Ureterohydronephrosis due to a menstrual cup

https://casereports.bmj.com/content/18/2/e262035?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8JmhnNfh_25_Y0E49-FLLSraecJuxYGpuhKM0vfY2HwtXNFJktCuxuV8Z2grWJjBh8BLZ0BThibwbfqf_1x9yurzR5Sw&_hsmi=346693483&utm_content=346693483&utm_source=hs_email What we don’t know about reproductive health can hurt us A woman in her early 30s showed up to the clinic because for six months, she noticed blood in her urine and suffered on-and-off pain in her side and lower abdomen. She had an IUD, and once or twice a month on the heaviest days of her period, she used a silicone menstrual cup. According to a paper, published yesterday in BMJ Case Report, a CT scan showed that her menstrual cup was positioned too far to the right side of the vagina, putting pressure on the tube that connects the kidney into the bladder. Basically, that tube was blocked, so urine couldn’t fully vacate the bladder. Symptoms ensued. The blood and pain went away after the patient stopped using the menstrual cup. Existing research shows no higher risk of complications with cups than other period products, and only a few other cases like this have been documented at all. Still, when it comes to reproductive health, clinicians and researchers are often underinformed on side effects and symptoms. The case report authors write that as more people use menstrual cups, there’s a need “for more knowledge on complication rates to enlighten both users and clinicians.” Another study published yesterday, this time in JAMA, similarly addressed the gap in understanding reproductive health. Researchers analyzing health data from more than a million women on birth control in Denmark found that while risk of blood clots is higher while on the combination pill, there’s no added risk when using an IUD as compared to no birth control. (They weren’t able to confidently assess the risk of the patch or implant due to limited data.) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2830130?guestAccessKey=41774d00-db7d-4abd-9029-9927cc186a45&utm_term=021025&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9x9L6X6oOCQl-WR2BYmojroR-FEXF2KmjMsuEmO85t8R4NMU6QpkFcLD2w_9KGc49xqW2EanaOinefSQXFm7I8VNVLtQ&_hsmi=346693483&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=For_The_Media