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Inexpensive and reusable menstrual cups are safe and as improbable as disposable pads or tampons, at the first major scientific review of the devices, released Wednesday.
Some 70% of women who have tried menstrual cups said they would like to continue using them, researchers have reported in The Lancet Public Health, a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Health protection remains unavailable and unaffordable for many women around the world, noted the authors.
This means that monthly bleeding prevents many girls and women from going to school or work and exposes them to a risk of urinary tract infection if they use substandard products or drugs. makeup substitutes.
In some cultures, girls or women unable to conceal bleeding can cope with hostility or even violence.
In other words, a safe, affordable and sustainable alternative to tampons and tampons has the potential to change the lives of millions of people.
"Despite the fact that 1.9 billion women worldwide have their menses – an average of 65 days a year to manage menstrual blood flow – there are few quality studies comparing hygiene products" said Penelope Phillips-Howard, professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The new research – a review of 43 previous studies collecting data on 3,300 women – is the first to evaluate menstrual cups, which remain poorly known.
Made from silicone, rubber or medical-grade latex, cups collect blood rather than absorb it, as do towels and tampons.
They are inserted into the bad and emptied every four to twelve hours.
There are two types: a so-called badl cup usually bell-shaped and a cervical cup placed around the neck of the uterus high in the bad, in the manner of a diaphragm for contraception.
In four of the studies reviewed, tumblers were as effective or better at collecting blood than sanitary napkins or tampons.
The research showed no increased risk of infection.
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However, five cases of toxic shock syndrome (SST) have been reported, a life-threatening condition caused by a bacterium entering the body through foreign bodies.
As the total number of users of the menstrual cup is not known, the researchers could not determine how it was compared to tampons, known to increase the risk of TSS.
Finally, the study calculated that a cup costing less than 1 USD (1.40 USD) in some countries would cost 5 to 7% more expensive than 12 towels or tampons.
But the cup is reusable and can last up to ten years, making it cheaper in the long run than disposable alternatives.
In some places, however, goblets can be expensive, up to 40 US $ each.
"For consumers who buy menstrual products, the results point out that cups are a safe and cost-effective option," said Julie Hennegan of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in a commentary, also published in the Lancet Public Health.
Yet even in rich countries, only one-fifth of women on average were aware of new devices, according to three studies.
Nearly 200 brands are available in 99 countries, but cups have only been mentioned in a third of websites offering information and tips on puberty in 27 countries.
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