Pooping Your Menstrual Cup Out? | Best Practices

If you’re pooping your menstrual cup out or if your cup is pushed lower during your bowel movements this post is for you. Everybody poops, and especially on your period! Period poops are a real thing. Many of us experience bowel movements with a menstrual cup in more than just one time a day. This can be annoying.

Pooping With Menstrual Cups | Can It Be Done?

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Yes, you can poop with your menstrual cup inside you. The cup is worn in the vaginal canal and won’t block your bowel movements. However, the challenge is that when you go to the bathroom the act of pushing can also push your menstrual cup to a lower station in your vaginal canal. For some, it could even push it out of the body and into the toilet! This happens because your pelvic floor muscles are interconnected and pushing to poop also tightens the vaginal muscles.

Firmer menstrual cups may be less affected and can often stay in place better than softer cups. Menstrual discs are also less affected because they stay in place by tucking against the pubic bone – but toilet visits can trigger them to auto-dump.

Since pooping is a fact of life there are a few ways you can address your menstrual cup to either preemptively address the issue, or fix it after the fact.

Tips For Pooping With a Menstrual Cup In

1. Don’t forcibly push! This is a best practice for every day, not just with a cup in. Allow your body to do the hard work. A healthy BM should practically leave your body with no assistance. Straining to push your poop out will be more likely to move your cup down/out as well. A squatty potty can help you have better poops with less strain.
2. Remove the cup before going for a poo. If your cup likes to move down a lot when pooping just go ahead and remove it first. When finished, rinse or wash and put it back in.
3. Push the cup back up if it’s been pushed down during your bathroom visit. In most cases, you won’t have to remove it entirely and put it back. Just push it upwards with a clean finger.
4. Use a single finger to hold the cup in place while pooping to prevent it from being pushed out or lower.
5. Annoyed by always having to deal with a cup for bathroom visits? Check out a firmer cup less likely to move down, the Tampax Cup (designed not to go back into place!) Or, switch to a reusable menstrual disc (less affected by muscles but can auto dump on the toilet)

What If I Drop My Menstrual Cup In The Toilet?

If you do push your cup completely out and it falls into the toilet don’t throw it away. Retrieve it using toilet paper, wipe it up, wrap in more toilet paper and boil it well for 8-10 minutes. Consider having a period emergency kit with you in your bag or car; you never know when a menstrual cup disaster can strike!