Menstrual hygiene

Before talking about the ill effects of improper personal hygiene during menstruation, let's talk about the importance of general physical hygiene in one's life. Poor personal hygiene issues leave unpleasant visible marks on a person's body. These poor hygiene signs keep other people at a distance. This happens because everybody has an instinct of self-protection and no one wants to compromise with it. Personal presentation is the skill of communicating about yourself through your physical appearance. The better your look is, the better is the message communicated by you to people. In today's world. Where people are judged upon their looks and personality before being judged upon their skills or talent, it has become more significant to keep yourself presentable and tidy. The effects of poor personal hygiene may be infinite. The truth is that its consequences may ruin certain aspects of your life. So now that we understand the importance of basic personal hygiene, I think we can easily understand the importance of cleanliness and hygiene during menstruation- a part and parcel of women's life until their menopause. The onset of menstruation is one of the most important physiological changes occurring in girls during the adolescent years. Menstrual hygiene is a hygienic practice during menstruation which can prevent women from the infection in reproductive and urinary tract. In India, menstruation and menstrual practices are still clouded by taboos and socio – cultural restrictions resulting in adolescent girls remaining ignorant of the scientific facts about hygienic health practices, which sometimes results into adverse health outcomes. Ask yourself a basic question: does a topic like menstruation, with which a woman has to live almost half of her life be surrounded by myths and misconceptions with a long list of “do’s” and “don’ts’’. This period in a woman's life involves some critical changes and hence, require critical care when it comes to hygiene and even relaxing social norms towards it.

Let’s talk about the dangers associated with improper hygiene during menstruation:

1] Irritation of the skin causes discomfort and can possibly result in dermatitis – a medical condition in which the skin swells, turns red, and at times becomes sore with blisters. Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis (APD) is a condition in which the menstrual cycle is associated with a number of skin findings such as urticarial, eczema, angioedema, and others. In affected women, it occurs 3–10 days prior to the onset of menstrual flow, and resolves 2 days into menses.

2] Introduction of bacteria into the urethra may cause urinary tract infections (UTIs).

3] Alteration of the pH of vaginal flora can happen. This can lead to change in environment and increased tendency to get bacterial vaginosis. It impacts the maximum when the women is trying to get pregnant.

The worst part of these conditions is that they can end up with fatal!

So ladies, why don't we take a few steps towards our menstrual hygiene before hand to avoid these repercussions later! Here are a few points to remember during menstruation:

1] Don’t use soaps or vaginal hygiene products – while using vaginal hygiene products every day is a good idea, avoid overusing them as these artificial hygiene products can hamper the natural process of self cleaning or vagina, leading to infections and growth of bacteria. 2] Stick to one method of sanitation – Using multiple methods can sometimes gives false sense of low menstrual blood loss and prolonged usage of items, leading to increased chances of infection after prolonged contact.

So now that we are well aware of the possibilities of improper menstrual hygiene, let's take a prevention before hand and create a reproductively healthy society!