Menstrual Health and Hygiene

In this final part of our Menstrual Health and Hygiene series, we are focusing on practicing proper menstrual hygiene. The following are some tips for menstrual hygiene management:

1. Take your bath regularly and properly, preferably twice a day. When washing your vaginal area, your hand motion should be from the vaginal area to the anal area. This prevents introducing bacteria from your anus to your vaginal area. 
2. Wash your vaginal area first before thoroughly washing your anal area in the same motion of washing away from the vaginal area.
3. Change your sanitary pad every 4 to 6 hours or as soon as you feel it is fully soaked. 
4. Used sanitary pads should be neatly wrapped in a toilet paper and disposed off in a trash can. Do not flush it down the toilet.
5. Use clean underwear and change it for a fresh one each time you take your bath. 
6. In case you use menstrual cloths, they should be washed with water and soap, and dried in the sun. Washed menstrual cloths must be kept in a hygienic place until the next use. They can be wrapped in a plastic bag to avoid coming into contact with dust.

We acknowledge that these tips are easier to follow when there is access to hygienic facilities and clean flowing water. In the event that these resources are not available, what  can one do? The best thing would be to consider your circumstances and make do with the little resources available.

This might mean that you will need your friends to create a shield around you while you change your pad if you are a girl of school going age and a proper washroom is not available in school. This might also mean that you have to boil unclean water and wait for it to cool down before you take your bath with it. Additionally, in situations where even unclean water is not available, this might mean that you will have to make do with using a couple of sachets of water to clean your vaginal and anal areas and change your pad until you find water to take a proper bath. Finally, in situations where there are no dustbins to properly dispose of used pads, it might mean that you would have to keep the used pad wrapped in a plastic bag in your handbag or purse, until you can properly dispose of it. Practicing good personal hygiene is a must every time and not only during one’s menses. Of course, one has to take special care during this time but maintaining personal hygiene should be an everyday thing.

For example, you can easily overlook trimming your nails and shaving armpit and pubic hairs, when you are busy with other things. So, you can add these to your hygienic practices during your menses. And because menstruation is cyclic, being able to trim your nails and shave your pubic and armpit hairs, become a regular practice.

This brings us to the end of our menstrual health and hygiene blogpost series. Thank you for being with us. Do join us again in our future blog posts. We trust you have found this post helpful. Share widely, follow and like our content on our social media platforms. Always remember to practice good menstrual hygiene management and keep safe.