Menstrual Hygiene And Awareness

Menstruation or menses is a natural way of body to release the blood and related matter from the uterus through the vagina of a woman as a part of the menstrual cycle. Menarche or onset of menstruation is celebrated as the beginning of womanhood in a girl’s life. It the most important hence essential period of a woman’s life.

She is empowered and is hence capable of bearing a child. Although, it is the most important aspect of a woman’s life yet there are many women who are unaware as to how to go about during there these. There is a lot of shame and stigma around the women menstruating. As we see there is a lack of awareness of what products to use and how to dispose them.

There are many products that can be used to catch the menstrual flow, such as tampons, sanitary napkins and menstrual cups. Among these sanitary napkins have gained the most popularity among the masses. Sanitary pads are very cheap and are easily available at the medical store or any departmental store. They are easy to use and can be stuck on the undergarment.

They easily absorb the blood and one single sanitary napkin can last for six hours. The second most popular product among the western countries is the tampon. It is still not very popular way to catch the flow in India but Indians have started adopting it.

A tampon can be quite tricky to use it is inserted inside the vagina and hence it absorbs all the blood that comes out from the uterus, there is no problem of leakage and discomfort while using a tampon. The third product that can be used by women when they are menstruating is a menstrual cup.

The menstrual cup has gained the popularity in the recent five years and it is the most loved product of the women round the globe. Menstrual cup is the most difficult to use at the start but when a person starts using it they love it.

It goes directly inside the vagina like a tampon but it does not absorb the blood rather it collects it and therefore it gives women the idea of how much flow they have and it keeps them well aware of the type of blood and the flow that makes it easy to tell the doctor if needed if they come across any difficulty.

The menstrual hygiene is extremely important for a woman. She must know how to dispose off the products that are used during menstruation. Despite of the urbanization there is still very much stigma around menstruation in our social and cultural society.

There is a lot of restriction and due to a survey conducted by me I found out that the older ladies in my family used mud and cloth to catch the flow which can very infectious and unhygienic. It was the need of those times where the technology was not as developed as we did not have the products that we have now but I was saddened by the fact that still in the rural roots of India this practice of using cloth mud is followed.

The young girls these days are suffering from the various infections just because of the lack of knowledge and awareness to use these products. Poor female hygiene during menstruation leads to vaginal irritation, urinary tract infections and even cervical cancer. The fact that is unpopular about the intimate hygiene is that it is not just limited to the days a person is menstruating it should be taken care of throughout.

Panty liners should be used in the days before the menstruating which is just like a pad but smaller in size, it helps to stay fresh and odor free. It is the high time we realize the importance of menstrual health and educate others around us and hope for a future where there is not a single woman who is deprived of