Short Communication
Alfred A Shihata
Abstract
Globally 1.9 billion women are of menstruating age. Menstrual cups are gaining more popularity among women, who prefer cups over pads and tampons. [1]. The innovative FemmyCycle (Figure 1) has several advantages over traditional menstrual cups. (Figure 2) Objective: To mitigate and correct the side effects caused by traditional menstrual cups. The most common side effect among traditional cups is leakage. Methodology: We focused our study on all causes of leakage and other side effects caused by traditional menstrual cups. Methods of corrective and preventive actions included; the no-spill design, the use of a removal ring instead of a rigid stem, the use of a flask shaped body rather than the conical shape of traditional menstrual cups (Figure 2), and the elimination of suction holes as well as the need to manually open the cup. (Figure 3 & 4) We analyzed 834 independent reviews by women who have had prior experience with traditional menstrual cups to obtain objective results. Findings: The implementation of these design changes and enhancements of the written and digital instructions produced measurable, positive results in favor of the FemmyCycle. We analyzed all the reviews for FemmyCycle to measure the prevention of leakage and other side effects. We selected the reviewers who volunteered to compare the FemmyCycle with their experience using traditional cone shaped cups. There were many reasons why women preferred FemmyCycle, but the most common by far was the prevention of leakage followed by the ease of insertion, ease of removal and comfort when inserted. Conclusion: The implementation of the design changes from a conical shaped cup with a removal stem to a flask shape cup with a removal ring, in addition to the added no-spill feature and enhanced instructional material, improved the acceptability of the FemmyCycle.