A hygiene awareness

While it is important to follow these guidelines, it is also important to educate your daughters more on periods, dispel all the myths or questions associated with menstruation and consult a gynaecologist for any concerns around menstruation and hygienepractices

Menstruation, the natural biological process is still considered a taboo in many parts of the country. The socio-cultural restrictions result in adolescent girls remaining oblivious of the hygienic health practices, which sometimes result in adverse health outcomes. Moreover, the little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation acts as a great barrier in the path of personal and menstrual hygiene practices. Therefore, it is imperative to educate young girls on the importance of adopting menstrual hygiene practices.

Here are a few important practices a parent can encourage her daughter to follow:

• Choose your method of sanitation: In today's time, there are a plethora of options for sanitation. Women can choose from sanitary napkins, tampons, menstrual cups to stay clean. In India, most of the women still prefer using a sanitary napkin over other options while some prefer tampons and very few use menstrual cups. For young girls experiencing periods for the first time, using a sanitary napkin is advisable.

• Change and cleanse yourself regularly: When menstrual blood leaves the body it gets contaminated with the body's innate organisms. Damp pads contain organisms from the vagina, sweat from the genitals, and if left for a longer duration it may lead to conditions like UTI, vaginal infections, and skin rashes. Therefore it is important to change sanitary napkins once every six hours, a tampon is once every six to eight hours, and wipe or wash off the excess blood away. Additionally, one should practice cleansing regularly, especially during periods, as it will help relieve menstrual cramps, beat bad odour from the vaginal region and reduce backaches.

• Discard the used sanitary product properly: It is essential to discard used napkins or tampons properly as they are capable of spreading infections. Thus, wrap the used napkins well before discarding it and wash your hands well after you have disposed of the used napkin. Additionally avoid flushing the pad or tampon down the toilet as they are capable of blocking and can cause the toilet to back up.

• Watch out for pad rash: A pad rash may occur on the days of heavy flow and when the pad has been wet for a long time and rubs along the thighs causing it to chafe. Therefore, it is advisable to stay dry during periods and apply an antiseptic ointment after a bath and before bed if required.

• Use only a single method of sanitation at a time: Some individuals who have a heavy flow during their periods tend to use either two sanitary pads, a tampon and sanitary pad or a sanitary pad along with a piece of cloth. This may seem like a safe idea but it isn't advisable, as used up pads can lead to rashes and infections. Therefore, changing regularly is recommended.

Dr Gayathri Kamath