Menstrual Hygiene: Pad, Tampon Or Cup — Right Use Is Key To Stay Infection-Free

Poor menstrual hygiene is associated with developing infections like bacterial vaginitis, yeast infection, urogenital infection, and urinary tract infection

By Dr. Mahima Bakshi

Menstruation has been a big taboo in India for so many years. While we have been able to break that taboo to some extent, thanks to celebrities talking about it now and even films are being made on the subject, there is still a long way to go. Menstrual years of a woman start from her puberty age and goes on till her menopause, which is a milestone in a woman's life.  

The World Menstrual Hygiene Day gives us a great opportunity to talk about menstruation and create more awareness on it at a level where we cannot just break the taboo but also talk about mentrual hygiene. 

Poor menstrual hygiene is associated with developing infections like bacterial vaginitis, yeast infection, urogenital infection, and urinary tract infection. Use of the right kind of menstrual products like sanitary napkins, menstrual cups or tampons is important. A wrong menstrual product can even lead to chances of infection, which can even lead to loss of fertility in many women specially seen in rural areas.

Use The Right Product, The Right Way 

Menstrual cup has become a good choice for many thanks to it being environment friendly. It can be simply taken out, emptied, washed and then inserted again to continue the cycle. It’s reusable and helpful specially for those who develop sanitary pad allergies. In case of sanitary napkins one should ensure that they change it every 6-8 hours. and dispose it of only in a disposal bin after wrapping. Many good organic sanitary pads are also available and they are especially good for those women who experience rashes or itching with pads bought from shops. Even in case of tampon, one should ensure that it is taken out in 8-10 hours and not worn longer than that because. A tampon worn for too long can even lead to toxic shock syndrome. Hence, awareness on these things are important to help women have a good menstrual health and hygiene.  

Creating awareness on the use of right menstrual product is important. Most important is to start promoting menstrual education right from school days, which means all schools should promote awareness on menstrual hygiene right from the puberty age of girls, which is now 10-12 years. 

To improve overall menstrual health and hygiene, it is also important to promote awareness on right nutrition, exercises and other menstrual cycle issues. Iron rich diet, pelvic exercises, meditation e.t.c. must be part of every girl’s life forever. Apart from this, irregular cycles that could be due to thyroid imbalance or disturbed hormones like in case of PCOS can lead to mental stress. Women must consult their gynaecologist in case of irregular cycle seen for more than 3 to 6 months.  

(The author is Maternal Child Wellness Consultant at Daffodils by Artemis)