Before you start, you will want to gently wash your menstrual cup with warm water and a mild unscented soap. Sterilize iCare before the first insertion by boiling it in a pot of water for 3 to 5 minutes. At first it may seem awkward to insert or remove iCare, this is normal, most women go through the same experience.
When using it for the first time choose a lighter flow day. The first few times you may want to wear a pad or pantyliner to protect you against leakage until you feel at ease inserting iCare. To be on the safe side you should practice inserting/removing the iCare menstrual cup while not being menstruated.
Wash your hands with soap and rinse the menstrual cup with water to clean it. The first time you use the mesntrual cup, you should boil it. Never use soap on a menstrual cup, it could cause yeast infections among other problems.
Many women find that folding the cup to a C shape makes the iCare menstrual cup insertion easier, but every womanâs anatomy is unique, so you may find another fold more comfortable, see the U fold shown below.
Get into a comfortable position, the same position you sit or stand in to insert a tampon. As with tampons, gently insert the folded menstrual cup into your vagina, tilting back to the base of your spine. The menstrual cup should sit as low as it will comfortably sit inside your vagina, lower than a tampon.
Make sure that the menstrual cup is fully open. You may have heard or felt a "pop". This is a sign that the menstrual cup has opened. If the menstrual cup did not open, you can open the cup manually by rotating the menstrual cup in a full circle, the menstrual cup should rotate easily when properly open.
Wait up to 12 hours. If you have a heavy flow, you will have to empty the cup more often, because this is the maximum recommended time. For your first time with a menstrual cup, you will have to experiment to find out how much time you can leave your menstrual cup in before leaking.
When properly positioned the iCare menstrual cup is placed in such a way that no leaking should occur and you should not feel it. With a few uses you will get to know how often you need to change the iCare menstrual cup on heavy flow and light flow days. Although it may take some time to get used to it, a menstruation cup is the best and healthier alternative to tampons.