Health risks of poor menstrual hygiene

May 28th is celebrated as World Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) across the globe, it aims to raise awareness of the importance for women and girls to hygienically manage their menstruation. Menstrual hygiene plays a key role in every girl and woman's life, most of the women suffer from various diseases at some stages of life due to lack of proper hygiene practices during their periods. Theme of World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020 is ' "Periods in Pandemic". It helps to catalyse  a growing, global movement for Menstrual Hygiene Management and supports partnerships at global, regional, national and local levels, and also creates opportunities for advocacy for the integration of MHM into global, national and local policies, programmes and projects taken by government and health sectors.

Even though several menstrual hygiene products like sanitary napkins, tampons, and menstrual cups are available; 88% of Indian women don’t use the most basic form of menstrual protection available in markets. Only a few women have proper access to facilities to ensure hygiene. By maintaining proper menstrual hygiene practices, all girls can become effective in all aspects in their life like education, health, participation, dignity & economics. 

Importance tips for maintenance of hygiene:

  • A warm bath, to wash yourself properly

  • Use clean undergarments & change them regularly 

  • Change your sanitary napkin every 4-6 hours. 

  • Discard the sanitary napkin properly. 

  • Try to use cotton sanitary pad 

  • Use the right washing techniques 

  • Consult a gynaecologist, if having any irritation or sensitive skin. 

5 main health risks of poor menstrual hygiene includes:

  • Fungal infections - By using unclean sanitary napkins can lead to several health complications one of them includes fungal infections.

  • Yeast infections - Those who do not do proper hand wash after changing sanitary pad, might run the risk of suffering from a yeast infection or even Hepatitis B.

  • Urinary tract infections - urinary tract infection is one of the most prevalent forms of infection in girls and women of menstruating age caused mainly due to unhygienic or poor menstrual practices due to lack of proper awareness.

  • Urogenital infections - In India women who use something other than a disposable pad are more likely to suffer from urogenital infections or non-sexually transmitted infections.

  • Cervical cancer - Unhealthy or poor menstrual practices lead to cervical cancer.

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