question for keeper users

[Reha]

I tried using the search function to find this answer, but couldn't, so sorry if I am repeating here....

I have a keeper that i love, and have been using for a little over a year. So I got a few questions for ya':

Once you period is over, do you use anything more than hot water and soap to clean it before storage? Do you ever boil it? I have been thinking about boiling it to help clean it and just wondered what you thought (also considering that it is rubber)

I don't really know how long it has been going on, as I only recently made the connection, but I have noticed that my introitus starts getting sore and red during the last few days of my period. At first, I thought maybe it was tiny abrasions caused by the 3-4 days of removing and inserting the keeper...but when I took a look down there, it looked red and irritated, but no abrasions that I could see. So, now I am wondering.....could this be a sign of a latex sensitivity? The other thing I thought maybe it was that I needed to trim the tail of the keeper, so that it isn't so long (although I feel like it isn't too long, as when I have it in, I don't feel it at all).

Sorry if this is TMI. Just wondering what others think. I am considering getting a Diva cup to replace my keeper as I am worried about the latex issue if that is what it is.

[WantRice]

I don't have a Keeper but I don't think you're supposed to boil them. This is one of the reasons I got a Diva Cup instead.

[Reha]

Originally Posted by jseens

I don't have a Keeper but I don't think you're supposed to boil them. This is one of the reasons I got a Diva Cup instead.

thanks, this is what I suspected.

[makawee]

i never boil mine. i think that leads to a shorter life.

thanks for teaching me a new word!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I'm another Diva girl. But I understand that rubbing alcohol can be used to clean a keeper just like other letex items.

Could yours be harboring an infection that you keep giving yourself each month?

[Alcyone]

I've been using mine for about 9 years and I've never boiled it.

[Reha]

i will give alcohol a try, I don't know why that didn't occur to me.

Thanks!

If it doesn't seem to help, I think I may have to give the Diva a try.

[WantRice]

Also, I don't know if you can do this with the Keeper but with my Diva cup I often clean it by letting it sit in a solution of water and hydrogen peroxide for a few days. Gets it nice and clean. I can't use soap and water as it'll give me a yeast infection every time.

[*LoveBugMama*]

I have a Keeper, and clean it by letting it soak in water and vinegar for an hour after washing it with soap.

[stacynguyen53]

I usually just use soap and water, then soak in diluted peroxide when it starts looking brown, brightens it right up.

Say, since I had my baby a year ago, my Keeper doesn't fit quite the same. Now the tail seems to poke and scrape me now inside, which can be irritating to painful. I know birth can change things (I tore and had stitches-- could be scar tissue?), but has anyone else had this problem? If the tail were any shorter, I couldn't pull it out, but it's not really that long. The cup size is still fine, I started with the larger one to begin with.