Fresh Moon Sea Sponges

Safety Notes:
Before using any internal device, it is recommended that you: (1) Have a yearly pap smear and internal exam by your health care provider. (2) Speak with your health care provider when dealing with any vaginal infections, diseases or discharges before using your sponge. (3) Know the symptoms of TSS, which include vomiting, diarrhea and fever. Particularly during or immediately following your period.  If you have any of these symptoms, remove your sponge and contact your healthcare provider immediately.

TSS (toxic shock syndrome) is caused by bacterium s. aureus in the blood stream. The close link between tampons and TSS are believed to be due to the tiny lacerations tampons cause to the vaginal wall during insertion as well as the wounds from the vaginal tissue being excessively dried out by tampons.  Sea sponges are soft and do not dry out the vaginal walls.

Our sponges are thoroughly cleaned, inspected and sanitized prior to being packaged.  Like tampons, they are not sterile, so you should clean them prior to using them.  These are real sea sponges, so occassionally they may contain coral fragments or other debris.  Please inspect them prior to using as it is possible we missed something. 

To use: Wash hands thoroughly before handling your sponge.  Wet your sponge and squeeze excess water out. Squash the sponge between your fingers and insert it into your vagina, pushing it in until it feels comfortable and securely in place. Every 3-4 hours, remove your sponge by gently pinching a large portion and gently pulling out (bearing down lightly might help push the tampon down for easier retrieval). Rinse thoroughly, squeeze out excess water and reinsert.

To clean: Do not boil! This will toughen and deteriorate them! Natural cleansing methods and ingredients do a better job and do not upset your pH balance like detergents.  Our recommendations are to soak in any of these solutions for 15 minutes or more:

1. 1 tsp. colloidal silver mixed in 1 cup of warm water.  (Our favorite as bacteria and viruses cannot survive more than 6 minutes with exposure to colloidal silver.)

2. 1 Tbsp. baking soda mixed in 1 cup of warm water.

3. 2 Tbsp. hydrogen peroxide mixed in 1 cup of warm water.  (Great for removing blood stains from the sponges too!)

4. 2 drops of tea tree oil mixed in 1 cup of warm water.

5. 1 tsp. of sea salt mixed in 1 cup of warm water.

Another wonderful sanitizer and bleacher is sunlight. Make sure you clean and dry your sponges at the end of your cycle and store them in your bag when not in use.

Tips!
1. In public restrooms, a sink isn’t always handy, many women use a plastic baggy to place their used sponge in and insert a new clean one.  Then they wash the dirty one when they come out of the stall or when they return home.

2. Sea sponges may leak during heavier flows. You can use two sponges during the heaviest cycles, many women prefer the security of our Simple Liners as a back up.

3. Safe to use all night.

4. If you struggle to remove your sponges, you may sew a piece of dental floss or cotton string to your sponge.  Pull gently as it can tear!

5. Sea Sponges can easily be cut down to size if they are to big.  Be careful not to over cut them!