This new disability-friendly menstrual cup has a pull-tab so it can be removed like a tampon

• Menstrual cups offer an eco-friendly and money-saving alternative to pads and tampons.
• But they're not accessible to all people with periods because insertion and removal require precise coordination.
• The Flex Cup features a pull tab designed to break the cup's suction seal, simplifying cup removal.
• This cup could be a game-changer for people with disabilities that limit joint mobility or cause chronic pain, or for anyone who has trouble removing other menstrual cups.

For first-time users, inserting and removing a menstrual cup can be a messy and confusing process. That learning curve is steeper, sometimes even dangerous, for menstruators with disabilities.

Jane Adamé dislocated a finger, shoulder, and hip trying to change her old menstrual cup before she decided to take a break. She has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder characterized by joint instability.

"I didn't want to send more tampons and pads into the landfill, but I had to prioritize my own body over the planet. That is not a fun choice to make," Adamé wrote for Teen Vogue in 2017.

After taking some time off from menstrual cups, Adamé decided to take matters into her own hands. She enlisted the help of her friend Andy Miller, a medical device inventor, and together they designed a cup they hoped would be easier to remove for users of all ability levels.

The Flex Cup's pull-tab design lets users remove the cup like a tampon

Most menstrual cups are bell-shaped, with bendy silicone walls tapering into a stem. Users must fold the cup before inserting it into the vagina, where it should open up with a slight pop.

When inserted correctly, the cup creates a leak-proof suction seal against the cervix. But that seal complicates removal. Pulling on the stem like a tampon string will give you a painful shock to the cervix, unless you properly break the suction first by pushing in the wall of the cup.

The Flex Cup gets around that by featuring a stem that breaks the cup's seal when pulled. This pull-tab is attached to the rim of the cup and threads through a hole in the bottom, so when you pull it, the rim folds inward and breaks the seal.

The motion of removing the Flex Cup with a single tug requires less coordinated movement than other cups. Changing a menstrual cup can be tricky for users of any ability level, said gynecologist Jane van Dis, MD, who serves as a medical advisor to The Flex Company.

"Unlike brushing your teeth, where you obviously have the visual plus the ability to be at an angle that is more natural, removing and inserting menstrual products are without a visual — you could have a mirror, but it's complicated," van Dis said.

Certain disabilities make changing a menstrual cup extra challenging

When you combine the lack of visual with the contortions of the hand and wrist required to reach inside and break the seal of a menstrual cup, the maneuver becomes even more difficult for anyone with limited mobility.

Catherine Cummings, a Flex Cup user with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and complex regional pain syndrome, said she struggled to remove the Diva Cup before she switched to Flex.

"When I'm on my period, my tremors are much worse," Cummings said. She experiences tremors and limited mobility during CRPS flare-ups. "I shake a lot, so trying to get my finger to break that seal was really difficult."

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects at least 1 in 5,000 individuals worldwide, is not the only condition that may impact how people deal with their period. Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders can flare up at certain points in the menstrual cycle, causing joint pain or soreness around the vagina.

"The fact that I don't have to cramp my hand up all funky to try to maneuver it out, it's really nice," said Natalie Leveque, a Flex Cup user who has multiple chronic illnesses including fibromyalgia.

"But there is still a little bit of a learning curve at the beginning," she said. "You really have to make sure that you pull that tab to break the seal or else it might not break for you."

Inserting the Flex Cup still requires some complicated motion

While the Flex Cup worked for Cummings and Leveque, it may not be a solution for everyone. Other conditions that limit mobility, like arthritis or cerebral palsy, may be so severe that a menstrual cup isn't the best option.

Inserting the cup requires the same folding as any other menstrual cup. There are a variety of folding options, from C-shape to the punchdown (which creates a smaller insertion point), but all of them require some mobility of the hand and fingers.

The Flex Cup features some adaptations for limited mobility. For instance, when Adamé found it difficult to grasp the stem, she and Miller reworked the design to include a loop that users can hook their fingers through for an easier removal.

"There's a difference, I think, when you involve somebody with that primary experience at every step with equal weight in the process," Miller said. "What that process manifests is inclusivity and advocacy."

Read more:

Why your menstrual cycle is messed up during the pandemic, and how to alleviate your symptoms, according to experts

Your period could be more than 90% cheaper if you switch to menstrual cups, new research finds

Yes, you can get pregnant on your period especially if you have an irregular cycle