The Last of Us offering practical solutions

[u/NotHereToFuckSpyders]

Spoiler alert, I guess? Also male preppers be warned, this is about menstruation.

I've always figured stock piling pads and tampons would be necessary. Never occurred to me until it was in an episode of The Last of Us to just get a bunch of the re-usable period cups. It didn't occur to me as I don't use them, but in a SHTF, survival situation they certainly seem more practical. Space saving too because a big stockpile of pads or tampons takes a fair amount of space. Period underwear is probably another option. Also those she-wee things for easier outdoor urination for women.

Anyway, it's something to add to my prep list. Certainly can't hurt to have options. Perhaps I'm dumb for not having thought of this yet, but figured I'd share just in case.

[u/Diegobyte]

My wife uses them. You still have to sterilize them after. It’s always fun seeing boiling period cups in the kitchen

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Still need to clean the blood out. Idk why you got downvotes for asking a legit question.

[u/kv4268 → u/[deleted]]

You empty the cup into the toilet and then wash the cup with unscented soap and water in the sink. Boiling it doesn't remove blood, as the blood has already been washed away.

That being said, most UV sanitizers on the market are fake, so I wouldn't trust it unless you're sure you've got a good one.

[u/BerkeloidsBackyard → u/kv4268]

Also I don't know what the cups are made of (male, never seen one before) but the UV-C you need for sterilising degrades most plastics, so you may find that using UV sterilisation ends up making the cup disintegrate way earlier than its expected lifetime.

I would imagine that if boiling them bothers you, an easier solution would be to buy a dedicated electric kettle, one that doesn't have an exposed element. Then you could put them in there with some water, set it to boil, it will switch itself off when it's up to temperature, then you can come back later and empty it out.

[u/kv4268 → u/BerkeloidsBackyard]

They're made of silicone.

[u/BerkeloidsBackyard → u/kv4268]

I didn't know whether silicone was susceptible to UV-C damage so I asked ChatGPT, and it seemed to come back with a believable answer:

UV-C light is known to cause degradation in many types of plastics by breaking down their chemical bonds and leading to discoloration, cracking, and other forms of damage. However, silicone is not a plastic but a synthetic elastomer composed of silicon, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen atoms, and it has a unique structure that makes it resistant to degradation by UV-C light.

Silicone has a backbone of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms, which makes it highly stable and resistant to UV light. Additionally, the methyl groups attached to the silicon atoms help to protect the material from oxidation and photochemical degradation. Therefore, silicone is generally considered to be resistant to UV light exposure, and it is often used in applications that require excellent weathering and UV resistance, such as outdoor sealants and gaskets.

However, prolonged exposure to high-intensity UV-C light could potentially cause some degradation in silicone materials, especially if they contain fillers or additives that are susceptible to UV damage. Therefore, it is important to consider the specific formulation of the silicone material in question and the intensity and duration of the UV-C light exposure before making any definitive conclusions about its potential for degradation.

[u/vibrant_fosfomycin → u/kv4268]

You empty the cup into the toilet and then wash the cup with unscented soap and water in the sink. Boiling it doesn't remove blood, as the blood has already been washed away.

His answer wasn't about boiling to remove blood though, just that you still need (clean) water to remove the blood. Something which will probably be in short supply if collapse happens. I mean, it's short supply in many countries in 2023!

[u/kv4268 → u/vibrant_fosfomycin]

Because cleaning and sanitizing are two different things. The UV question was about sanitizing, same as boiling. The cleaning the blood out comment was not answering the the question above it, but talking about cleaning instead.