In India, menstruation is still a secretive affair associated with a lot of stigma and taboos. Though India has come a long way from treating menstruating women like untouchables to the PadMan Challenge where thousands, including stars like Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar posed with sanitary napkins in their hands to erase the stigma around this natural biological process, period shaming is a truth that our country still lives with. Remember the 13-year-old girl from Joseph Matriculation School in Chennai, who committed suicide in August 2017, after her teacher scolded her for revealing a period stain? Or, the warden of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School, Muzaffarnagar, who literally forced 70 girls to strip in order to figure out who was menstruating? Even in the so-called progressive urban circles of our country, women are shut out of kitchens and prayer rooms during those days of the month. In a scenario like this, it is but too natural that menstruation hygiene is nowhere in the public radar. But unhygienic clothes, often used and reused during the menstruation cycle, not changing sanitary pads for hours, are factors that can lead to vaginal infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs), etc. So it is imperative that we make conscious efforts to ensure hygiene during periods. Here are the steps you need to take.
Change your pad regularly:
Irrespective of your blood flow menstrual blood gets contaminated after meeting the body`s innate organisms. The damp and moist sanitary pad when used for a long period of time, contains your genital sweat which will have organisms germinating themselves and other harmful bacteria. These can increase your risk of contracting urinary tract infection, vaginal infections, and skin rashes. [Ideally, a sanitary pad should be changed after every 6 hours, even if it not completely soaked. On heavy flow days you can change your pads more quickly," Dr. Duru Shah, Scientific Director, Gynaecworld & Gynaecworld Assisted Fertility Center. Apply an antiseptic ointment after a bath and before bed if you have got pad rashes. In severe cases, medical advice is required. You should apply the same rule while using tampons. [If not removed on time, a tampon can cause severe medical problems like sepsis and infection which can spread further," says Dr. Shah.
The article is taken from thehealthsite