sponge

Feb. 29th, 2012 04:29 pm
[identity profile] ashtraywasp.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] vaginapagina
I have a somewhat funny q. I am planing to try the contraceptive sponge, and I was curious if cervix size of a woman varies by size, haha. Would it have any difference fitting something like the Today Sponge into the cervix of someone who is size 00 juniors in pelvis size? I also fit into children's medium size shorts and am super petite. Is my cervix still the same more or less? Also, another question about the sponge - if I had no symptoms of TSS while wearing tampons for years, does that signal that I am less likely to experience it with the sponge or are those two wholly different things in nature? thanks...

Date: 2012-02-29 09:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kimie-catclaw.livejournal.com
While cervices do come in different sizes/heights within the vaginal canal, it doesn't correspond with external dimensions. That question comes up a lot regarding menstrual cups: just being very thin has no real bearing on needing a small cup, for example.

Date: 2012-02-29 09:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dkwgdk.livejournal.com
Ditto this -- when I tried to use my "but I'm tall and fat!" assessment to convince my gyno that I could use an IUD, she told me my overall body size had nothing to do with the size of my uterus.

Date: 2012-03-01 03:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] knittinggoddess.livejournal.com
I have anecdata for that: I wear a size 2 in pants, have tiny child hands, and my gynos usually use the smaller of the speculums (though I doubt they use a child's size). And my uterus is a full 7 cm! I even used a Diva Cup comfortably for years (pre-PIV, too), even though that's one of the biggest menstrual cup styles. Granted, it was the smaller of the two because I wasn't over 30 yet, but it's still long and wide.

Parity has a bigger impact on the size of menstrual cup and diaphragm than body size. I assume the same would be said for contraceptive sponges.

Date: 2012-02-29 09:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nickelshoe.livejournal.com
Regarding TSS--toxic shock syndrome is not caused by tampons. It's caused by a bacterial infection. Tampons and sponges left in your vagina can irritate your vaginal tissues and provide a place for the bacteria to hang out. So you still need to follow the instructions for how long to leave them in and so on, but if you aren't exposed to the bacteria, then you can't get sick.

Date: 2012-02-29 09:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] svexsal.livejournal.com
I have a somewhat funny q. I am planing to try the contraceptive sponge, and I was curious if cervix size of a woman varies by size, haha.
Yes, cervices can vary in size from woman to woman but as others have said, it has more to do with previous child-birthing experience and nothing to do with your waist size.
Good luck!

Date: 2012-02-29 09:57 pm (UTC)
archangelbeth: An egyptian-inspired eye, centered between feathered wings. (Eye in the Pyrawings)
From: [personal profile] archangelbeth
The sponge isn't placed into the cervix. It's not even likely to actually stay over the cervix during PIV sex. (It usually winds up hanging out behind the cervix when I go to remove it.) It's mostly a sponge to absorb semen, full of spermicide to kill them. The thing is, the larger the cervical opening -- which is common with people who've had a baby go through the cervix, though not universal, and some never-pregnant people have larger cervical openings -- the easier it is for sperm to get through that opening before the spermicide kills them or the sponge traps them.

Personally, the sponge is fun -- but expensive for a single act of sex in 24 hours (which is about all we tend to manage due to The Exhaustions And Interruptions Of Having A Kid), and I pair it with crude calendar method or crude FAM these days because I'm not quite comfortable with its failure rate.

Date: 2012-02-29 11:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kuradi8.livejournal.com
"...fitting something like the Today Sponge into the cervix of..."

The Sponge does not go INto or ONto your cervix at all. It just kinda hangs out in your vaginal canal like a tampon. Instead of absorbing menstrual blood, it both absorbs sperm and imparts spermicide. Google its effective rate. It's not very high.

TSS is a RARE and rather severe infection involving either staph or strep bacteria. Back in the 1980s there was an "outbreak" linked to a certain brand of tampons (which are long gone now.) Nowadays the chance of getting it is 1 in 100,000 -- and that includes those who get it from nasal surgery.

Date: 2012-03-01 12:54 am (UTC)
archangelbeth: An egyptian-inspired eye, centered between feathered wings. (Eye in the Pyrawings)
From: [personal profile] archangelbeth
It's "supposed to" cup the cervix's entrance, but lemme tell ya, it ain't gonna stay there unless someone has a tipped uterus so that the cervix is really at the top of the vagina, with the penetrative penis pushing the sponge upon it. As noted, mine always wind up behind my cervix. (Which can make it tricky to get the little blighters out again -- most notably if there's anything "on the runway" next door. You've perhaps seen my story about "zen pooping," once required to get the sponge out without dropping it into the toilet?)

Date: 2012-03-01 01:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kuradi8.livejournal.com
Yeah, as archangelbeth said, it might start out there but it won't stay there. It will get poked and pushed around. Who knows where it will wind up? Most likely in a deep nook or cranny like behind your cervix.

You're best combining sponge use with a secondary method as back-up -- such as withdrawal -- especially if you're at the most fertile point of your cycle.

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