Reusable Period Products: Four Change-Count Checks

“Three changes a day” needs a product name beside it. Emptying a cup, changing underwear and replacing a tampon describe different events. If you switch products, keep that change visible in the record you bring to a bleeding consultation.

Check what was randomized

The 2025 study¹ enrolled 20 people reporting heavy bleeding over two cycles. Everyone used disposable products first; only the second-cycle assignment to cup or underwear was randomized. It did not randomize the order of disposable versus reusable use.¹

Read the change counts

Mean changes per heaviest day were 5.5 with disposables overall, 3.3 with cups and 3.5 with underwear. These are product-use counts, not proof that bleeding decreased.¹

Check collection limits

The study used one 30 mL cup and one underwear style/absorbency. Backup products and leaked fluid were not weighed, and first-cycle leaks were not recorded. It cannot establish a comparative leakage rate or validate every product. HRSA funded the research; no competing interests were declared.¹

Describe what happened outside the product

The NHS² lists bleeding onto clothes or bedding, needing two product types together and avoiding activities among signs of heavy periods. It also includes bleeding beyond seven days, clots larger than about 2.5 cm, and frequent tiredness or breathlessness.²

A lower change count does not cancel those observations. For example, “I emptied the cup three times” leaves out whether it overflowed between emptyings or required underwear as backup. Write both parts rather than converting the count into an estimated number of tampons.

For your next entry, include:

• The product: cup size or capacity, underwear style and absorbency, or pad/tampon type.
• Each change or emptying: approximate time and how full or saturated it appeared.
• The reason: fullness, a leak, discomfort or a scheduled change.
• Backup and disruption: another product worn alongside it, stained clothing, night waking or an activity you left.

These are observations to discuss, not a home blood-volume test. You do not need to collect or weigh used products to ask for help. Our heavy-period appointment guide covers the wider history to bring.

Do not postpone the visit for a perfect diary

The NHS² advises a consultation when heavy periods affect daily life, persist, involve severe pain, or occur with bleeding between periods or after sex. Mention tiredness or breathlessness too.²

“Your Period Scorecard” in Period, Handled records product type and size, cup/disc fullness, the shortest interval between changes, doubling up and leaks. Its underwear notes distinguish wearing a pair alone from using it as backup. Keep your original product description beside any later switch so the clinician can interpret the counts.