Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024: Menstrual health and hygiene plays a crucial role in the overall well-being of women and adolescent girls. Every day, more than 300 million women worldwide are menstruating.

An estimated 500 million lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme 2012, menstrual hygiene management is defined as:

“Women and adolescent girls are using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect menstrual blood, that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary, using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. They understand the basic facts linked to the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear.”

Every year, May 28 is marked as Menstrual Hygiene Day to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management at a global level.

Here are 5 habits you should get rid of for good menstrual hygiene:

  • Unclean Sanitary Napkins: Using unclean sanitary napkins can lead to fungal infections, reproductive tract infections, and urinary infections and even make you vulnerable to infertility. Due to poor access to sanitary products, scores of women still use things like dried leaves, plastic, cloth, and such as a substitute for pads.
  • Wearing sanitary pads or tampons too long: If you do not change your pads frequently (at least every 6-8 hours), you are at a high of developing rashes and vaginal yeast infections with the side effect of bad odour.
  • Not properly cleaning your genital area: You should also properly clean your genital region. Never wash or wipe back to front after peeing or pooping. This brings bacteria from the bowel to the vagina and can lead to serious urinary tract infections.
  • Wash your hands: Always wash your hands with soap after changing sanitary napkins, it can lead to yeast infections or Hepatitis B. Simultaneously, it is important to wash hands before changing sanitary napkins as well.
  • Not properly disposing your sanitary napkins: Exposed sanitary napkin can cause serious health concerns. It is important to properly wrap the napkin before disposing it in the dustbin.