Okay. Not just today. This started last week when I had my period. No big deal… I use a menstrual cup. I’d been using it for about a week, taking it out, rinsing, putting it back in like usual.
Except… I had run out of hand soap. So I refilled the bathroom soap dispenser with diluted dish soap. I didn’t think twice. Every time I washed my cup, I used that soap. Multiple times a day. Put it back in. Rinse and repeat.
Period ends. But then comes this weird pain. At first I thought maybe the cup was misaligned when I had gone hiking. Maybe it wasn’t positioned right and irritated my skin?
Then, I started getting bright red blood… not period blood, more like a cut. Also started shedding inner tissue (for many days). It burns when I walk, when I sit, when I wear underwear. It’s been four days of hell… so I finally checked the dish soap ingredients.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Dodecylbenzene Sulfonic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide (basically Lye)…
I had been pumping industrial-strength degreaser directly into my vagina for over a week.
Kill me.
TLDR – Ran out of hand soap, used dish soap instead. Washed my menstrual cup with it daily. Turns out it had acid, lye, and degreasing agents. Gave myself a chemical burn in my vagina. Still recovering.
Comments
Ouch. Sorry you are going through that. I can’t imagine.
Oh my goodness!!! I hope you are feeling better that sounds terrible 😭
Did you… Not rinse it off after? It’s made as dish soap that you would put your hands in for extended periods of time, it’s not “basically lye.” This makes no sense to me.
Make sure you’re rinsing your soap off your cup better in general. I also hope you feel better soon. Ouch
Yikes. Dish soap contains some pretty nasty shit. Glad you figured it out before it was worse.
oooooh girl I am so sorry! I hope it heals quickly
Don’t even have the same equipment and clenched my legs in horror, this must be TERRIBLE I’m so sorry
Please go to the doctor, if you haven’t. I ache at this story
My anatomy is significantly different from yours; however, I do have secondhand knowledge of chemical burns on intimate areas.
One of the guys on my high school basketball team was not well liked. One day before a game, our equipment manager somehow got his jockstrap and coated it with a muscle pain relieving ointment. This particular ointment was known for its long lasting effect.
Less than two minutes after the guy put on his jockstrap, he was screaming in pain and running for the shower. It took two days before he stopped crying about the pain and two or three more before it was finally gone.
You have my sympathy and my best wishes.
My vagina is screaming.
Now is the time to buy Summer’s Eve in bulk… 😅