A vaginal contraceptive ring — NuvaRing, EluRyng and generic etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol rings
— stays in for three weeks, then comes out for one. Enter the day you put the current
one in and this gives you the removal date, the ring-free week, and the date of each new
ring for the next six cycles.
This is a planning tool for reminders, not medical advice, and it does not promise
anything about pregnancy prevention. Follow the leaflet in your pack and ask your doctor,
nurse or pharmacist about anything specific to you.
How the schedule works
For the standard contraceptive-ring regimen the pattern is the same every month: three
weeks in, one week out. The ring goes in on day 1, stays in for 21 days, comes out on day
22, and the next one goes in on day 29. That makes the cycle 28 days long, so every new
ring falls on the same weekday as the first one. Source:
NHS — how to use the vaginal ring.
Extended or continuous use — skipping the ring-free week, or using one ring for
longer than three weeks — is not covered here. That is a conversation to have with
your doctor or nurse, and the dates will be different.
If something goes off plan
If you forget to take the ring out at the end of the three weeks, forget to put a new one
in after the ring-free week, or the ring slips out and you are not sure how long it has
been out: read the leaflet in your pack, and speak to a pharmacist, nurse or doctor.
Depending on how long the ring has been out of place you may also need emergency
contraception. The NHS page above has the detail.
Keeping the dates somewhere you will see them
The hardest cycle to track is the second one — the first new ring lands roughly four
weeks later, in a different week of the month, and “the day I started last time”
is already fading. Put the removal date and the next-ring date in your phone the day you
put a ring in, not later.
Doz is a free iPhone app that handles cycled
schedules like 21 days on and 7 off directly, so a reminder lands when a ring needs to come
out and again when a new one goes in. The
medication cycle calculator covers other
on-off patterns such as every-N-weeks injections.
Common questions
How long does a NuvaRing stay in?
Three weeks. You put it in on day 1 and take it out on day 22, which is the same weekday three weeks later. Then there is a 7-day ring-free week before a new ring goes in on day 29.
When do I put the next ring in?
28 days after the last one went in, which is the same weekday four weeks later. If the current ring went in on a Sunday, the next one goes in on a Sunday.
What if I forget to take the ring out, or forget to put a new one in?
Read the leaflet in your pack and speak to a pharmacist, nurse or doctor. Depending on how long the ring has been in or out of place you may also need emergency contraception. The NHS page linked above has the details.
Does this work for EluRyng and generic rings?
Yes. EluRyng and other generic etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol rings use the same 21-in, 7-out regimen as NuvaRing. Always check the leaflet in your own pack.
Can I skip the ring-free week?
Some people use the ring continuously or for an extended cycle, but that is a change to the regimen and the dates in this tool no longer apply. Ask your doctor or nurse before changing the pattern.
One thing this cannot do
This is an arithmetic tool, not medical advice. It works out numbers from what you type
in — it does not know your medication, your prescription, or what you should do
if something goes wrong. Anything about changing a dose, spacing doses differently, or
handling a missed dose is a question for your doctor or pharmacist.