Negative Impact of Poor Menstrual Hygiene

 

Despite the irrational taboos associated with it, menstruation is a natural physiological process that every healthy woman undergoes. But although every woman experiences it on a regular basis, not everyone is well-informed about the need to ensure hygiene.

Menstruating women need to pay particular attention to personal hygiene. During this time, a woman’s vulnerability towards potentially life-threatening ailments increases. Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to many issues, such as fung ..

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Maintaining good and healthy menstrual hygiene is of paramount importance. More often than not, a large section of women are compelled to use unhealthy menstrual hygiene products owing to their monetary conditions, or do not have access to feminine hygiene products. While sanitary napkins were exempted from the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax on Saturday (July 21), there is still a long way to go. Risks of poor menstrual hygiene are aplenty and need to be kept in mind and eradicated.

ALSO READ | After year-long protest, sanitary napkins exempted from GST

Here are some of them.

Urogenital infections

Poor menstrual hygiene is intricately linked with several risk infections. Irise International, an organisation that works towards providing with sustainable solutions to girls who face problems in their schools during menstruation, quotes a study in India that says that women who use something other a disposable pad are more likely to suffer from urogenital infections or non-sexually transmitted infections.

Yeast infection

Washing hands after changing sanitary napkins is always advisable and is a healthy habit. However, those who do not do so, might run the risk of suffering from a yeast infection or even Hepatitis B.

Fungal infections

Using unclean sanitary napkins can lead to several health hazards one of them being fungal infections.

Urinary tract infection

The article Menstrual Hygiene Practices, WASH Access and the Risk of Urogenital Infection in Women from Odisha, India cites that urinary tract infection is one of the most prevalent forms of infection in girls and women of menstruating age caused mainly due to unhygienic menstrual practices.

Cervical cancer

Unhealthy menstrual practices are linked to cervical cancer. The article Relations between poor menstrual practices and cervical cancer mentions the same.

 

5 Health Risks That Can Result from Poor Menstrual Hygiene

Menstruation comes with its fair share of misconceptions, myths and cultural beliefs. And while there are those who are working to change societal attitudes, until that happens, it is the common woman who suffers. The negativity around menstruation leads to poor menstrual hygiene. Before we look into the health risks that can result from poor menstrual hygiene, let’s understand more about common menstrual hygiene practices.

To begin with, a woman needs to manage her menstrual hygiene in a private space. Often this is hard to come by. The other things required include access to clean water and soap every few hours and a hygienic disposal method. For most of us, this may not count as much, but for a lot of people faced with the taboo of society, even these basics are a huge blessing. For example, some people forbid women from drying their menstrual clothes openly. The result? Women end up wearing damp clothes, increasing the risk of infection.

Even those who don’t have to deal with societal pressures may not be aware of how to maintain their menstrual hygiene. For example some women believe in wearing two or more pads when they have a heavy flow. This actually works against them as they tend to wait until both pads fill up before changing, resulting in poor hygiene management.

Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to a number of health problems. We at Stay Sure take you through a few of these.

1. Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): This common infection amongst women is characterized by a burning feeling while urinating, dark colored and foul smelling urine, pain in the abdomen and maybe even fever & chills amongst other symptoms. It occurs when harmful bacteria enter the urinary tract, causing infection. Improper washing of external genitalia especially during menstruation and the use of unhygienic menstrual products can cause UTI.

 

2. Yeast Infections (Candidiasis): Yeast is a kind of fungus that is found in the vagina. When an infection occurs it means that there is too much yeast being produced. While there are many reasons for yeast infection to occur, changes in hormone levels during menstruation is one main reason. This coupled with poor menstrual hygiene is a recipe for disaster.
3. RTIs & Cervical Cancer: Beginning in the cervix, harmful bacteria can enter a woman’s blood stream causing reproductive tract infections (RTIs). When these are left untreated they can further lead to cervical cancer.While the exact causes of cervical cancer is not known, lack of menstrual hygiene is a major factor that contributes to the development of this disease.

 

4. Fungal Infections: Poor menstrual hygiene can lead to fungal infections and skin infections including rash, redness and itching.

 

5. Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is an infection affecting the liver. Symptoms include nausea, extreme weakness, yellowing of the skin and eyes etc. Hepatitis B is largely transmitted through bodily fluids including menstrual discharge. Failing to wash hands after changing a sanitary napkin can increase the risk of developing Hepatitis B.

 

Women should not be forced to suffer these health risks in silence. They should be able to openly address these health issues. Also as we can see, even women who can be open about menstruation need to brush up on their hygiene habits. Poor menstrual hygiene also poses a serious threat to a womans’ reproductive health and increases the risk of having a still born child.

At Stay Sure, menstrual hygiene is of prime importance to us. Using our wide range products correctly, women can go through their menstrual cycle comfortably and most importantly, hygienically.