. It\u2019s a platform where countries ask for help and other countries offer what they can. It is like an emergency charity marketplace. Another example where we were directly involved was when Albania asked for dog search & rescue teams after the earthquake where my dog and I went as well.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n But to go back to Cyprus, that was my tipping point. After highly intense training seminars, my flight was unexpectedly delayed for a day and they put me in a hotel. And that\u2019s when I got my period \u2013 in the evening, exhausted, in a foreign country. That\u2019s the time I definitely decided I need to plan more with my period, so I\u2019ve done some research independently and decided to buy a menstrual cup. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Now I\u2019m using menstrual cups for more than five years and I see it as equally essential to have with me as I do with my phone charger. It takes no space at all and unlike tampons and pads that you can run out of it, you just pack it, use it, wash it when you don\u2019t need it anymore, and just pack it up till the next time. Since I started using it while I was a student it was also great to not have to worry about additional expenses you would have when buying on airports or in some foreign country. Or expenses of a period in general.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The thing with working on the field is that travel and exercise mess up my period schedule. It can vary greatly \u2013 come later, when we already return home, come earlier, while I am stuck in a collapsed building or in the middle of a 6-hour walk through the woods \u2013 like crises themselves, I can never know what to expect. That\u2019s why during the days it might come I just put the cup in the morning and remove it in the evening when I can. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Sometimes, on my heavy days, I had to empty it in the bushes using a water bottle to rinse it. It is still way more practical and clean then putting a bloody tampon wrapped in napkins in my pockets or bag until an appropriate time to dispose of it comes. The best thing is to put it in the morning and even if I don\u2019t get the period on the expected day, the cup doesn\u2019t bother me or affect my health.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Is there any new cup that you\u2019re thinking of trying?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika:<\/strong> I\u2019d like to try the INTIMINA Lily Cup. I\u2019ve been using menstrual cups for over five years and I have two of them. The first one was a little too small so it would leak. The second one turned out to be the best investment in my life and it converted me into a menstrual cup preacher. Now I\u2019m thinking of trying Lily Cup B because of the slanted rim feature in its design. I\u2019m happy that you will find some use of this conversation.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n How did you feel during the first days of use?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika:<\/strong> There\u2019s always a strange feeling when trying something new, especially when it comes to your intimate hygiene. Besides the uncomfortable sight of a cup of your blood, there was an initial fear of a leak, is this the right way and what in the world am I doing. In general, I think one easily gets used to all this after the first couple of uses. I was also very surprised to see how little blood there actually is \u2013 with tampons or pads one gets a feeling there\u2019s a lot more fuss to it. At my heaviest days, I could fill one and a half cup maximum (B size).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n How do you change your cup when you\u2019re outdoors?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika<\/strong>: If there\u2019s a consistency to one’s period, it makes it all the easier to plan when it is the best opportunity. If I get my period at e.g. 8 am, and I’m not on a mission, I can know based on my experience how heavy it\u2019ll be and when I\u2019d likely have to empty the cup. I prefer doing all of that at home, but that\u2019s not something I can always do.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re a woman in a male-dominated industry. Do you feel your work <\/b>environment is sensitive enough to your period needs?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika:<\/strong> If I\u2019m well prepared, the fact that I\u2019m a woman on a period usually doesn\u2019t affect me. It is painful at times, but I plan my first aid kit and time slots for painkillers. Since we all share everything when on the missions, it sometimes happens someone runs out of painkillers or other essentials or we just leave them in the tents and cannot access them for hours. Luckily the guys are great pals to female colleagues and other way around. We take care of them in case of headaches and other minor pains and problems because we are more likely to have the medication and they always check on us when going shopping in case of a need for unplanned pharmacy runs.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s certainly a courageous way of dealing with it. Why do you think you had to learn <\/b>about menstrual cups on your own? Do you know anyone else using them?<\/b><\/p>\n Nika:<\/strong> I don\u2019t, and the fact that it\u2019s been one of the best investments in my life has turned me into a menstrual cup preacher. Firstly, at the time I was getting my first cup I think they were just starting to get popular on an international level because there was not much information besides the generic seller info and those few reviews I found were freshly uploaded. I think it\u2019s also part to do with period stigma and the fact that there\u2019s a taboo discussing intimate health. People like to keep it private, so first-hand information is more difficult to obtain.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Secondly, I think many are still quite traditional about periods and not educated enough about possible choices today. Girls are often given pads when they get their first periods. After that, many are left on their own to find alternatives, even tampons, let along cups. Just because someone\u2019s granny said it\u2019s best to wear high-waist panties and a thick gauze doesn\u2019t mean the proven way is still the best way to do something. I\u2019d be happy to hear menstrual cups become more popular. While researching menstrual cups, I\u2019ve read somewhere that lemon halves were used as first menstrual cups.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Thanks for sharing Nika, and for being progressive with your thoughts and choices.<\/b><\/p>\nTHE TIPPING POINT<\/h2>\n
GO WITH THE FLOW<\/h2>\n