Hygiene measures necessary during menstruation

Women spend around six to seven years of their lives menstruating. Yet the importance of menstrual hygiene is mostly neglected. Menstrual hygiene is a taboo subject; a topic that many women are uncomfortable discussing in public.

This is compounded by gender inequality, which excludes women and girls from decision-making processes. Seventy percent of women consider menstruation ‘dirty’ and they don’t talk about hygiene, which may affect the health later.

You can take the following hygiene measures during menstruation:

• Take a bath or shower at least once a day.
• Use clean undergarments and change them regularly.
• Change pads or tampons regularly.
• Illustration of bathing regularly, wearing clean clothes, change pads or tampons at least once every six hours - Menstrupedia
• Wash the genital area with plain water (no soap) after each use of toilet and even after urination.
• Keep the area between the legs dry, otherwise you may experience chafing.
• It is very important to remember that vagina has its own self-cleaning mechanism and an external cleaning agent like deodorant or soap should not be used inside it.