Women will receive free supplies for menstruation 0:42
(CNN) --
Menstruation is a fact of life, but have you ever wondered how you'd deal with it in an apocalypse?
Luckily, HBO's hit series "The Last of Us" has the answer: with a menstrual cup.
In the last episode called "Kin", Pedro Pascal's character, Joel, reunites with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and with the teenager Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey.
Joel and Ellie spend some time with Tommy and his partner Maria (Rutina Wesley), who provide the vital supplies for any girl running from zombies: clothes and a menstrual cup (HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. discovery).
In the sixth episode of "The Last of Us", Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is given a menstrual cup.
Credit: HBO
But what is a menstrual cup?
Like a tampon, the menstrual cup is inserted into the vagina during menstruation.
But instead of absorbing the blood, the medical grade silicone cup collects it.
The cup forms a seal around the cervix to prevent leakage, Gareth Nye, Senior Lecturer in Physiology and Maternal Health Specialist at Chester Medical School, England, told CNN on Monday.
The menstrual cup has a finish below that makes it easy to insert and remove.
When it is full, it can be emptied directly into the toilet.
The cup is then rinsed before reinserting.
It should be thoroughly cleaned between menses.
A menstrual cup can last up to 12 hours before needing to be emptied (depending on how heavy your menstrual flow is and the type of cup) and can last up to 10 years.
According to Nye, this makes it the best option from both an environmental and economic point of view.
A menstrual cup can last up to 12 hours before needing to be emptied.
Credit: Adobe Stock
Why don't more people use them?
Menstrual cups are not a new invention;
in fact, they have been around since the 1930s.
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But a 2019 analysis published in the medical journal The Lancet Public Health found that only 30% of 69 observed international websites offering puberty materials mentioned puberty as an option.
"It's a lack of education," said Dr Shirin Lakhani, a former general practitioner, now an aesthetic physician and specialist in women's sexual health based in Kent, south-east England.
Speaking to CNN on Monday, Lakhani said we belong to a "throwaway society" where if something like a sanitary product is reusable, it's not considered hygienic.
"I think more education is needed in schools" about their benefits and how to use them, he added.
Nye acknowledged that there are some drawbacks to wearing a cup, including the "steep" learning curve in finding the "right fit," the potential mess, and blood squeamishness.
But there is also still a "taboo" that makes it difficult to talk about alternative products.
"When you talk about women's health, there's all the stigma attached to it — you're taught to be ashamed," Lakhani explains.
The casual reference to menstruation in a popular series like "The Last of Us" is a step toward breaking this "taboo" of talking about the monthly cycle experienced by 1.8 billion women, more than a fifth of the world's population.
Lakhani, who remembers tucking a tampon or pad up her sleeve in high school so it wouldn't be noticed, says "raising awareness opens the conversation" about menstruation and the alternative sanitary products available.
It can also help people, like single parents, who need to know how to help their daughters when they start their periods, she added.
Are they safe?
According to the 2019 analysis, menstrual cups are safe and effective, as well as offering a lower cost and resource saving solution.
Penelope Phillips-Howard, Professor of Public Health Epidemiology at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and lead author of the analysis, told CNN that menstrual cups may be part of a broader solution.
"In any situation of poverty, whether it's in Liverpool, London or any lower-middle-income country, people have real problems: women and girls have real problems controlling their periods," she said.
In a world moving further away from single-use products, menstrual cups could make a world of difference.
-- CNN's Nina Avramova contributed to this report.
Menstruation