Menstrual cups, made of rubber, silicone, or similar materials, are small vessels inserted into the vagina or cervix to catch period blood. They're a reuseable alternative to disposable products like pads and tampons.

A new analysis of menstrual cup use among more than 3,000 people found these devices are not only safe to use, but are cheaper over time and may be better at preventing leaks.

70% of study participants who tried menstrual cups said they wanted to continue using them.

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If you're a person who has periods, you may want to consider ditching tampons and pads. New research suggests a menstrual cup might be cheaper, more effective, and even safer.

The study, published July 16 in The Lancet Public Health, analyzed 40 previous studies of menstrual cup use among 3,319 participants, and found that they are safe, effective at preventing leaks, and cheaper than other menstrual products because they can be reused. The fact that they're reuseable also makes them better for the enviroment.

What's more, a majority of people who tried them wanted to keep using them, even in the face of challenges such as lack of privacy or clean water. Only a small minority of people reported any problems.

Menstrual cups work just as well as pads and tampons, and they may better for your body

Three out of four studies that compared menstrual cups with pads and tampons found they were just as effective at preventing leaks, noted the study's researchers, who were from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University College London, and other health institutions. The fourth study concluded menstrual cups were actually better at staunching your flow.

Read more: A filmmaker called for 'menstrual equality' in her Oscars acceptance speech. Here's what that means.

Out of the thousands of users in the analysis, only a few reported pain or injuries related to using a menstrual cup. For instance, some people had difficulty removing their menstrual cup, but those cases were rare, affecting less than 2% of users.

Significantly, menstrual cups weren't linked to any increased risks. In fact, some studies suggested menstrual cups could be less likely to cause bacterial infections like toxic shock syndrome, often associated with tampon use. However, because researchers don't know the overall number of menstrual cup users, they couldn't accurately compare the risk with that of tampons.

Menstrual cups save money, which can especially important for low-income communities and developing countries

The study found that over time, using a menstrual cup costs just a fraction of the amount people spend on more popular menstrual products. Specifically, the cups were found to be, on average, just 5% of the cost of pads and 7% of the cost of tampons, according to the research.

That's because menstrual cups can be worn for up to 12 hours at a time, depending on flow heaviness. They can also be reused after emptying them, and are easily sanitized in boiling water. Some cups last up to 10 years.

For people in poverty, those sorts of cost savings could be life-changing. Researchers found several studies that suggested menstrual cups may have eliminated the need for transactional sex to pay for pads and, as a result, reduced rates of STIs.

Eliminating plastic waste from pads and tampons is good for the environment, too

In addition to saving money, using a menstrual cup can help keep disposable tampons and pads out of landfills, reducing 90% or more of plastic waste from period products. However, more comparitive studies are needed to completely understand how products stack up when it comes to the enviroment, the researchers noted.

Switching to a menstrual cup may involve a learning curve

Researchers did note that some people found using a menstrual cup to be intimidating or uncomfortable at first. But educational and peer support resources are key in making people more comfortable both talking about and using menstrual cups successfully.

If you're planning on trying it for yourself, find the right product (some are made for different ages or people who have given birth), and plan to take some time in a comfortable, private space to get used to it.

And talk to friends who have used menstrual cups — the study analysis found peer support was a major factor in helping people get comfortable.

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